Electrum "Sweep" greyed out after reinstall on Mac

[dru7941]

Hello,

I installed Electrum 2.8.2 on OS X Yosemite, entered a paper wallet private key with no bitcoin in it to test, and got back a "No Outputs" error. Which I read is the error when there's zero BTC in there. Deleted the installation to reinstall with the WiFi off (call me paranoid), deleted ~/.electrum and everything in that directory including default_wallet. After reinstalling, I go to Wallet->Private Keys->Sweep, paste in another private key but the "Sweep" button doesn't get active and stays resolutely greyed out. Unlike the seed words check during setup, the sweep box allows you to copy/paste.

I tried reinstall a few times and even created a new user and tried an install but nada - sweep is still greyed out. I'm guessing there are other hidden files/folders besides ~/.electrum which is preventing proper reinstalls? Would really appreciate any help - spent the whole day on this and am really glad I didn't use the key with bitcoin in it... the amount is non-trivial. Thanks.

[kolloh]

Hello,

I installed Electrum 2.8.2 on OS X Yosemite, entered a paper wallet private key with no bitcoin in it to test, and got back a "No Outputs" error. Which I read is the error when there's zero BTC in there. Deleted the installation to reinstall with the WiFi off (call me paranoid), deleted ~/.electrum and everything in that directory including default_wallet. After reinstalling, I go to Wallet->Private Keys->Sweep, paste in another private key but the "Sweep" button doesn't get active and stays resolutely greyed out. Unlike the seed words check during setup, the sweep box allows you to copy/paste.

I tried reinstall a few times and even created a new user and tried an install but nada - sweep is still greyed out. I'm guessing there are other hidden files/folders besides ~/.electrum which is preventing proper reinstalls? Would really appreciate any help - spent the whole day on this and am really glad I didn't use the key with bitcoin in it... the amount is non-trivial. Thanks.

The Sweep button stays greyed out on that window until you enter a valid private key. I'd recommend you double check the private key that you are entering to ensure that it is valid.

[dru7941]

The Sweep button stays greyed out on that window until you enter a valid private key. I'd recommend you double check the private key that you are entering to ensure that it is valid.

Thanks. Turns out you are partly/mostly right and I was partly stupid. I created a new address+key at bitaddress.org and sure enough "Sweep" got un-greyed. I tired one of my no-money keys and Sweep went back to stubbornly grey. Tried another bitaddress generated key and it worked. But as I went back and forth I noticed that my paper keys all said 'Encrypted Private Key (Password Required)' and the new ones I generated today did not.

So my question now is - do I reinstall Electrum using the password I used to generate the old keys? Will that work? Also - would you have any suggestion(s) for a simpler way of accomplishing what I am trying to do - basically split up one paper-wallet into multiple ones with just a coin or two each. Back when I got these coins they weren't worth as much.  I'm finding the learning curve for digital wallets a bit steep. The only reason I am trying to get them into Electrum is only to split and send pack to paper. Thanks again for pointing me back to the obvious.

[dru7941]

Update: I'm learning from this link http://www.thecleverest.com/importing-bitcoin-from-a-paper-wallet-into-electrum/ that there are more hoops to jump thru before importing a paper wallet into Electrum. It's three years old but, since it was the first hit on Google, hopefully still current. Almost Kafka's Castle. Know where I need to go but incredibly aging peeling back the layers trying to get there....

[kolloh]

Update: I'm learning from this link http://www.thecleverest.com/importing-bitcoin-from-a-paper-wallet-into-electrum/ that there are more hoops to jump thru before importing a paper wallet into Electrum. It's three years old but, since it was the first hit on Google, hopefully still current. Almost Kafka's Castle. Know where I need to go but incredibly aging peeling back the layers trying to get there....

You'll have to decrypt the paper wallets first and then import them into Electrum. I don't think Electrum supports decrypting them, but it would be a nice feature for them to add.

The encrypted wallets should be BIP38 encrypted I'm guessing so you'll just need the password you originally encrypted them with which is separate from Electrum.

That article looks like it provides all the information you'll need to decrypt it. If you do plan to use a website such as bit2factor.org, you'll probably want to do it with an offline copy to ensure they don't log your keys.

[dru7941]

You'll have to decrypt the paper wallets first and then import them into Electrum. I don't think Electrum supports decrypting them, but it would be a nice feature for them to add.

The encrypted wallets should be BIP38 encrypted I'm guessing so you'll just need the password you originally encrypted them with which is separate from Electrum.

That article looks like it provides all the information you'll need to decrypt it. If you do plan to use a website such as bit2factor.org, you'll probably want to do it with an offline copy to ensure they don't log your keys.

Thanks. I know I downloaded the bitaddress.org generator offline when i created them on an Ubuntu USB stick minus internet  but don't recall if it was BIP38 - I'm guessing whatever was the default. I have to put this on hold for a few days but fingers crossed decrypting via bit2factor.org (offline) works when i resume next week. I will update as I go along. (Money still there - yay!)

Speaking of key-logging - at some point everyone using Electrum etc are relying on when they put aside concerns about key-logging etc? I didn't verify my download with the PGP sig (too complex) - in fact "too complex" was one of the top comments on Reddit by an expert type....  so at some level I am relying on the company's reputation that they are not going to run off with my private keys? Sort of like Chase not running off with my fiat money?

[kolloh]

Speaking of key-logging - at some point everyone using Electrum etc are relying on when they put aside concerns about key-logging etc? I didn't verify my download with the PGP sig (too complex) - in fact "too complex" was one of the top comments on Reddit by an expert type....  so at some level I am relying on the company's reputation that they are not going to run off with my private keys? Sort of like Chase not running off with my fiat money?

Yeah, well Electrum's code is Open Source so you and everyone else does have the ability to verify the code and compile your own version should you choose to do so. The average user likely doesn't do this so there is some trust involved in the developers. However, the source code is likely reviewed by quite a number of people and any backdoors would come to light very quickly I imagine.

[dru7941]

An update for people who wind up here trying to sweep private keys, encrypted w/ BIP38 with a passphrase, into Electrum and finding it doesn't work: I chose the simpler option of decrypting using a blockchain.info wallet, instead of downloading a bit2address(?) and decrypting offline, not least because the developer moved on and I wasn't risking it with software not updated in a couple years or more. The process is pretty straightforward in the blockchain.info wallet -  finding the actual import/sweep feature is the hardest part. You have to access it via "Addresses" in the left navbar.

Looking back I think it is easy picking up the paranoia out there about people stealing your coins - I have no doubt that is a real concern. But for my purposes, I think I could have left out the private key passphrase/encryption part. I  hash-checked the bitaddress.org.html download and did the paper wallet generation offline, off an Ubuntu USB stick, so the real risk left is someone breaking into my place and stealing the paper and getting easy access to the coins with the unencrypted private key. The odds of that in a doorman building? Definitely not high enough to make it worth the steep learning curve trying to get paper coins back into digital form.