[SOLVED] Accessing an old BTC wallet without .dat

[UserU]

While going through some old storage, I happened to stumble across a notepad I saved in 2013 with the 12-word seed/ recovery phrase and the password. Unfortunately I don't have the .dat file and can't remember which wallet it was originally created on (Bitcoin Core doesn't seem to support restoration without .dat)

Now the problem is that over 50% of those phrases (e.g. sock) are not BIP39 compliant, so I'm wondering if there's another way. I tried the Blockchain.org/ com wallet recovery webpage but that didn't work.

[OmegaStarScream]

Aside from Blockchain.info, I don't think there were too many services at that time that supported seedphrase. Multibit HD did, but that should be BIP39. Maybe Electrum (not sure when they first started supporting seedphrases) but it doesn't hurt to try.

[BlackBoss_]

The FinderOuter, a bitcoin recovery tool (v0.20.0 2024-11-13). Did you try it yet?

If you did not, let's try it. Remember to use it offline.

[overview] Recover Bitcoin from any old storage format
You can use https://iancoleman.io/bip39/ offline too.

[nc50lc]

Now the problem is that over 50% of those phrases (e.g. sock) are not BIP39 compliant, so I'm wondering if there's another way.

This word_list has that word, but given that there's tens of thousands in the list, it may be a coincidence.
Archived mnemonic_words_v3.txt: web.archive.org/web/20240922032019/https://login.blockchain.com/legacy-pages/js/mnemonic/mnemonic_words_v3.txt
Check if every word in your phrases are available there.

However, there's no known method of recovering the account information that can be restored from mnemonic phrase generated from that list.

[UserU]

Aside from Blockchain.info, I don't think there were too many services at that time that supported seedphrase. Multibit HD did, but that should be BIP39. Maybe Electrum (not sure when they first started supporting seedphrases) but it doesn't hurt to try.

I tried Electrum and seems that they support the BIP32 (which is the case for mine) protocol. Alas, just an empty wallet after unlocking it. Nevertheless, thanks for the help!

The FinderOuter, a bitcoin recovery tool (v0.20.0 2024-11-13). Did you try it yet?

If you did not, let's try it. Remember to use it offline.

[overview] Recover Bitcoin from any old storage format
You can use https://iancoleman.io/bip39/ offline too.

Hey,

I was gonna try yours until I started with Omega's suggestion and that did the trick. Thanks for your input

This word_list has that word, but given that there's tens of thousands in the list, it may be a coincidence.
Archived mnemonic_words_v3.txt: web.archive.org/web/20240922032019/https://login.blockchain.com/legacy-pages/js/mnemonic/mnemonic_words_v3.txt
Check if every word in your phrases are available there.

However, there's no known method of recovering the account information that can be restored from mnemonic phrase generated from that list.

Bingo, that one has all the words. Great find!

I did manage to recover my wallet, but apparently a big fat Bitcoin zero awaited my return. No biggie though