Electrum - Bitcoin client for the common users (friendly and instant)

[molecular]

molecular, I understand your points, but things got improved recently and your moaning was mostly valid two or three months ago :-)[/list]

ok, point taken.

Wallet corruption happened to me just 2 weeks ago... maybe I shouldn't exit electrum by closing the window (that might send a SIGHUP on my setup)? Or maybe there's a problem with multiple instances running concurrently? I'm not sure and I never dug into and wouldn't know how to because I only discover the corruption at the next start at which point I want to send some money somewhere and just restore from seed.

Also: I'm usually using HEAD from git. It's probably not fair to do that and then complain about problems. I should use release versions.

I apologize.

[SebastianJu]

It worked now with -w -param when especially naming the dat-file. Only dates of transactions seems corrupted. No labels are there but im not sure if i had put labels in.
So how portable is this now? Are there data stored in registry or some other files out of my own directory?

What i dont understand is why you say a portable version has a higher risk. I would say a nonportable version is the higher risk. A hacker only has to go into the directory he knows all the walletfiles are lying and bang... there is the money. If its encrypted its another thing. But a portable wallet can be encrypted too. So i dont see how it could be safe to store your wallet at a place windows wants it at. Its like putting your money under the mattress because all people are doing it so and its the safest place. Its the safest for thieves, because they dont need to search long time.

And i never was a friend of having a program where you have part of the files installed in the directory you wanted it at, some files somewhere where windows wants it and some data in registry. A clean remove isnt easy sometimes then (mostly you can be sure it leaves some traces somewhere), transferring your program to another place is hard and so on. It should be possible to start every program from every place you want. Be it an usb-stick or whatever. The wallet itself would be protected through encryption and hopefully the owner is wise enough to know what backups are.

In my opinion a software should check the directory its in and it should remain in this directory. Saving and storing its files there. Letting windows handle this or storing in registry only makes things harder. So i dont get why a portable version has to be created first and manually, timeconsuming tested. It should work out of the box this way.

Regarding the servers not connecting... i had this too some weeks ago with portable version. I tried all servers but they didnt connect. So that i didnt get the newest blocks and couldnt see my balance. Probably because of some update.

[ThomasV]

It worked now with -w -param when especially naming the dat-file.

yes, that's how the -w parameter is supposed to work. please read the manual next time.

Only dates of transactions seems corrupted.

This is not corruption. This is because you upgraded to a version with SPV.
With SPV, the dates of transactions will be displayed only once transactions are verified. this might take a few minutes (time to download the blockchain headers).

So how portable is this now? Are there data stored in registry or some other files out of my own directory?

there is a new file called blockchain_headers. this file does not store any information that is specific to your wallet.
I added a -P option in the 1.5.7 version, that makes it portable. with this option, the client will always write that file in the same directory as the wallet.

What i dont understand is why you say a portable version has a higher risk. I would say a nonportable version is the higher risk. A hacker only has to go into the directory he knows all the walletfiles are lying and bang... there is the money. If its encrypted its another thing. But a portable wallet can be encrypted too. So i dont see how it could be safe to store your wallet at a place windows wants it at. Its like putting your money under the mattress because all people are doing it so and its the safest place. Its the safest for thieves, because they dont need to search long time.

Because portable wallets can (and will, it is only a matter of time) be used by some people on third party computers.
The administrator of the computer where you use your "portable wallet" might install a keylogger, get your password and decrypt your wallet.
And please don't tell me that you are not stupid enough to do that. Some people will. I don't care if it's you or someone else.

[bitcats]

Here is the latest electrum portable client for windows. I made it using slush's original build (thanks for that ).
I'm not a programmer and I couldn't test it in extenso, so feel free to report any bugs here.
Download: http://ge.tt/3CppLwT/v/0

[EagleTM]

• Often times I cannot connect to any of the servers.

This was a problem in the past with older versions (1.0, possibly even 1.4) and newer servers. They could get stuck on syncronizing and so on. All better now that we're in 1.5.x land.

[SebastianJu]

It worked now with -w -param when especially naming the dat-file.

yes, that's how the -w parameter is supposed to work. please read the manual next time.

