Bitcoin Forum

Hi, I'm new to this so I just downloaded the latest version of the Bitcoin_Qt client as it seemed like a good place to start and I'm waiting for it to sync up.  It's taken about 9 hours to get to 12 weeks behind and my PC has been maxed out for most of that time.  Is that to be expected?

Yes, it should not take more than another 15 hours or so

If you'd like a quicker way to get started, you might want to try out Electrum (http://electrum.org (http://electrum.org)) or MultiBit (https://multibit.org/ (https://multibit.org/)). Both use an online copy of the blockchain, which is the thing that Bitcoin-Qt is taking so long to download. With Electrum or MultiBit, you'd be up and running in minutes.

In case it's helpful, I have a step-by-step Electrum setup guide here: http://www.bit-buddy.com/electrum-setup.html (http://www.bit-buddy.com/electrum-setup.html).

Great website for beginners,
I'm going to send your URL to some of my work colleagues as they seems interested in BTC and that explains things miles better than I ever could  ;D
(Being in the UK i'll write some convoluted trading instructions for them as a supplement.......)
TY

Thanks, I did download Electum too, I had an idea to try them both.  Electum sounded kind of less secure but correct me if I'm wrong.  There's a lot of reading about personal security and the merits of various wallets to do while I wait. Just 2 weeks to go now...

Electrum is theoretically slightly less secure than Bitcoin-Qt because you're trusting somebody else's copy of the blockchain, which is where all of the essential Bitcoin data is ultimately stored. In practice, the risk is extremely low, barring a big Bitcoin-stealing conspiracy. Your private key (the thing that proves you own your Bitcoin addresses) is still stored locally, and is encrypted.

Generally speaking, you're pretty safe as long as you:

• Only install wallet software from trusted sources.
• NEVER share your private key with anyone, regardless of what client you're using.
• Keep your computer's antivirus and anti-malware software updated and running.

Blockchain is huge. I never could finish DL it on my laptop. I had to use an internet website.

23 hours on a two core Tosh Satellite laptop with a decent internet connection, running LTSpice modelling software and some pretty CPU intensive circuit models and playing music videos from Youtube at the same time without any probs.  If you aren't in a hurry it's not a big deal.

This program run in windows 7?

Yes it does.

Yes, it takes a great deal of time to download and sync the bitcoin blockchain. It should take about 24-36 hours to download the entire thing. Also, you can download a lightweight client such as mutlibit for fast usage.