Bitcoin Forum

Hello Bitcoin community,

I am totally new to Bitcoin and at the moment i am a bit shocked. :o

Recently I downloaded the Bitcoin Core wallet onto my Macbook and installed/synchronized all.
Received some coins in that wallet and closed it.

Opened the wallet next day again, and.... it's gone. no more BTC, no more transaction, no more address, all empty.
The wallet.dat file is still present but the wallet doesn't read the content of the wallet.dat file as it looks like.

I want my BTC to show up again.

Does anybody know how to put back a wallet.dat file in a Bitcoin Core wallet on a Macbook?

In my desktop there is now two files: wallet.dat and Wallet copy.dat?

How do I get this wallet to work again?

Help!!

Back up both the "wallet.dat" and the "Wallet copy.dat" somewhere else so you have 1 or 2 extra copies of them before you do anything else.   Also, backup any wallet.dat stored in here:
~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/
(see https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory#Mac )

Make sure you have 2 backups of each - better to be safe.


The next step will be to figure out what happened exactly. 

1.There isn't an external drive on this MacBook, is there?

2. Also, can you explain what you mean by "The wallet.dat file is still present but the wallet doesnt read the content of it as it looks like."

3.  Do you know how those two files got on the Mac Desktop?  That is not where Bitcoin Core stores them without some user intervention.

Hello CR1776,

Thanks for your reply.

Immediately, while trying to make the recommended back ups, I am lost...

You write: Also, backup any wallet.dat stored in here: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

This path I can't follow, cause there is no support folder?

When I do a search for wallet.dat files on this mac, I find those 2 files under Applications/shared.
I now only hope I have the correct files backed up?
I took the ones I found on my desktop to back up.

I can't make these files visible?

Another problem is that I installed a Multibit wallet which is not used.
But this program created also .dat files and I can't distinguish which files belong to multibit and which ones to Bitcoin core...

This keeping value stored in digital wallets is certainly not something for people who are not familiar with digital tech.
I get sick and nauseous from what I all try and fail with, always in doubt cause of lack of knowledge.

Anyway, now I have maybe?? backed up the correct files...

To point:

1:

What do you mean by an "external drive"?, the only drive that I can point to as external is my Time machine.
Do you mean that by "external drive"?

2:

By: "The wallet.dat file is still present but the wallet doesn't read the content of it as it looks like.",

I meant: The file wallet.dat is still physically available on this mac but the program Bitcoin Core doesn't recognize it, or cant find the file.
              In this wallet.dat file the content of the wallet is stored I suppose? a piece of Blockchain?
              So If this file is still there, why doesn't Bitcoin Core program read it??
              Could the file be in the wrong location? I did not tell the mac to put the wallet.dat file on the desktop, Bitcoin Core done that by itself.
              The time I opened the wallet and the BTC's were still there, the wallet.dat file was also located on Desktop.
              So before the program found the file in first instance and then later not any more. For me hard/not to explain.

3:

I have not a clue why Bitcoin Core put them there, I did not move them nor instruct to put them there.
Maybe somewhere is noted that this is my standard file location?

Pls help further to get my coins back, I feel sick.

The folder is called "Application Support". It should be there by default on all Macs.

Back those up, just in case.

Multibit does not use wallet.dat files


An external drive means anything that is used for storage that isn't any of the internal hard drives. This could be a network share, a USB flash drive, a USB hard drive, your Time machine, etc.

This is not how Bitcoin Core, or most software for that matter, work. Software do not just search the entire computer for certain filenames (unless they are viruses). They will only look for the filename in specific folders, folders that usually the software made itself. Because the wallet.dat files were not in the data directory (which should be ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin), it does not see those files.

When you first started Bitcoin Core, you should have seen something that asked where you wanted the data directory. Did you change that to something other than the default location?

Did you, at any point, go to Settings and click on the button for "Reset options"? (Don't do that now, we just need to know).

