The actual lesson: Read the manual before jumping headlong into a form of money that requires more user responsibility (and therefore provides more freedom) than any other form of money on the planet.

It doesn't matter which exchange or which wallet software you use, if you are completely clueless as to even the most basic properties of Bitcoin, you are going to have a bad time.

Finally, neither the exchange nor the wallet software was actually to blame for OP's inability to access those bitcoins; it was, however, OP's inability to understand the basic purpose of a password, even after the software itself provided multiple warnings in all-caps-bold-red-print explaining the importance of saving the password and creating backups.

Basic password common sense applies to Armory, as to any other things which require a password. Do a web search on password security if you want to learn more.

Private keys should be created and remain offline if you want to enjoy the security Armory offers. This is the first and most important step when it comes to securing bitcoins.

As someone who has been maintaining the block chain constantly for 7 years now on multiple machines, I would personally suggest anyone dealing with block chain data use a SATA SSD at a minimum. Anything less is just asking for additional difficulty. It can work... sure, but don't expect it to be a smooth, or fast, experience.

The faster the storage, the better Core and Armory will work... from my layman's experience.

It certainly wasn't my intention to dissuade people from experimenting! My comments are definitely directed towards those who are experiencing difficulty and frustration and hopefully seen as potential ways to preemptively avoid such things. I would hope those who are purposely experimenting aren't also frustrated... as difficulty is to be expected, even welcomed!

As far as minimalism goes, I still say that a low power laptop CPU and any HDD, especially an external HDD, is just going to cause unwanted pain when dealing with the block chain. Is it possible: sure. Is it going to be smooth: doubtful. Can an expert make it a reasonably smooth experience: yes.

I ran Bitcoin Core and Armory on a 13 year old computer (which can currently be purchased used for a couple hundred bucks) with an 8 year old SSD. I only recently retired that because I built myself a new PC and therefore had a newer spare to use as my Bitcoin fullnode.

I would not use a low power laptop (a high end gaming laptop is fine) and definitely would not use an external HDD for any software dealing with the block chain.

If you want more of my thoughts on Armory, hardware, and various other things, see here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2803610.msg28724831#msg28724831

It's a sticky in the sub-forum you just created this thread under.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2070058.0

I think I'll use this thread to vent a bit myself. These comments are not directed at the OP, just my experiences as a part time member of the gratis Armory customer support team.

I don't mind hand holding a bit in this sub-forum, although I will also be a bit direct when dealing with people who didn't even bother to "read the manual" in the slightest. If, for example, you've managed to fund a receive address without realizing you need a synced full node to use Armory, well I have little patience for you because clearly you haven't even bothered to do the tiniest bit of research on the matter before jumping in headfirst.

For starters, this is Bitcoin. This is the epitome of user responsibility with the wonderful reward of financial freedom (as in speech, not beer). If you haven't been reading about Bitcoin in your spare time for two weeks to a month straight, you definitely shouldn't be using Armory. The better you understand the basics of how Bitcoin itself works, the easier it will be to use Armory. This wallet is for savvy users. For those who take the time to get it working, it rewards the user with security features second to none.

Next, you really shouldn't be trying to use Armory on that low power laptop CPU with a 5400 rpm HDD and 2 GB of RAM. Laptops in general are typically not great as full node PCs (unless you've got some ROG or Alienware gaming laptop). You need a little bit of oomph in your PC to have a smooth experience with Armory, and this is mainly because of the fact that you need to run a full node to get Armory up to speed. Now, it doesn't mean you need the latest 16 or 18 core monsters from AMD or Intel. For the longest time (until I finally retired it last year), I was using a Core2Quad Q6600 and some 8 year old SSD as my full node system. Yeah, that's a 13 year old computer running a full node with ease. Sure, it was a high end CPU for it's time, but honestly, you can build a functional full node PC for less than $250 (used - Sandy / Ivy Bridge quad core PCs are very cheap and work wonderfully). An offline signer does not need to be powerful or expensive, but at least use something with a modern 64-bit OS (this is 2018 ffs).

I've been at this a while, but it's really simple to run Armory smoothly. Here are some pointers which should make things easier.

- Don't use Armory to secure an amount of Bitcoins that is worth less than the computer you are running Armory on.

- On the flip side, don't use a $200 computer to secure $350,000 worth of bitcoins, buy a dedicated machine (on and offline) which will make the job easier for you.

- Use a modern OS that you are comfortable with. I use Windows (latest version always) as I've had tons of problems running Bitcoin on linux and none on Windows (granted I am a linux noob).