I used the link you pasted here and i thought wallet_name is only the name of the directory you have your wallet stored in.

Because portable wallets can (and will, it is only a matter of time) be used by some people on third party computers.
The administrator of the computer where you use your "portable wallet" might install a keylogger, get your password and decrypt your wallet.
And please don't tell me that you are not stupid enough to do that. Some people will. I don't care if it's you or someone else.

Sure there might be keylogger somewhere. But i think people that use it this way without thinking about the risk at non secure pcs are people that doesnt care about their own pcs security anyway. I know a person that had 20 viruses and trojans on its pc. He even didnt care after that found and made his online banking there. People are stupid either way.
I dont know if the probability is higher to use a pc especially targetting walletpasswords than a pc that is infested anyway through trojans/viruses/keyloggers because people dont care.

Its not especially that wallets should be portable, i think software should be portable. Instead they are mostly burned into a pc system without the chance to move it, without chance to completely delete it and so on. Electrum isnt that hard but you even have to know where files are stored to do something. I think that is making things worse than needed. Only a question of philosophy i guess.

[nathanrees19]

I'm really liking this client, and especially the deterministic wallet. IMO the original client should have been like this from the start.

Well done guys!

[SebastianJu]

I'm really liking this client, and especially the deterministic wallet.

What do you mean with deterministic?

I have a new problem. I tried to check out the different view-options. Lite and classic worked fine. But then i chose the third option. And now electrum doesnt start anymore. I only have the .exe in process-list. When im over explorerwindow with the mouse it shows the loading mouse. But nothing happens.

Then i tried to load the newer version but yesterday the website was down. Today its back again but 1.5.7 is only available as setup-file (not possible to open it with winrar), not as flatfly-version. But i wonder if it would work anyway because i already tried to rename the directory of roamint/.../electrum_sysfiles/.../1.5.6. After restarting the directory was created again. Unfortunately without showing electrum again. So i dont know whats wrong again.

So at the moment i cant open electrum again. Its sitting in process list and using occassionally cpu but its not showing up.

What can i do?

[bitcats]

Then i tried to load the newer version but yesterday the website was down. Today its back again but 1.5.7 is only available as setup-file (not possible to open it with winrar), not as flatfly-version. But i wonder if it would work anyway because i already tried to rename the directory of roamint/.../electrum_sysfiles/.../1.5.6. After restarting the directory was created again. Unfortunately without showing electrum again. So i dont know whats wrong again.
What can i do?

You could use the portable version. I recommend not to play around with all those options. The client is a bit "overloaded" and still in development. If you only use the main options, there should be no issue.
Download: http://ge.tt/3CppLwT/v/0

[Tachikoma]

What do you mean with deterministic?

Deterministic in this context means that Electrum can always restore your wallet and thus your coins as long as you remember the key-phrase.   

I have a new problem. I tried to check out the different view-options. Lite and classic worked fine. But then i chose the third option. And now electrum doesnt start anymore. I only have the .exe in process-list. When im over explorerwindow with the mouse it shows the loading mouse. But nothing happens.

You have select to run the text version, however the text version needs a terminal. It might run if you start electrum using a command line prompt.

To fix the problem open a terminal and run electrum with the following flags: electrum set gui qt. (or change qt to lite if you prefer that)

[SebastianJu]

@bitcats

Thanks for the offer but i think its a bit too risky for me to use a software i dont know what it contains. I mean i dont know you enough and dont know others that tested it. Nothing against you but i dont know you.

Did someone review the code and knows its clean?

@Tachikoma

I tried what you suggested.

L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum>electrum1.5.6-flatfly.exe set gui lite (qt)

When i do this then it claims: To access the custom virtual console with full command-line support, start Electrum while holding down the SHIFT key.

Pressing Shift while starting doesnt change anything.

The difference is now that, when starting the portable-link the process starts and closes instantly. Then i tried to rename the new sysfiles directory and reestablish the old one. I started the set gui link and same message. After starting portable link the process remains but stays hidden like before.

The same goes for qt.

