Print Page - [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!

Title: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: quickxx on April 01, 2015, 10:42:39 PM

Hey guys,

i got a huge problem and i am really thankfull for everyone who can help me.

Here is the situation:

I rebooted my pc - somehow all my files were deleted. my background changed to black and so on.

Anyway, i dont care about the files. Electrum is my real interest.

I got some BTC in my wallet and could restore some files, not sure if good enough, but i could.

I CAN NOT restore by seed, since i dont have any idea where it is.

I have the default_wallet.dat file and pretty much everything else i could restore.
I still remember the password of the wallet and got the 2FA google stuff here too.

Is there ANY possible way to restore my wallet and my BTC?

Please, would donate 100$ to the guy that can help me out of this & 50$ to this board if i can find help.

Using Windows 7 64 bit.

/edit when i try to replace the default_wallet file and open electrum after that, i get the message:

Code:

Cannot read wallet file C:\XX XXX

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: jackbox on April 02, 2015, 01:15:24 PM

Is the wallet file the same version of Electrum? If it was created with an older version you need to use that version to restore it, since I believe that the newer versions of Electrum have changed the file format? Not sure, but that is what I would try.

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: dabura667 on April 02, 2015, 02:09:52 PM

If your password is good enough, then you could send me the file and I can check to see what format it is in etc. to help you get an idea of whether it's recoverable or not.

If your password is weak, then you might not want to trust anyone with your file.

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: btchris on April 02, 2015, 02:12:19 PM

Quote from: quickxx on April 01, 2015, 10:42:39 PM

I have the default_wallet.dat file and pretty much everything else i could restore.
I still remember the password of the wallet and got the 2FA google stuff here too.

If you're using a 2FA wallet (are you?), the seed cannot be recovered from the wallet file (it's not stored in there). Electrum tells you this when you first set up the wallet.

You need either your seed or a working wallet file to recover your funds.

If you have a completely corrupted / missing wallet file, you might be out of luck.

If your wallet file is only slightly corrupted, you may be able to fix it.

First (very important), make a backup of it so there's no chance of making things worse.

Next, open your wallet file in a text editor (such as Notepad on Windows).

It should look something like this:

Code:

