importing wallet.dat from bitcoin-QT 0.8.6 to bitcoin core's newest version

[oldbitcoinuser]

Hi,
I bet this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find an answer... so I apologize.
I have an old wallet.dat file that was copied from an old bitcoin QT wallet (v0.8.6)
How do I copy it into the new version of Bitcoin Core?
Is Bitcoin Core backward-compatible this far back? will my wallet work in the new version?

I should add that I only have the file. I do not have the private key, so I can't sweep it into another wallet. The computer on which the old bitcoin QT was installed is long gone.
Thank you very much for your help.

Almost forgot: my operating system is Windows 10, 64bit.

[achow101]

How do I copy it into the new version of Bitcoin Core?

Copy and paste the file into the Bitcoin Core datadir.

Is Bitcoin Core backward-compatible this far back? will my wallet work in the new version?

Yes, Bitcoin Core is completely backwards compatible.

I should add that I only have the file. I do not have the private key, so I can't sweep it into another wallet.

The wallet.dat file contains your private keys.

[oldbitcoinuser]

Thanks a lot!
That is very reassuring.
I thought I read somewhere that some changes were made to wallet.dat over time, and that you have to take some additional action to upgrade it in order for it to match the current version. So that is not true, I understand.

[StaleCoinz]

I am having similar problems.

I made a wallet with some version of the bitcoin-QT client in 2013. I was running this on macOS. Exact version eludes me but it must have been mountain lion or mavericks.

I don't remember which version of the client it was. I used archive.org to download older clients but they won't run on macos Catalina.

I read somewhere my problem might have to do with non-UTF encoding of the passphrase. Older clients seem to confirm this, as I see only squares instead of text characters on the splash screen, right before it crashes after loading the blockchain.

I am fairly certain of the passphrase used, I'm just a complete novice at extracting the hash and brute forcing the passphrase.

some breadcrumbs to point me in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

The wallet contains around 200 euro's worth of bitcoin, so it would be nice to have access to it.