Newbie problems - help needed

[Stallionforce]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

[VirosaGITS]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

Well Armory is a full validation wallet as far as i know, which means you need to download the whole blockchain first if its labeled correctly.

The blockchain size is massive;
https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size

If you want a quick sync wallet, thats not one. You'll want a SPV wallet like Multibit HD or GreenAddress if you want 2FA. Some recommend Electrum but i'm not familiar with that one.

[Stallionforce]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

Well Armory is a full validation wallet as far as i know, which means you need to download the whole blockchain first if its labeled correctly.

The blockchain size is massive;
https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size

If you want a quick sync wallet, thats not one. You'll want a SPV wallet like Multibit HD or GreenAddress if you want 2FA. Some recommend Electrum but i'm not familiar with that one.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

So will the two transactions appear in my wallet in Armory once the "blockchain" is downloaded?

And every time I do a transaction, does Armory go through this tedious process?  Or just at the outset?

[bitcoin revo]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

Well Armory is a full validation wallet as far as i know, which means you need to download the whole blockchain first if its labeled correctly.

The blockchain size is massive;
https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size

If you want a quick sync wallet, thats not one. You'll want a SPV wallet like Multibit HD or GreenAddress if you want 2FA. Some recommend Electrum but i'm not familiar with that one.

I personally would recommend Electrum. OP, you will have to fetch the private key(s) of the bitcoin address that the bitcoins were sent to. You can check the balance of any bitcoin address at any given time by going to this:

Code:

https://blockchain.info/address/yourbitcoinaddress

So, as I assume you know your bitcoin address, put that in there in the meantime. (You're going to have to fetch the private keys and import them to something like Electrum to gain access to your funds, though.)

EDIT:

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

So will the two transactions appear in my wallet in Armory once the "blockchain" is downloaded?

And every time I do a transaction, does Armory go through this tedious process?  Or just at the outset?

Yes, it will. However, it'll take a long time since, as Virosa mentioned, the blockchain is absolutely massive.

No, it won't. Once your computer downloads the blockchain, keeping up with it is no big task and you won't have to wait a long time to download the blockchain for every transaction.

[VirosaGITS]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

Well Armory is a full validation wallet as far as i know, which means you need to download the whole blockchain first if its labeled correctly.

The blockchain size is massive;
https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size

If you want a quick sync wallet, thats not one. You'll want a SPV wallet like Multibit HD or GreenAddress if you want 2FA. Some recommend Electrum but i'm not familiar with that one.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

So will the two transactions appear in my wallet in Armory once the "blockchain" is downloaded?

And every time I do a transaction, does Armory go through this tedious process?  Or just at the outset?

If you keep it running it will continuously sync. If you turn it off, it will only need to sync for the time period it was disconnected. When it reach your transactions in the blockchain, they should appear and once sync, the wallet will let you move them.

Assuming you sent to the right BTC address.

[Pattart]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

So will the two transactions appear in my wallet in Armory once the "blockchain" is downloaded?

And every time I do a transaction, does Armory go through this tedious process?  Or just at the outset?

They will appear once the blockchain is downloaded.

It will not go through the process for every transaction, only at start up when it needs to sync with the network. That syncing will not take as long as the initial sync which is what you are currently doing.

[Stallionforce]

Thanks again.

Stupid question again:  where do I find my bitcoin address?  Are these the addresses I put into Virwox and quickbt when I did those two transaction or is it a stable address for my wallet?  Totally confused.

And how do I find the private keys?

[Pattart]

Thanks again.

Stupid question again:  where do I find my bitcoin address?  Are these the addresses I put into Virwox and quickbt when I did those two transaction or is it a stable address for my wallet?  Totally confused.

And how do I find the private keys?

The addresses are the ones you entered into virwox and quickbt. You can find your addresses by double clicking on the wallet in the available wallets list in the upper right hand side. A new window will open up and it will list your addresses as well as allow you to do other stuff. Click backup this walet and select export key lists to export all of your private keys. It will also export keys that you have not used but the wallet pregenerated.

[VirosaGITS]

Thanks again.

Stupid question again:  where do I find my bitcoin address?  Are these the addresses I put into Virwox and quickbt when I did those two transaction or is it a stable address for my wallet?  Totally confused.

And how do I find the private keys?

You'll have an address book and you can generate receiving addresses. If you did not do this before, its absolutely impossible for you to receive the BTC on your wallet. Its like saying you bought a book online but didnt give them an address to ship to.

I recommend not messing with private keys, whoever has access to them have access to the BTC "stored" on its public address. If you want to move your BTC to a new wallet, just make a new clean wallet and send it there.

[Stallionforce]

Thanks again.

Stupid question again:  where do I find my bitcoin address?  Are these the addresses I put into Virwox and quickbt when I did those two transaction or is it a stable address for my wallet?  Totally confused.

And how do I find the private keys?

You'll have an address book and you can generate receiving addresses. If you did not do this before, its absolutely impossible for you to receive the BTC on your wallet. Its like saying you bought a book online but didnt give them an address to ship to.

I recommend not messing with private keys, whoever has access to them have access to the BTC "stored" on its public address. If you want to move your BTC to a new wallet, just make a new clean wallet and send it there.

Thanks can't retrieve wallet because blockchain is downloading.  It's only another 5 hours or so.  I'm just going to wait.  Thanks for all your help.

Do you guys recommend interac over paypal for purchasing bitcoin?  I find the other methods somewhat abstruse.

[VirosaGITS]

Thanks again.

Stupid question again:  where do I find my bitcoin address?  Are these the addresses I put into Virwox and quickbt when I did those two transaction or is it a stable address for my wallet?  Totally confused.

