computer crash with Bitcoin Core: 0.11.1 installed

I'm currently using web wallet but would try to install Bitcoin Core: 0.11.1 this time as for security.
My question is if the computer crash, will i ever retrieve my wallet that if I install Bitcoin Core: 0.11.1 once again on my laptop, i could simply just login?

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 02:58:45 AM

This is very confusing i'm not sure what you expecting to happen or not happen.

If your computer crash you will restart your computer, then launch the wallet and continue as normal. There's no login in or anything, tho you can and should set a encryption password. There won't be a username however.

i always expect my computer to crash and by what i mean crash is simply my harddrive malfunctions and might no work any more as currently it produces noise.

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 03:06:30 AM

i always expect my computer to crash and by what i mean crash is simply my harddrive malfunctions and might no work any more as currently it produces noise.

So you're asking what happen to your wallet if your hard drive dies?

You lose it. So you must backup your Wallet.dat in %appdata%.

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 03:06:30 AM

i always expect my computer to crash and by what i mean crash is simply my harddrive malfunctions and might no work any more as currently it produces noise.

backup your wallet on a secure place (on another HDD, pendrive, paper wallet, etc.,) and restore the backup wallet when your computer/HDD crashes. And if you really want to try bitcoin core, you've to download the whole blockchain. It worth ~40GBs of data.

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 03:06:30 AM

i always expect my computer to crash and by what i mean crash is simply my harddrive malfunctions and might no work any more as currently it produces noise.

That would indicate a failing hard drive. I would advice you to backup your files to a new harddisk and discard the old one after completely formatting it. Bitcoin Core pregenerated 100 address and Bitcoin change are transferred to a seperate address everytime you make a transaction. Hence, you need to backup it every 100 transactions.

As long as you encrypt and back up your wallet immediately, there is no danger. You can throw your laptop into the ocean and still recover your bitcoins as long as you have your backup and encryption password. It seems odd, but you should encrypt, then back up, and then you can safely send bitcoins to your wallet.

you need anyway to remove the big sum from that desktop, so a cold storage in more than a pen drive will cut it, and it will serve as a back up also

it's the perfect choice, and easy to do

As others have suggested, problem is a hard drive. Core requires a lot of resources. I am not using Core since my two laptops are about 7 years old.

Install Electrum or Multibit. You will not be much less secure and your computer won't be under any pressure as like it is with the Core, especially your failing hard-drive.

But make sure you backup your wallet if you have a failing hard-drive.

Quote from: odolvlobo on October 28, 2015, 04:37:29 AM

no i dont have a lot bitcoin yet. the only wallet i have is from blockchain. will install bitcoin core this evening.

installing bitcoin core will mean i also have a wallet.dat file along with it?

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 08:43:52 AM

Quote from: odolvlobo on October 28, 2015, 04:37:29 AM

no i dont have a lot bitcoin yet. the only wallet i have is from blockchain. will install bitcoin core this evening.

installing bitcoin core will mean i also have a wallet.dat file along with it?

You've definitely made an excellent choice to switch to a desktop wallet like Bitcoin Core. The wallet.dat is created with keys in your %appdata%/Bitcoin folder. Back it up first. Since Bitcoin Core is not a hierarchical deterministic, you have to back up the wallet.dat for every 100 transactions you create. Other wallets including electrum and multibit HD are hierarchical deterministic wallets and you only need to remember the seed, no need for frequent backups. However, they would not provide the same level of security and anonymity as Bitcoin Core.

Making regular backups is the only way to keep save.

Don't forget to secure it with a password:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Securing_your_wallet

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 08:43:52 AM

Quote from: odolvlobo on October 28, 2015, 04:37:29 AM

no i dont have a lot bitcoin yet. the only wallet i have is from blockchain. will install bitcoin core this evening.

installing bitcoin core will mean i also have a wallet.dat file along with it?

Yeah but i'd recommend getting something like Multibit HD, that one let you point to a DropBox folder so it save encrypted copy of your wallets to your cloud storage automatically. So if your computer dies, you can still easily restore your wallets.

I would not really recommend to have Bitcoin Core your spending wallet.

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 03:06:30 AM

i always expect my computer to crash and by what i mean crash is simply my harddrive malfunctions and might no work any more as currently it produces noise.

You will loose your btc if your computer crash and didn't backup your private keys.

Quote from: target on October 28, 2015, 08:43:52 AM

Quote from: odolvlobo on October 28, 2015, 04:37:29 AM

no i dont have a lot bitcoin yet. the only wallet i have is from blockchain. will install bitcoin core this evening.
installing bitcoin core will mean i also have a wallet.dat file along with it?

When you launch the app, go to the menu and select Encrypt to encrypt the wallet. Then, select Backup to back up the wallet. You can do this before the app is fully synced.