{
    "accounts": {
        "0": {
            "change": [
                [
                    "03ac0342c7c8f92d41458bdb22f0abec55eedd5aa8f982e8c91318d68631337812", 
                    "021b939f6db543de61e6c18b037c0aea1279a9c47b35b0f5ad6a45060487a99cc9", 
                    "03ecc8024843d6da37c1b4a6096f7a30d67518402369d3cbbd8c893ee65672f8af"
                ], 
                [
                    "02407ab9bd1c32aceb0e42aea0e1ac69ac06fcb070ff8fcacbacb7b08d29cb8cba", 
                    "028d07f31a64365bd63eaf6c3fe8379142264d468975a86376cf9bf861986c1824", 
                    "03ffd76f226ccd257a015c9c437b693a5d2edf34e6f2e27d7a0c5ba8c33ac00670"
                ], 
                [
                    "03f1bbdfe1be7c533e7e789b04b6da25f74a8dcf4c2a2239fc867f63a32965cc64", 
                    "02b7b63d7fc1d61124ad9ae0e97c15725c439d6e4d61bb3a3e9c958ebca43ea7e7", 
                    "02979116cfc78f395719a5bd8ded064b49e6b5bf89963a5a1d817e8869b459aa7f"
                ]
            ], 
            "receiving": [
                [
                    "037f4e76573fb495b0d96d7961e99b588c2bcf58bce2baef094156d62fc0a8cd45", 
                    "02d082c279324b606dd925b77daed33a7a9b01355b7d653d0cdfa1e4d4f72eba8d", 
                    "03f6e932c7e25f5e40c72c7d981ca76235c0b38f65b7858d41356472549a4c9790"
                ], 
                [
                    "025330a72b7311f94e519c679641f783e4f8efc3f9b8b146ba1f03b0689d0e6e5f", 
                    "02881777cd44bf1cd724bccdf1a9b2f695b689c2da373b0c842a1ea64522eae277", 
                    "035000d2b358b19566a4ea074a29f9095bb3c15b551783bc5bb632ab8a8a7686c1"
                ], 
                [
                    "036b1a078c412f7961eecb49bba365c279c4567ba937805dd9ac34e157f0b47e5a", 
                    "038f22a1e99351b2aa9a482bfebc43890e8f5ac9be7d150d758f063b56ac647715", 
                    "02175a44e790b3f3c8e41b8d5275e68f3aa0332f3d6631cbc99842ca723bfd7dab"
                ], 
                [
                    "0258cc18d2843702bde79bbcf4df74b2aee88ddf9fb4fae03005e7367196a4f69b", 
                    "02f3f0237562f79bc95321b7d2c8ca2e946602e29939d9ac87a4cac534e4ca469e", 
                    "0388246d6a3c73e9f3aa1e4370ad4f3dd9f20c67ec0fcfabc931151464adda090f"
                ], 
                [
                    "025bf61d138fea2e5868049d69bf627de5ed8e4e11daef757b19d1c6ce94f87a5c", 
                    "02066c0e6ca63122f8a9e7413658d87dc04814236e999fa6cc6a5da0188ad4f2b9", 
                    "02a63fd35ee7373d0b79fee31075d02ff53f11639fbf23a02c6d27fdab9acaf9e9"
                ], 
                [
                    "022ae832008e773d2126aadbfee6750827e4ed0d698e2d4700cc4f3c968bf51dee", 
                    "03716958ed0073e38584a95d2ec9dad71884e93d8fa482c609ad702fe4157180bf", 
                    "028a8b8f82d97fa5dfc61f065276acd63cca8eb45e9cb4101219db64bf4b1957b0"
                ], 
                [
                    "020decc7b97b3e8e355b8dcaa9cf66b2c6d56665d89abc46990d405a634efeeda4", 
                    "03b90f527d22a3ac69114ef1646ede9d31bf83fb154f551f0645acdf8a2f581c7f", 
                    "026c59a9fc1c16dc6efc6cac1caa0c1998e9c7a3ce09c0d6cc63a379bf55552f81"
                ], 
                [
                    "02b300cd992b2020b0a03954191ba8bef1a091cdc468b99212fb1070ad05f8560c", 
                    "02038dca3242db4d107b6cf0ac7c5a66b9a9996e14522d8ef3cd836157618e82c8", 
                    "03578b8f14ce86902213352da549f985b205800b533a1d1a447d6185ea90848de5"
                ], 
                [
                    "038a02fa807574173baa1f13dba508d26958417f209cb8d9564276c9ff05fd3377", 
                    "02123ae61fb2dc5f134abf14c217b79c556f65ebe00ea344a54931c118afe663d7", 
                    "0324f09a257fe5d583083bbc398495d4f3ecdcf2918a6499dde991262daf270f2b"
                ], 
                [
                    "0231dfa361f1f805067b7f2846c4fa62d793179f36af0b28ce32ac1cb775e76ae9", 
                    "02e8eb42d24274473e3581609a3e7537ac8472fb8ac63e61fda074bf7ca57d5e47", 
                    "03d3dd7b39b5fb812e1d8088f5ccc0a50c00cd9f9539a10d1155e71407d609b623"
                ], 
                [
                    "03b9e4444488511abeb992b682637e971f45d43e1f3256fe9377ac937313c9ec32", 
                    "02593b49a6cd93ae929a2ffb14fc97977b144a692b40d4e01da4f43aede8cf4276", 