And how do I find the private keys?

You'll have an address book and you can generate receiving addresses. If you did not do this before, its absolutely impossible for you to receive the BTC on your wallet. Its like saying you bought a book online but didnt give them an address to ship to.

I recommend not messing with private keys, whoever has access to them have access to the BTC "stored" on its public address. If you want to move your BTC to a new wallet, just make a new clean wallet and send it there.

Thanks can't retrieve wallet because blockchain is downloading.  It's only another 5 hours or so.  I'm just going to wait.  Thanks for all your help.

Do you guys recommend interac over paypal for purchasing bitcoin?  I find the other methods somewhat abstruse.

Interact and bank transfers work well for me in Canada. I suppose if you find a way to buy BTC with Paypal, then that can work too since the one at risk is the seller, not the buyer, but i would suspect you would be paying a pretty hefty % to Paypal fee.

[Stallionforce]

Thanks, I am in Canada too -- do you use quickbt.com?

[VirosaGITS]

Thanks, I am in Canada too -- do you use quickbt.com?

No i used to use Bylls and do payments to my credit cards to "cash out" BTC when needed. Now i use Coinbase as they have a bit better exchange rate and the fee is 1%+1$ to sell and 1%+0.7$ to buy.

Its also much faster.

[Stallionforce]

Thanks, I am in Canada too -- do you use quickbt.com?

No i used to use Bylls and do payments to my credit cards to "cash out" BTC when needed. Now i use Coinbase as they have a bit better exchange rate and the fee is 1%+1$ to sell and 1%+0.7$ to buy.

Its also much faster.

Perfect, thanks

[Stallionforce]

Thanks, I am in Canada too -- do you use quickbt.com?

No i used to use Bylls and do payments to my credit cards to "cash out" BTC when needed. Now i use Coinbase as they have a bit better exchange rate and the fee is 1%+1$ to sell and 1%+0.7$ to buy.

Its also much faster.

If you don't mind me asking, how much time does it take between sending the interac transfer and receiving the bitcoin to spend?

[UserVVIP]

So I'm finding this about as simple as trying to program a monkey-driven rocket trip to Pluto.

Trying to get bitcoin today.

Went the paypal route to VirWox, put in a transaction that supposedly went through.

Downloaded Armory wallet.

Then had to download bitcoin, since I got a message directing me to do that.

Nothing in the Armory wallet from the paypal transaction though.

So I then try to fire off an interac-transfer through quickbt.com

Again, transaction goes through, but nothing in Armory wallet.

Armory is giving me this message "Downloading via Armory CDN", and a torrent rate, along with "7 hours" (was 8 earlier).

Can someone please advise me as to what is going on, and also if there is any possibility of actually getting some bitcoin today, please advise on that method as well.

Thank you.

Well Armory is a full validation wallet as far as i know, which means you need to download the whole blockchain first if its labeled correctly.

The blockchain size is massive;
https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size

If you want a quick sync wallet, thats not one. You'll want a SPV wallet like Multibit HD or GreenAddress if you want 2FA. Some recommend Electrum but i'm not familiar with that one.

I recommend the regular btc client. You can't get much safer than that.

[Stallionforce]

Now the friggin program is entering a second phase, "Synchronizing with Network."  Then apparently there are two more phases, "Build Databases" and "Scan Transaction History".

That first phase took about 8 hours.  Does anyone have an idea of how long these three other phases will take?

[VirosaGITS]

Thanks, I am in Canada too -- do you use quickbt.com?

No i used to use Bylls and do payments to my credit cards to "cash out" BTC when needed. Now i use Coinbase as they have a bit better exchange rate and the fee is 1%+1$ to sell and 1%+0.7$ to buy.

Its also much faster.

If you don't mind me asking, how much time does it take between sending the interac transfer and receiving the bitcoin to spend?

Its supposed to be instant with Interact. A few days with bank transfer.

Now the friggin program is entering a second phase, "Synchronizing with Network."  Then apparently there are two more phases, "Build Databases" and "Scan Transaction History".

That first phase took about 8 hours.  Does anyone have an idea of how long these three other phases will take?

Depending on your computer speed, it can be overnight or days. That is why a SPV wallet is highly recommended for daily usage. Takes a few minutes to sync fully from scratch.

[Stallionforce]

Thanks, appreciate it.



I did not enter receiving addresses in my address book.  (What are those anyway?)

Does that mean I will not be able to get the bitcoin after all this?

If I download SPV wallet, will I be able to get some bitcoin tonight?  tomorrow?

Thanks for your patience. 

[VirosaGITS]

Thanks, appreciate it.



I did not enter receiving addresses in my address book.  (What are those anyway?)

Does that mean I will not be able to get the bitcoin after all this?

If I download SPV wallet, will I be able to get some bitcoin tonight?  tomorrow?

Thanks for your patience.  

I hadn't realized you went in and bought BTC with 0 idea of how it work, even conceptually.

Should read the 101 stuff on bitcoin.org;
https://bitcoin.org/en/how-it-works

In a nutshell, the blockchain is a super ledger that merely say which address control X bitcoin. The address looking like this; 1Bd5wrFxHYRkk4UCFttcPNMYzqJnQKfXUE

Whoever has the secret privkey to this address can use any BTC sent to this address.

When you have a wallet, your wallet doesn't keep BTC it hold the private key, that should remain hidden and for each private key it will give you a public address.

Wherever you bought BTC, what you do is withdraw money from there and input an address you generated with your wallet. Then the wallet will let you send BTC from that address to wherever you want and so forth.