- Don't use a PC that is cluttered with tons of bullshit as the PC that you use for spending Bitcoins! This should be common sense.

- Use the "portable" versions of Core and Armory. I've never "installed" either of these programs, and I've never ran into the seemingly endless amount of problems that people bring to this sub-forum.

- Don't use a HDD or a portable drive for the block chain. SATA SSD is the minimum I would recommend to use with a full node. PCIE M.2 is just gravy (and not all that expensive anymore).

- Learn the default locations for the Bitcoin and Armory folders and make sure you can see them and browse to them with ease.

- Use config files for both Bitcoin Core and Armory. It's just so much easier than messing with shortcut targets. Put "listen=1", "addnode=127.0.0.1", "server=1", and "disablewallet=1" in your bitcoin.conf.

- Make simple paths if you are going to put your databases in a custom location. Mine are D:\Bitcoin and D:\Armory.

- Make sure your computer can run uninterrupted while downloading the block chain. You don't want it shutting down for whatever random reason while doing the initial sync. In fact, always shut down Bitcoin Core cleanly.

- A fast internet is beneficial when doing the initial sync. Try to keep the chain up to date once you are completely synced. Hell, go nuts and support the network by running a 24/7 full node!

- Do not, under any circumstances, let Armory control Bitcoin Core (or bitcoind) for you. Alan made a huge mistake here in an attempt to "make things easier" for users. So many issues that people face come from this horrible design choice. I can't wait until it's gone. Seriously, this shit needs to go.

- Finally, be patient when you've tried your best and still can't get it working. None of us here are getting paid to provide help (afaik). Don't start your thread bashing Armory or Bitcoin or the devs or the users helping you. Don't act entitled, you didn't pay for any of this nor are you paying anyone to help you. Provide basic information about your setup (OS, PC specification, software versions, or better yet LOG FILES in the first post)!

- Search before posting. You problem probably isn't unique and has already been solved in the past. Put some elbow grease into fixing it yourself, you'll feel better in the end! At the same time, don't be afraid to ask for help when all else fails.

Run Bitcoin Core manually and Armory doesn't need to know where the "Bitcoin install directory" is, only where the block chain data is located.

Start Bitcoin Core, let it sync fully, then start Armory. Pretty easy.

Use a config file in the Armory folder (armoryqt.conf) to specify where your block chain is located. Example: satoshi-datadir=D:\Bitcoin

Put the Armory database in the same place if you want. Example: dbdir=D:\Armory

Start Armory offline, extract the private keys and import them into a lite wallet.

Didn't you research the wallet you were sending coins to before using it? o.O

Bitcoin folder. Standard location is C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin

Copy wallet files to Armory folder.

C:\Users\Leo\AppData\Roaming\Armory

Delete the databases folder.

C:\Users\Leo\AppData\Roaming\Armory\databases

I would manually copy all the wallets you want to monitor into the Armory folder, delete the Armory/databases folder, start Bitcoin Core manually and let it sync completely, then start Armory.

jojo69, I always put "listen=1" and "addnode=127.0.0.1" in my bitcoin config file. I don't know if it will help your situation or not, but it can't hurt.

Some users choose to install the block chain in non-standard locations and must provide Armory with a way to find that data so that it may function.

I upgrade to the latest versions on a regular basis and have never had a single issue with running any version of Armory (since 2011).

Before you are so quick to anger, consider the vast number of computers in the world and the amount of variables that are involved including (but not limited to) hardware, operating system, basic health of the computer, various software which could interfere such as firewalls and anti-virus, and let's not forget simple user error (which probably accounts for 90% of the issues that arise in this sub-forum). Honestly, for an unpaid, one man (for the most part, no offense to those that contribute) dev team, the software functions quite well and security (the most important aspect) is job one, and has never failed me.

Finally, I'll end my rant with the fact that Bitcoin itself is still relatively new and technically still beta software. It's really up to the user as to what kind of experience one is going to have. Understand that certain parameters might need to be tweaked in order to provide the best experience, especially when running a full node and software which interacts with that full node.

---

Of course older versions are available: https://github.com/etotheipi/BitcoinArmory/releases (I certainly don't recommend them though as, despite your issues, there have been many improvements in the code over the years, many of them security and privacy related, but feel free to do as you like.)

Nope. You need a local copy of the block chain.

From where are you downloading?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2754632.0

Yes, you can.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2070058.0

An offline wallet is the entire reason one normally chooses to use Armory. It's a security model where your private keys are never allowed to reside on a networked computer.

If you don't know what an offline wallet is, why are you using Armory?

Use RC3 and delete your Armory/databases folder before starting.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2754632.0