                    "032412b8383bbd10a2d00ca1fbbc0887c5407e0dc7d0220c61623b8a84df54e6fd"
                ], 
                [
                    "03db584f5b6d5f7af655b525c800b7826b61f9fd8ba597371a286419a1ebfced73", 
                    "0302d0d83b68a618d618a59a2fdb860634fcfc36314b11afd6ac44669101183ae6", 
                    "03a1153c84ec94c702e148cc032cfefe17530674ea26568c799cb3a6aea3cdb672"
                ], 
                [
                    "03db20128d0ba7b1de844663e4072009c9a309cf3405171487dbd56752d99315a0", 
                    "028aba0ea4fb17eb6de96e93c23b3299e4c07d5751cf4782fc73f3dff46542dd2c", 
                    "03f30d88ce7743054046c75b558a136a6616a111e48b216e9d81caa5594593ebe4"
                ], 
                [
                    "022294e54daa3cb03dc264963fe2697e8372e81882d5b81222f728c1f7f2c1714a", 
                    "03f0c9b27946dd3460c2261b6769c3cfbf256eb1dc108965377b9179ada8ee717d", 
                    "0310a35c633e14cd3b94021b9928d2a3a71892940df47294e4e5bda52cc60b007a"
                ], 
                [
                    "034cb8e3e6b58a123d83882e6c45e86c2ff5eb16fd47c1f1feab7ad177782aafcc", 
                    "022eb76270b1ac47e7701a0d77232446a8406671db39160a086c6740ab35d41c0d", 
                    "0347a903bea538bf9e800f1ac59072ae0038bea30e8c3ac3b56c08ab35c9e672c1"
                ], 
                [
                    "03e565a126627b3ea1e4e5f2ce6064447c9ee2ca37543e27da36cf8dab7355d132", 
                    "0279e9538ce91a7386fbec166b17bb42e4ecaba2de8db785b83bb70db6e4db21f7", 
                    "021ec3738cd8889424768babaa46f77a69db027651c90e4132c82f68b8e0b90deb"
                ], 
                [
                    "023346f43393acdf93a2ccf92d9f44b4213f6e2aa7a1d9a5b5812ce85ddc6d45a6", 
                    "0238a4deb9f67bf0b8f4bb6045a0ce17782d43a84875c2f4f90742ce745f6a46bf", 
                    "02de5065f947ff944114fcc8fb5896efc9712beb7d148c073763de26fb2a9197b4"
                ], 
                [
                    "02d9e049b552386a66eb08e1ead8f4b55432df9002a7aa3269ae7ff146ab5fd040", 
                    "020983271bc3ea8c466743997d29279e242fbb3c5456b78bc488b657f32079623b", 
                    "022faf4d3d33cbe2b5cc1f20f8750941a4960a58a4c9e8d116801b43f82ebf8b4f"
                ], 
                [
                    "020d9ebff72467155429b16ff0042d05b23ce48dcbc1a49f1c47eab18fa1a724ac", 
                    "036fd3c3e38834202c58dc28dba042756bb2d6b87c7b463a570f525a2e7f780226", 
                    "023629847b9e38ef40d5b80526c1ec85dbc793f29026682537794ea7f1a4db2390"
                ], 
                [
                    "03e04943a31bd43d0bd112e59525aa5cc535b26ad9f32ebc92b3424e784cfd28fb", 
                    "02c1fdf9ea0e4a82ba62eeb223b5c114b2190cde7a6578a38e1d3e462d2f9f8018", 
                    "027046fe6d8d01629e48afc5d04d53ef843cfe5378f8550217aeab2434961c4dee"
                ]
            ], 
            "xpub": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcF7S3zTDZ1QBaDKi8eUjSETyxtajGrbNKHHoMv8vWt1yiamfQGvRaxcHRovmUzeGqPeySjRL6pKTb57Cu3dSrDaGkFbx7LaB", 
            "xpub2": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcFTQiUpNzWsZLa9tSpW1ut3Xet7gFUWzydmRzvfr8So9vkhseiftjuCAiMs6X8APqUf2VMp13XEU7fBAmhYoFXpTqxvVupwd", 
            "xpub3": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcGTQ1T3H5pmertr31JLddqwqVcWedoSFHY3AnjYQUnqiGAhNzofPf22kJXAtJQhmsFXin4T41k4xGLLzCt3RvskGmja4Buoj"
        }
    }, 
    "accounts_expanded": {}, 
    "master_private_keys": {
        "x1/": "lvZ5FCGXcS6+qhc2aq9nENE6uEe6DdUJmEruIg30pdKS4doc5at50W5+aH0pkIYVJY1UM3QGoClTCFPxKJXJ/nkP9Vzn3sFHDdie/EbSMKmUDevhj8Wvf3ttfQ3NHTZuXq5twD2mTOLFDuKgcirEFPSp5FzDOQVXvypUhbiVUSg="
    }, 
    "master_public_keys": {
        "x1/": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcF7S3zTDZ1QBaDKi8eUjSETyxtajGrbNKHHoMv8vWt1yiamfQGvRaxcHRovmUzeGqPeySjRL6pKTb57Cu3dSrDaGkFbx7LaB", 
        "x2/": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcFTQiUpNzWsZLa9tSpW1ut3Xet7gFUWzydmRzvfr8So9vkhseiftjuCAiMs6X8APqUf2VMp13XEU7fBAmhYoFXpTqxvVupwd", 
        "x3/": "xpub661MyMwAqRbcGTQ1T3H5pmertr31JLddqwqVcWedoSFHY3AnjYQUnqiGAhNzofPf22kJXAtJQhmsFXin4T41k4xGLLzCt3RvskGmja4Buoj"
    }, 
    "seed_version": 11, 
    "use_encryption": true, 
    "use_trustedcoin": true, 
    "wallet_type": "2fa"
}

