I have been successful at my import (yay! FINALLY). What worked, in case it's helpful to anyone else is:

          don't include date, time, or z in the private key - only the letters & numbers
     and
          yes, include a label of some kind
     and
          using [rescan=true] resulted in a parsing error every time I used it. The import worked without it.

This is helpful. Thank you. I would clarify the following (if this is wrong, somebody please correct me):

          Every key is in row without # and finish to date and time and z
     and
          for label you can put some name or whatever you want but a label does need to be present

Hello,

I continue to struggle to import one of my two Multibit wallets into Bitcoin-Qt. The wallet I'm trying to import has two addresses. I have exported the private key from Multibit and am using Notepad to view.

Using this code in the Qt console:

I've pasted one of my two keys, leaving out the < and >. I don't have/don't know what the label is so left that out. When I include the rescan code, I get this error:

so I skipped that, too.

But after typing the importprivkey command, pasting the key and hitting Enter I don't get an error - nothing happens except after about 10 minutes an empty line shows up with a right-facing arrow. No balance shows up in the Overview tab, nor are there any transactions shown. However, there's a new address showing up in the address book, with the same timestamp as contained in my private key.

Am I close to getting it right?

So if I wanted to empty an address, I would send everything /except/ BTC0.0001 to the new address?

And if I understand all the security measures I've read, any time I receive bitcoin, I should only use each address once, and transfer received BTC to a new address generated by my computer, right?

So if I highlight that -.11 and click on "Show transaction details...", what I see is that it cost me 11 cents to transfer nothing; the original balance I was trying to transfer is 11 cents less than when I started. I assume that's because I: 1) didn't figure out the correct way to set up a new address, or 2) tried to transfer the entire balance.

Thank you. I have posted the question here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=359086.new#new with link to a screenclip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95318088@N03/11227330163/

How can I clear up this negative balance in Multibit? I've reset the blockchain already.

I think you are saying it shows as deductions, and I get that - it's like taking money out of your checking account. But I've got an actual negative balance showing.



Yes. I believe you are correct. But how do I get the balance back to zero? I mean, you can't have a negative balance - if you did that at a bank, they'd charge you an overdraft fee...

Hello,

Yesterday I attempted to move a small bitcoin transaction to a new address that I attempted to generate in my Multibit wallet. The transaction seemed to be accepted, but then two things happened:

1) the transaction was received at the same address as it was sent from (how can that even happen?), and
2) the transaction balance showed up as minus 11 cents (yes, I tried to transfer the entire amount).

Today the transaction says it's still being confirmed and is still at a negative balance. How do I fix this?

I also am trying to import a Multibit key into Bitcoin-Qt. I can view the unencrypted key in Notepad, but I'm uncertain just how much of the text I'm to copy - is it everything in between the two # symbols? I have two wallets, and there appear to be two keys in between the # symbols. Would I be interpreting that right?

Also, my labels aren't owner name, they are descriptive - but when I try to import the key using the descriptive label, I get this error:
If I try to import the key without any label, I get this error:

Thanks everybody! I have developed a plan. :-)

This looks like a good tool. (as yet unrated by WOT)

I think I understand - when you do a transaction at say localbitcoins.com, the coin goes into a temporary address which you can then export for import to your local wallet where it is permanently stored at a different (local) address.

Thank you for the detailed reply! If I understand correctly, one would be importing the private keys from various online wallets into their local wallet? Does the originating exchange/site no longer hold the coin?

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_import_private_keys provides instruction on importing private keys, but they also stress that it isn't advisable to do so - especially if one doesn't fully understand the process.

I am understanding that your advice is to keep everything locally, which process includes importing the private keys from whatever sites where one has bitcoin. So the value of local storage outweighs the risk of the import.

It's a good thing newbies have a place to post simple questions!

What is the value of having a local (on your computer) software wallet when exchanges and other acquisition sites such as localbitcoins.com require you to keep your bitcoins in their wallets?

And a follow-on question: can a local wallet coordinate wallets from multiple sites for easy viewing?

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. The answers can seem obvious to an experienced person, but to a person who has never made a transaction the answers are not always obvious.

Thanks for the detailed info - it's just the sort of thing I was looking for...I'm just trying to understand how it all works so I can get my feet wet with making a few purchases. (I do live in a remote area, but I don't think I was using the localbitcoins.com search correctly, because I went back and got different results.)

What you describe sounds simple enough, but what safeguards are there that the person isn't going to rip you off? Isn't it taking a really big chance to send a nameless, faceless person $100 and trust that they'll send you the bitcoin you're expecting? Isn't there some sort of peer rating or something?

And if I choose a seller who wants money deposited to a specific bank - how does that work? Do I go to any branch of that bank, say Wells Fargo, and deposit my cash into a bank account number the seller specifies?

Or if the purchase is made using a postal money order - don't they require filling out the names of the sender and receiver?

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks Danny. :-) 

I was working on a response when you replied:


Danny, you have also listed cash (personal check?) - so I would assume this would be done thru the mail?

I did check out localbitcoins.com, but there's nothing within 500 miles of where I live.

I notice that the great majority of exchanges are outside the US, and that makes it more complicated for me. I'm thinking my best bet might be to go with a US exchange such as CampBX (accepts personal checks & postal money orders) or Kraken (could set up wires, depending on fees).

I didn't realize that it was going to be so hard to just get going with this. :-(  And I didn't understand there would be multiple middlemen (the exchange and the payment service) between me and my bitcoin. Why does it have to be so complicated?

What other options are there? How do you set them up? I've spent HOURS on this and am just as lost as when I started.

Hello,
I would REALLY like to purchase some bitcoin. There are lots of exchanges out there, and over a week ago, I began the registration process with Mt. Gox, but haven't heard nary a word in reply.

In the meantime, I've been exploring options as to how to get bitcoin to an exchange, once I'm properly registered, and what I'm finding is that none of them will accept a direct credit card payment, although you can get a prepaid credit card like OK PAY and make a purchase with that. I've never used a prepaid card like that before. I notice there seems to be a pricey fee to get the prepaid card - is this a one-time fee? Does the fee have to be paid every time you charge up your prepaid card?

Am I missing something here? Why is bitcoin so hard to buy through a direct purchase?