What is the relationship between a "regular" wallet and a "backup" file of the wallet?
for example.. I backup a wallet on 8/31 with 1btc in it. On 9/1 I receive 10btc (same addresses as the original wallet had) and on 9/5 the original file is lost but the backup is ok.
Would I still have the 11btc, or would I need to backup again after receiving that 10btc for it to be safe?
for example.. I backup a wallet on 8/31 with 1btc in it. On 9/1 I receive 10btc (same addresses as the original wallet had) and on 9/5 the original file is lost but the backup is ok.
Would I still have the 11btc, or would I need to backup again after receiving that 10btc for it to be safe?
There is no difference. The backup is a copy of the wallet.dat
In your example no second backup is necessary. The satoshi client wallet file uses a concept of a "keypool". By default the wallet keypool is 100 private keys. So a backup contains all the used keys PLUS the next 100 keys.
Receiving coins to an existing address uses no keys.
Sending coins uses 1 new address/key for each send (change address).
Getting a new address from the wallet uses 1 new address/key (clicking new address button).
If your keypool is 100 then you are good for the next 100 new addresses/keys. The tx involving the 101st address/key will be lost forever.
You can make the keypool as large as you want although anything over 1,000 addresses can take a while to generate. IMHO the default keypool should likely be increased to 300 or 500.