You're looking for missing syntax. For example

make sure all of the braces and brackets ( the {s and }s and the [s and ]s ) match up and that there's a closing brace at the very end of the file
make sure there's nothing following the last closing brace
make sure there a comma after each pair of items, except for the last item in a list
make sure there's a colon between each pair of items
make sure the double-quotes match up

If you find an error, try correcting it, saving the file and loading it in Electrum. If you can't find an error, you'll need to find someone you trust who understands JSON (that's Electrum 2's file format) who can look at the file for you.

If you can't find any problems, you could try getting a more specific error message by doing this:
1. Move your default_wallet file to a different directory.
2. Start Electrum and let it create a new wallet for you (you don't need it for anything).
3. Go to the console tab and type in this:

Code:

from PyQt4.QtGui import QFileDialog
util.json.load(open(QFileDialog.getOpenFileName(gui)))

It will ask you for your wallet file, and then print an error message that may help you find the problem.

If you get it fixed, you should create a new 2FA (or standard) wallet to transfer all of your funds to, and this time write down the seed! ;)

Quote from: jackbox on April 02, 2015, 01:15:24 PM

FYI the new version of Electrum can read either wallet format. If it finds an old format wallet, it converts it to the new format (which actually isn't a whole lot different).

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 03:15:19 PM

Thank you for the help. I appreciate everything i can get.

This is what electrum gives me after the console task:

Code:

>> from PyQt4.QtGui import QFileDialog
>> util.json.load(open(QFileDialog.getOpenFileName(gui)))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json", line 278, in load
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json", line 326, in loads
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json.decoder", line 366, in decode
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json.decoder", line 384, in raw_decode
ValueError: No JSON object could be decoded
>>

When I open my wallet, there is pretty much nothing that i can read.
I got a lot of *.py files too, anything we can do with that?

I would also send the file to someone, if this is the way to get my coins back.