Can you please provide the contents of the debug.log file? If you go to Help > Debug Window in Bitcoin Core, you should see a button labeled "Open" under something like "debug file". Click that and it should open the debug.log file. Copy the entire contents into a post here. If it does not fit, go to http://pastebin.com/, make a new paste, and post the link here.

If you didn't put them there, where did you download Bitcoin Core?  Did someone else have access to the computer?

knightdk did a great job answering your questions and if you have downloaded the real version of Bitcoin Core, it behaves as he explained as to where it puts (or allows you to put) the wallet.dat.

If the wallet.dat file is on the Desktop, I would see if something was changed in the install location during setup.
Or maybe they were accidentally moved and that is causing an issue because they are no longer in the correct directory.

Otherwise, I would start checking to make sure no one had access to the computer, or that you don't have a virus and someone moved the folders after they accessed your computer remotely.

Hello Knightdk,

With a little searching I found "application support", hidden folders..., there is nothing Bitcoin Core related in that folder.
So nothing to back up.

Multibit made me a backup file btw, called: wallet 12 backup.dat.

So there is an external hdd, it makes regular copies of the system.
How does this relate to none opening wallet?

which should be ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin

Unfortunately there is no such folder in Application Support named Bitcoin.
Now what to do?

I was not asked to where the files should be moved or in which data directory.

No, i did not reset options.
Only thing I did in between install and the failing wallet, was clean up desktop, by name.

Concerning posting the log file data here, I don't know what private data it holds, so i don't wanna put it online.
What to me looks like abracadabra could hold vital info.

No way I can reconnect the .dat wallet file back to the correct place on my mac?

do you try to synchronize your wallet?. many people complained about bitcoin core wallet. maybe you avoid to use that. there are so many online wallet out there. try coinbase , blockchain or xapo. they are trusted wallet

I didnt put them there, maybe a setting in macbook?

Downloaded bitcoin core from bitcoin.org.
No one else has access to this pc.

Any idea how to get bitcoin core to recognize wallet content again?

Well that is a problem. That is the default data directory for Bitcoin, and when it first runs, it should make the folder there. However, because Bitcoin Core did run, that means that the data is going elsewhere.

Since you mentioned that the wallet.dat file was on your desktop, do you also see any folders named "blocks" "database" or "chainstate" on the desktop? Any files named peers.dat, banlist.dat, or debug.log? It may be possible that the desktop somehow became Bitcoin Core's data directory.


I guarantee you that the debug.log file contains absolutely no information that puts any of your Bitcoin at risk. It is intentionally designed to be shared with others in order to diagnose issues. The only "vital information" are the paths to the data directory and the wallet, which is what we are looking for right now. If you don't feel comfortable posting them publicly, feel free to PM me the file.

The issue is that we cannot do so without knowing the data directory. Right now the only way (that I can think of) to find the data directory is to use the debug.log file.

This is correct.  The log file is innocuous. The private keys are the things you should never share with anyone and consequently you should never share the wallet.dat file with anyone.

If you look at the forum, you can see knightdk helping a lot of people with technical issues.
I'm almost 100% sure he can be trusted.
The log file shouldn't show anything that would put your BTC at risk so I would definitely PM him the info if you need some additional help.

Hello Knightdk,

There is also other folders on the desktop, Log files, debug.log, peers.dat.

I tried to post the content of the debug log file, it contains more then 64.000 characters and can't be posted for that reason.
(limitation to the forum software.)
How can I send the log file?

That should confirm my suspicion that the data directory is your desktop. That is a problem though and I still need to see the log.

Go to http://pastebin.com/. Paste it into the box, click "create a new paste" and then share the link of that paste.

Hello Knightdk,

I send it to you by mail.

Got it.

So the data directory that Bitcoin Core is using (for some reason) is /Users/test/Desktop. This is where you should put your wallet.dat file. If you have multiple wallet.dat files, make sure that you use the one that has the older creation date as that should be the one with your Bitcoin.

I highly recommend that you copy the data directory files to the default directory. First, go to Settings > Options and then click Reset Options in Bitcoin Core. Then shut it down. Then copy the following folders and files from /Users/test/Desktop to /Users/test/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin:
If some of those files don't exist, that is fine. The only files and folders that matter here are blocks and wallet.dat. If the Bitcoin folder doesn't exist, make it.

