Done this backwards so apologies

Hi I'm Siobhan

Im from Scotland, UK.  I a nursing student and a total Bitcoin newbie. 

I've already had a warm welcome to the forum with people giving me advice, and I have today just received and sent my first Bitcoin with a little help from the posters

So hi and thank you all

Hi everyone

I didnt realise it was optional to pay a transaction fee, how would I override that if it ever happens again?

Oh and thanks for those of you that offered to give me the transaction fee,  I ended up compromising and sending 0.9 Bitcoin to the receiver.  That was really nice of you though

Is there somewhere that I can find a transaction ID in the client? Or is my unique address the transaction ID?

Siobhan

Hi everyone

I am now set up received my first Bitcoin which was earmarked to make a payment for something

BUT

I didnt realise I had to pay a transaction fee of 0.0005 Bitcoin so now I dont have enough to make my payment.  Is it possible for me to buy say half a bitcoin or less? I dont want to buy another whole one at this time as I dont need to pay for anything else.  I really only want enough to cover my transaction fee

Well I seem to have my first Bitcoin (well almost lol) its unconfirmed for the moment.

I feel strangely excited so its been worth the wait

Thanks Blazr

I will read up today on how to backup.  Its great to see Im finally synched with the network now I can start learning

Hi I had wondered this as well, I have purchased my first Bitcoin through ebay transaction.  I was waiting 4 days for my wallet to synch so the seller doesnt seem to have sent my Bitcoin yet, Ive messaged this morning to ask him to send it. I can let you know how that goes.  I did pay £13 though and I think the going rate is closer to £11 but I wasn't sure how to get my first coin and wanted to stick with what I know (Paypal) lol

I was wondering what website you would recommend to me in the UK to buy Bitcoins?  I dont have a credit card but do have a debit card or can pay using bank details

Thanks

Hi thanks for replying, I went to blockchain.info and it shows no transactions to that address.

I will message the seller.  

Out of curiosity as Im new to this if my computer broke down would I lose my bitcoins?

And if the seller sends me the bitcoin later will I need to shut down and reopen the client or will it show up without that

HI everyone

My wallet has finally synched, after 4 days!

I had already bought my first Bitcoin from Ebay to get me started and the seller generally deposits 0.01 and once you confirm receipt he send the rest of your purchase.  He sent me a message yesterday to ask if I had received it (but as I hadnt yet synched with the network I didnt know either way)
Woke up this morning finally synch is finished but nothing is showing.

Im wondering is this because it was sent before I was synched with the network as I would have thought that long as the seller had sent it to the address in my wallet it would now be showing?


Just wondered what could have gone wrong. 

Also if he sent it now would I have to shut down and reopen the wallet program for it to show?

Thanks

I got the wallet program from weusecoins.com

I am getting there currently 2676 blocks remaining I will soon be able to utilise my Bitcoin

I paid 12.99 on ebay, I was willing to do that to get started but in future would look to learn more about how to use the currency. 

I am intrigued

Hi all

So heres where I am at 6756 blocks remaining, 96.83% done.  I think that figure is reducing by about 300 blocks an hour so should be at least another day.  However I know its not an exact science so we will see.

I did try to obtain my private key so I could use Blockchain info as reccommended but didnt work.  I just ended up with error messages so abandoned the idea and decided patience was the key here. 

Molecular: How I came to try to use Bitcoin was I had an internet service I wanted to pay for and they took Bitcoin so I thought sounds pretty cool, I will give that a go.  I went to their page and just seen the guide saying I would need a wallet to get started (fine says me) lol. 

I wasnt too sure how to go about buying a Bitcoin looked a bit like a stock exchange page on all the pages I went to so I fell back to what I know EBAY.  The seller has asked me if I have received my 0.01 Bitcoin deposit I had to message back saying "not sure yet still trying to install wallet"

I would say I am someone who would be classed as a casual user but after the effort put in to getting the client maybe I will find out more about Bitcoin and go from there instead of only using it for this transaction.

I have appreciated all the replies, especially with the fact that it all seems very technical to me and above my head.

Thanks folks

Lol

I am not fluent in Bitcoin, I have no idea what any of you just said.  I am now at 14508 blocks remaining.

The version is 0.7.1beta
My setup is as follows:

running win 7 home premium
Intel core i3 processor 2.8GHz
4GB Ram

Internet connection I get about 11 meg speed

If I am going to use a temporary fast wallet idea any reccomends that will let me access the Bitcoin already sent to my wallets address? That way I can make my payment and wait this program out

Thanks everyone

First of all thanks to you all for replying as Im sure newbies do ask you the same questions a lot.  I dont mind waiting as such just might look at temporary option to access my funds to make this payment and then by the next time I should be up running with the official client.

Its been 48 hours now with my computer mostly on for the full time. 

How long do you find generally people wait for the initial synch 3 days? 5?

Thanks again for the advice

Hi everyone

I wanted to make a donation to something that only took Bitcoin, so I thought it wouldnt be hard to get set up.  I fear I was being naive.

I downloaded the official wallet, and using the address key ordered my first Bitcoin to make my transaction.

Heres my issue

The wallet seems to be synchronising with the network which wouldnt concern me but it has been doing this since yesterday morning granted I did have my laptop off for a small amount of time.  It says that I am 89.9% done with 21,305 blocks remaining but how long should this take?

Also will be Bitcoin show up when the synch is finished?

Thanks for anyone who advises me on this.  Oh I also checked and the port this program uses seems to be open on my router.  It says that I have 10 active connections to the network.