I then renamed all the 1.5.6 directories and started the portable but it hangs at unpacking modules to the "Electrum_SysFiles" directory.
So i tried to delete the new sysfiles-dir and start the exe again without -w. Now it unpacks correct and asks to create a wallet. I cancelled.

Unfortunately... when i now start the portable version i still get no electrum client. I think it should be set back to the defaults now because of the new sysfiles, but it doesnt.

Is it because the new version 1.5.7 is out and has to be used?

[Tachikoma]

Ah sorry if you use FlatFly's build you should indeed use the shift trick. Just hold shift while you double click the .exe file. A pop up should open up with a command prompt.

[flatfly]

@bitcats

Thanks for the offer but i think its a bit too risky for me to use a software i dont know what it contains. I mean i dont know you enough and dont know others that tested it. Nothing against you but i dont know you.

Did someone review the code and knows its clean?

@Tachikoma

I tried what you suggested.

L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum>electrum1.5.6-flatfly.exe set gui lite (qt)

When i do this then it claims: To access the custom virtual console with full command-line support, start Electrum while holding down the SHIFT key.

Pressing Shift while starting doesnt change anything.

The difference is now that, when starting the portable-link the process starts and closes instantly. Then i tried to rename the new sysfiles directory and reestablish the old one. I started the set gui link and same message. After starting portable link the process remains but stays hidden like before.

The same goes for qt.

I then renamed all the 1.5.6 directories and started the portable but it hangs at unpacking modules to the "Electrum_SysFiles" directory.
So i tried to delete the new sysfiles-dir and start the exe again without -w. Now it unpacks correct and asks to create a wallet. I cancelled.

Unfortunately... when i now start the portable version i still get no electrum client. I think it should be set back to the defaults now because of the new sysfiles, but it doesnt.

Is it because the new version 1.5.7 is out and has to be used?

Yes, the "Gtk" and "Text" views are not supported under Windows. I guess we should disable those menu options when the platform is Windows at it is leading to confusion.

Have you been able to access the command-line console yet?
The "electrum set gui qt" command should be typed only once you're in there.

EDIT: In the meantime I have just released a build for 1.5.7 with the Gtk and Text options removed.

[SebastianJu]

I tried to load the new flatfly version but electrum-desktop.com is down again.

Before i tried to start with shift. It worked and started into virtual electrum console.

Unfortunately it looks like i cant repair it there.

Python 2.7.3 (default, Apr 10 2012, 23:31:26)

Type "electrum -help" for a list of available commands.
(Full documentation at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Electrum)
---

25.12.2012  1:52:43.94> electrum set gui qt -w "L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum\electrum.dat"
True

25.12.2012  1:53:19.03>

So even after i found the presumely correct command and after closing shell start the link with -w the only result i get is a process living for a second, then dies. I only can go back while clicking shift. But in there i cant repair it it seems.

I then tried to start it with: electrum -w "L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum\electrum.dat" and really it worked. The real electrum started. The only downside is... i cant set it back to qt. The started version is qt. But when i close both windows i dont get the normal qt version back. I have to start it with cmd again.
And when i close cmd, then electrum closes too. So it looks like im unable to set the setting back to qt.
Its the same when i start it with option -g qt or lite. The theme is hardcoded then but i cant start electrum outside of cmd shell again.

I really dont understand where this "text"-setting is stored when even when i delete the settingsdirectory in roaming this isnt set back. Thats why i prefer real portable software. You know that all settings are stored in the one directory and not somewhere in a directory or registry you dont even know the place.

[flatfly]

I tried to load the new flatfly version but electrum-desktop.com is down again.

Before i tried to start with shift. It worked and started into virtual electrum console.

Unfortunately it looks like i cant repair it there.

Python 2.7.3 (default, Apr 10 2012, 23:31:26)

Type "electrum -help" for a list of available commands.
(Full documentation at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Electrum)
---

25.12.2012  1:52:43.94> electrum set gui qt -w "L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum\electrum.dat"
True

25.12.2012  1:53:19.03>

So even after i found the presumely correct command and after closing shell start the link with -w the only result i get is a process living for a second, then dies. I only can go back while clicking shift. But in there i cant repair it it seems.