When you next start Bitcoin Core, it should be using the default data directory. To check if it is, open the debug.log file and look for the line with today's date and "Using data directory". The path listed should be the default one (/Users/test/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin)

Thanks a lot, I am gonna give it a try.
Let you know if it works or if I fail.

Hello Knightdk,

There is nowhere the file 'blocks' on my desktop? continue anyway?

That is a problem, but sure, continue anyways. Did you happen to delete anything between the time when this problem happened and now?

No, nothing was deleted.
I just checked even my waste bin, no Blocks file there.

I try without blocks file.

I started the program after following instructions.

Now the program started with "synchronizing with network"
That means it has to download again the whole amount of GB's of data like the prog done it before?

B.t.w. this time I got a question when starting Bitcoin Core, It asked if I wanted to store on Desktop or custom location, Application Support.
I have chosen Application Support.

Yes, it will be downloading the blocks. And that is good keeping it Application Support.


Btw, keep your backups.

This program Bitcoin Core is not for faint-hearted...

Of coarse I keep backups!

Now see how long it will take to pull in the whole Block chain.

Should I keep all debug files, etc that are still on Desktop?
After removing Bitstamp, it's files stayed also on my desktop... I don't know which ones belong to Bitcoin Core and/or to Bitstamp?

That is correct. Because the "blocks" folder was missing, it needs to redownload the entire blockchain since that is stored in the "blocks" folder.

Yes, that is good.

No, you don't have to. All of the files I told you to copy earlier can be deleted from the desktop.

Thanks for the assistance so far.
I will inform when blockchain is in.

Is it normal that my Mac nearly overheats from downloading this Blockchain?
The fan is meanwhile blowing full speed and still I can nearly bake an egg on the alu housing...

Bitcoin Core is pretty hardware intensive, especially when it has to index the blocks (as with downloading or reindexing). I wouldn't say that this is normal per se, but it certainly is not uncommon nor unexpected.

It will get quite warm verifying all the blocks, yes. 

Which Mac are you running, out of curiosity?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)
2.4 Ghz
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3


  Model Identifier:   MacBookPro10,1
  Processor Name:   Intel Core i7
  Processor Speed:   2,4 GHz
  Number of Processors:   1
  Total Number of Cores:   4
  L2 Cache (per Core):   256 KB
  L3 Cache:   6 MB
 

That will definitely handle it, it will get warm though while doing the initial sync.

Hello Knightdk,

After two day's the blockchain still is not fully loaded.
This morning the macbook reported me that Bitcoin Core program was terminated cause of "no more free memory" with a red stop sign.

I have 250 GB SSD, little to no programs on system, little amount of pictures, no video's, but still it say's that all my memory is used.

The block chain still to be pulled in, is of last 6 days.

Now trying to make space.

Hello Knightdk,

The wallet is now synchronized and ready, the amount of Bitcoins in the wallet is still 0,0000000000
So empty...

How can I get my Bitcoins back?

I am getting even more nervous now...

Hi,
If the message really is "no more free memory" that should be referring to memory, e.g. RAM, not disk space.  However with 8GB of RAM, you should not be running out of memory.  Was that the exact message?

And, how much free disk space do you have?  (That was one reason I asked earlier if you had an external hard disk drive attached because it was possible that you had done so in order to hold the block chain and avoid running out of disk space).

It is possible that since the program quit because you had no more free memory that it isn't current and you might need to do a rescan.

One suggestion for you to consider would be to dump the private keys from your wallet.dat files and then find the address that had your balance and use a different lightweight wallet (e.g. one that doesn't need the entire block chain). This would avoid all the delays doing a rescan or re-downloading the block chain.

Hello CR1776,

It was not a message about memory/RAM, it was about free disk space. (my wrong description)
The exact message I don't have anymore cause it disappeared quickly, only a pop up message from the mac.

