Bitcoin Forum

So yeah I decided to format my PC ;D I have Electrum wallet & I have about 0.1 BTC on it , what should I do to prevent losing bitcoins ??? I'am really new at this (when I installed the wallet first time , it gave me some random words and asked me to keep them in case computer failure or something like that)

anyone with experience with Electrum can let me know what to do please ? thanks

remember the seed and after formatting reinstall electrum then type the seed

exactly, if you want to read the tutorial about seed -> https://electrum.org/tutorials.html

also dont forget to read this faq where you can see where is located your wallet and some other usefull info -> https://electrum.org/faq.html


i hope this works for you.

How do you view this seed and code once Electrum wallet is open ?

Under the program window, look for an icon that shows a picture of a germinating seed. It will prompt you for a password though before you can view the seed

Cheers.

If you're truly paranoid about fucking up the format ( I know I would be ) just stick it on an online wallet for a short while while you format, that way you can clear out absolutely everything without being worried about accidentally losing your Bitcoin, for obvious reasons don't keep the money in an online wallet for longer than a day and just send it back to your wallet once you re-install everything.

I personally would be too worried about fucking up the process so this is what I'd do, you could experiment with a tiny fraction of a Bitcoin and see how it works so you don't have to store it online next time.

Thanks for all your answers guys ;D
I kept the seed words on a .txt file .. but I'am stilll paranoid like Lethn said , I guess i WILL JUST send it to my blockchain.info wallet then send it back to Electrum  :-[

I would maybe keep a small amount like 0.001 bitcoins in the electrum wallet, just to become aware of the process and gain confidence

Best way to format your pc is go to a knowledgeable technician and let him do his job

I know how it works lol , I just don't know what is the thing that keep my bitcoin in the wallet ;D

I usually make an image of the current state of the operating system and installed programs so i dont have to install everything, i have a HD for the data and stuff.

or the other thing you can do that will simple and easy for you

transfer(deposit) that BTC to your online exchanger account like your BTC-e account (if you don't have one then create an account)
and when you have done formatting and resetting your PC
install electrum and then login to your BTC-e account and withdraw fund to your electrum wallet

it might be easy for your if you don't have technical knowledge

too late.  u already got busted for child porn.  shouldn't have sent that computer to the pc.

If formatting your PC can destroy your Bitcoin keys, you don't have them properly backed up (off-site and verified). Other things like fire or floods can also destroy your PC.

I honestly didn't understand a word :o

I'm glad you don't ask how to get btc back after you format your computer.

WHY NOT JUST KEEP A BACKUP HARD DISC, WON'T THAT SOLVE THE PROBLEM?

Write the seed down on a piece of paper and make sure you don't set fire to it when you format.

The OP has said that he uses Electrum, which does not store any private keys locally.

@OP you will need to find those "random words", make sure they are the same as when you first setup Electrum and write them down. When you go to reinstall Electrum you will enter these "random" words to recover your funds.

If you are unsure about if this will work (it should as long as you have the seed) you could transfer your money to coinbase temporarily and then create a new Electrum wallet once your OS is reinstalled and send the bitcoin from coinbase back to your new wallet

Why not just make a paper wallet, send the coins there.

Format PC.

Reload paper wallet onto new client such as electrum.

lol.. I also thought you were asking how to format your pc too.

Thanks for the question and answers. I'm also facing the same situation.  :D

From the looks of it, it appears that your question has been pretty well answered a couple of times.

I however would like to inquire as to why are you formatting your hard drive? If you are trying to protect your information on your HDD by formatting it, then you will likely be in for a bad surprise as this will not work. Most information (depending on the size of your HDD and how much data is on your HDD). A much better solution would be to use a program that securely erases certain files that you want erased

This, but backup your wallet on your flash drive or a cd, just in case.

all you need to restore your wallet is you seed.
look here:
https://electrum.org/tutorials.html#restoring-seed

an small suggestion: you can install a virtual machine like "virtualbox" then create a virtual windows/linux or whatever and try restoring your wallet there. it is fun and also the virtualbox will come in handy other places too. (IMO)

Backing up the seed is important but you should also make a copy of the wallet file. The wallet file has additional things that the bare seed does not. For example labels for transactions and addresses. To backup the wallet choose 'save copy' from the 'file' menu.