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: btchris on April 02, 2015, 03:26:18 PM

Quote from: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 03:15:19 PM

Code:

>> from PyQt4.QtGui import QFileDialog
>> util.json.load(open(QFileDialog.getOpenFileName(gui)))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json", line 278, in load
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json", line 326, in loads
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json.decoder", line 366, in decode
  File "..\contrib\build-wine\build\pyi.win32\deterministic\out00-PYZ.pyz\json.decoder", line 384, in raw_decode
ValueError: No JSON object could be decoded
>>

When I open my wallet, there is pretty much nothing that i can read.
I got a lot of *.py files too, anything we can do with that?

If there's no readable text (like in the example file), then whatever file it is that you have isn't an Electrum wallet file (perhaps due to HD corruption of some sort).

If you have no wallet file backups, and no seed backups, recovery will be difficult or impossible.

First: you didn't answer an earlier question: was your wallet a 2FA wallet or a standard wallet?

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 03:43:09 PM

I use 2FA.

Yes maybe because the data got corrupted.

So you think, i should give up hope?

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: btchris on April 02, 2015, 03:56:30 PM

Quote from: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 03:43:09 PM

I use 2FA.

Here's my best recommendation.

If you had a large amount of Bitcoin stored there, I'd shutdown the machine ASAP and send the drive to a recovery professional.

If you didn't have enough to justify that, I'd shutdown the machine ASAP, and then boot it off of a Live Linux CD or USB to search the hard drive for the master public/private keys (I'm not sure what the easiest way to do this is because I'm not much of a Linux desktop guy, so no instructions included for this option, sorry...).

If you just had a little, download and install HexEdit (http://www.hexedit.com/download.htm), (preferably to a drive that's different from where your wallet file is stored), run it and then open your C drive (or which ever drive had the wallet file) using File -> Open Special. Please note that installing anything or continuing to use your PC decreases the chances of a successful recovery. Search for these two text strings one at a time, (no spaces, but double-quotes and colon included):

"master_private_keys":
"master_public_keys":

Just as in the example file I posted above, you're looking for one master_private_keys with the label "x1/" and three master_public_keys with the labels "x1/", "x2/", and "x3/" (you need to keep track of which key which label). Even if you find the bare minimum, I'd keep searching for more until the entire HD has been searched, just to be thorough.

If you manage to find them, it may be possible to recover your funds. Let me know, and I'll post the final instructions for recreating a wallet file once you have all four keys.

Good luck....

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 04:10:22 PM

ok..

55 BTC i guess. Will give it to some recover specialist.

Thank you for your help. :(

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: btchris on April 02, 2015, 04:19:45 PM

Quote from: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 04:10:22 PM

ok..

55 BTC i guess. Will give it to some recover specialist.

Thank you for your help. :(

That's a pretty big stash IMO, I don't blame you...

Providing this thread to the recovery service (and in particular the example file, and the post about what strings to search for) could help.

Best of luck to you....

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: quickxx on April 02, 2015, 10:21:51 PM

Worked with it for 6 months - had everything split up earlier between blockchain.info and other wallets.

Somehow someone transfered 500$ from my blockchain (Wallet value: 8k$).Why didnt he take everything? :D

So after that, i started using electrum. Never thought that this wallet would get so big.

Thanks for your help, if everything goes fine, i will donate 1 BTC to this Forum. Great community.

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: Abdussamad on April 03, 2015, 03:34:21 PM

Looks like he's suffering from this bug in 2.0.x

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=998480.0

His wallet file is empty and does not contain any json object or other data.

Title: Re: [Bounty] No seed. Got password and files. Help!
Post by: escrow.ms on April 03, 2015, 04:00:30 PM

OP Which electrum version you were using? and please also check from where you got that wallet file (ie, it was in C:\users\*username*\AppData\Electrum or from some other place.

Ps: If you have saved your current data and current file, try to restore your pc to an older date or try recuva (https://www.piriform.com/recuva)

Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Electrum => Topic started by: quickxx on April 01, 2015, 10:42:39 PM