Now I have been deleting 'useless' things and empty garbage, 90 GB free.
So that should do.
I did not store the chain on another/external HDD cause I thought I had space enough.

The program Bitcoin Core is now ready, while starting the prog, it said re-scanning and showing a progress in percentages.
After starting full, the page say's still 0,000000000 BTC, no transactions, nothing.

I have just asked/contacted the seller of my Bitcoins for help.
The wallet.dat file will be mailed to them in a secure way and they will try to regain control over the Bitcoins.

If you haven't sent the wallet.dat file yet... DON'T!!!

You should NEVER send your wallet.dat file to anyone, ever... That is literally like handing over a physical wallet full of money to someone. Unless that person is completely, 100% trusted then this is a VERY bad idea.

I hope you have not sent it yet... if you have, and the person you sent it to is not a close personal friend of yours and/or 100% fully trusted by you, you may as well kiss your bitcoins goodbye!  :-\

Take one of your backups and put it in the data directory. Make sure that you replace the walet.dat file that is already there. You should also check the creation dates of the wallet.dat files (I don't know how to do this on a Mac). The file with the oldest creation date (note, Creation, not Modified) is most likely to be your wallet.

Also, it would probably be a good idea for us to see the debug.log file again.

I will send you the file by mail again.

You data directory is /Users/test/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin. This is where everything should be. Put a backup of your wallet.dat in that folder.

If your wallet is encrypted, the one that Bitcoin Core is using is not encrypted.

Hello Knightdk,

After restarting Bitcoin Core (when the Chain was fully in this morning) there was only one file in that directory "Bitcoin", called "wallet.dat"
I have no clue where all other files are that were made, no "log file", no "peers", no file nothing.


With that newly created "wallet.dat" file, the wallet of coarse showed 0,0000000 btc.

I replaced that file with the old file "wallet.dat" and the wallet still shows 0.00000000 btc.

I am lost.

Did you happen to download an infected copy of bitcoin-core? Specifically, check the PGP key of the downloaded file?
 I have not come across one yet but it is certainly possible that some no good fraudster is using a modified bitcoin-core executable and stealing people's money.

That is very perplexing indeed. Would you be willing to allow me to remote desktop into your computer to figure this out?

Hello Maskali,

I downloaded from www.bitcoin.org, I don't think there is infected wallets available there.

What do you mean by "check the PGP key of the downloaded file"?
I am not very deep in this matter.

The Coins I bought are not transferred to another wallet, that was checked by the selling company.
So it doesn't look like fraud, more like tech prob's, more specific, wrong install path, messing up new install etc.
Total lack of knowledge.

Now no clue on how to recover from all this.

It is important to verify the integrity of Bitcoin Core. Even if you download it from bitcoin.org, it may have been modified in transit or even on your local network by malicious attacks and malware.

You should ensure that the release that you are about to install is signed by the Bitcoin Foundation.

Now that you have proceeded from this step, I suggest you enlist the help of senior members of this forum and let them have a look at the log files or access your program.

Hello Masakali,



Come back to it later.

Thats a very borderline scenario. Its good practise to always check signatures and hashes, but doing so now is not helping the cause. If you asssume a system is compromised you shouldnt trust it anyway.


You would be suprised how many high ranked members have no idea what they are talking about. If knightdk is at it OP is in good hands though. Same goes for advice from cr1776.

Update:  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Thanks to, and with the help of www.bitonic.nl , I got all my Bitcoins back!
I uploaded the wallet.dat file through a secured upload-link to them and they managed to transfer the wallet content to another type wallet.

May I thank everybody here for their support also?

Even though I still don't know the reason for the troubles

Topic can be closed.

This is quote surprise to read the thread that your wallet btc got empty suddenly without you doing anything. There would certainly be some cause of error or deletion due to which it went empty. Else you would have seen a trail in case if transfer would have taken place from one to another wallet.

I do believe this whole thread was a troll to try to get noobs to send their wallet.dat file to this place. Droll. ::)

hahahah >.<
3 Pages for this topic and at the end the site helped him :) lol

@OP you can lock this thread, You can find the lock button in the left bottom.