I then tried to start it with: electrum -w "L:\Tools\Hardware\Geld\Electrum\electrum.dat" and really it worked. The real electrum started. The only downside is... i cant set it back to qt. The started version is qt. But when i close both windows i dont get the normal qt version back. I have to start it with cmd again.
And when i close cmd, then electrum closes too. So it looks like im unable to set the setting back to qt.
Its the same when i start it with option -g qt or lite. The theme is hardcoded then but i cant start electrum outside of cmd shell again.

I really dont understand where this "text"-setting is stored when even when i delete the settingsdirectory in roaming this isnt set back. Thats why i prefer real portable software. You know that all settings are stored in the one directory and not somewhere in a directory or registry you dont even know the place.

As of the current version, settings are actually stored inside the electrum.dat file.
Electrum doesn't store anything in the Windows registry or system directory.
(I'm also a big fan of portable, clean software in general, and am glad to
 see Electrum is quite close to that out of the box already)

If all else is failing, I would suggest the following manual edit to fix it:

1. Make sure electrum is closed. Also check for any python.exe processes in the task manager and terminate them.

2. Make a backup of your electrum.dat file, just to be on the safe side.

3. Open your electrum.dat file in notepad and search for 'gui' (including the single quotes)

4. Carefully replace the current value for gui with 'classic' and save the file.

That should be it, try to open Electrum again and let me know if that resolves ths issue for you.

[SebastianJu]

Yes it worked. The setting was set to qt before. Now i manually edited it to classic. Maybe the command had to be "set gui classic" too instead to qt? Maybe then it would have been worked too?

The only strange thing is that i have to start the portable (-w) link 2 times. The first time it doesnt start but a python.exe process remains. When i click the link a second time another python.exe starts and electrum too.

I then wanted to try the new -P-Param. It looks like its only a param without a path to add. When using the -w param you have to specify the .dat-file and there are some files stored in roaming-directory which seems is not needed with -P.

Unfortunately the -P-Param seems not to work with flatfly-version because when starting it only asks to use shift at starting. But when i do this nothing starts too.

At least i can access the wallet one way or another now.

[molecular]

hey guys. Just salvaged 20.01 from my dad's old wallet.dat and sent it (after sending a test-mBTC) to his brand-new electrum wallet, which is friendly and instant, but VERY CONFUSING:



So now my dad thinks "oh, hey, 'they' doubled my bitcoins, how nice of 'them'. Now I have 40 bitcoins"

That's not very reassuring to a newbie like my dad.

[Tachikoma]

This looks like a pruning "problem" I will let Thomas answer this one. I still think we perhaps should force restoration of wallet seeds from non-pruning servers.

[flatfly]

hey guys. Just salvaged 20.01 from my dad's old wallet.dat and sent it (after sending a test-mBTC) to his brand-new electrum wallet, which is friendly and instant, but VERY CONFUSING:

...

So now my dad thinks "oh, hey, 'they' doubled my bitcoins, how nice of 'them'. Now I have 40 bitcoins"

That's not very reassuring to a newbie like my dad.

Do you still see the wrong balance after restarting electrum?

[flatfly]

Yes it worked. The setting was set to qt before. Now i manually edited it to classic. Maybe the command had to be "set gui classic" too instead to qt? Maybe then it would have been worked too?

The only strange thing is that i have to start the portable (-w) link 2 times. The first time it doesnt start but a python.exe process remains. When i click the link a second time another python.exe starts and electrum too.

I then wanted to try the new -P-Param. It looks like its only a param without a path to add. When using the -w param you have to specify the .dat-file and there are some files stored in roaming-directory which seems is not needed with -P.

Unfortunately the -P-Param seems not to work with flatfly-version because when starting it only asks to use shift at starting. But when i do this nothing starts too.

At least i can access the wallet one way or another now.

Good point, perhaps "set gui classic" would have worked - something to be tested...

There are a few remaining issues with -w and -P in my build. I will work on those in the next release.