Bitcoin Forum

Okay, I'm in the middle of installing bitcoin core, and I also did a newbie mistake of sending btc there to 2 addresses before it has fully installed.

Now I'm getting an error message: error: disk space too low!

I am not very technical.  I searched online and I see that I can reinstall using "pruning".

My biggest concern right now is losing the btc that I have sent over.  If I reinstall, won't I lose access to those addresses?

Like I said, I am technically-challenged.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I don't think you need to reinstall to switch to pruned mode. simply run bitcoin core with -prune=N .
you won't lose access to your addresses as long as you backup the wallet.dat.

Wallet.dat contains all the information about your bitcoin wallet you can backup it for safety. Please note : don't share it with anyone, and password protect it.

I'm not sure what you mean by running bitcoin core with -prune=N.  Can you elaborate?

Thanks!

for windows: create a shortcut of bitcoin-qt and view its properties. inside the "target" box add -prune=n after the path (example "C:\user\Bitcoin\bitcoin-qt.exe" -prune=550).
you can also do that from the run box but doing it from the shortcut is more permanent.

for linux just open the terminal and type

be aware that you can't import any used address when you are on pruned mode.
and backup your wallet.dat!

Gulp ???

I have a mac.  I was inserting -prune=550 in the qt, and now all it says is:

The application "Bitcoin Core.app" can't be opened.
-10810



Not feeling so good right now...

Backup your wallet.dat file before you do anything else just to be safe.  You can take that file to another computer if you have to but.  Once you have your wallet working fine password protect the wallet with a good strong phrase that you will remember and overwrite the backup that isn't password protected.  One non protected file is enough to get access to everything so you don't want that if you can avoid it. 

Don't worry as long as you have that wallet.dat your coins are not lost.

what exactly did you do? does it work without the prune command?
the method for linux and windows I posted above probably won't work on mac.

I added  the "-prune= 550" to the bitcoin qt name and extension. 

I am able to get to the contents.

In the terminal, it shows:


MacBookAir-xxxxxxxxxxx-x:~ [myname]$ /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/MacOS/Bitcoin-Qt-prune\=550 ; exit;

All I keep getting is an error that says disk space is low.

how much your hard drive space.. if you dont have any space you should delete some movie if you have some big files like movies just delete it..  maybe it can help but if not better to increase your hard drive space..

so you renamed the software instead of running it from the terminal with the prune command, did I get that right? if that's true then no wonder it didn't work.

run bitcoin-qt from the terminal instead. according to the path you just posted it should look like this.

Yes, I renamed the software.

Okay, so I did what you suggested and it now says:

reindexing blocks on disk...

It looks like it is starting all over again. 

I'll check in again in a couple of days...

I appreciate the help, Encrypted.  This technical stuff is tough for a non-techie like me.

The advice was solid no questions asked, but maybe you should switch to a different wallet. Maybe one that is less demanding in terms of disk space, e.g. electrum or multibit hd.