What to do if the bitcoin qt client hangs

[Freja]

My client got as far as 99.11% and than it hung on a particular block.

It took me about a week to get that far, and it's not great for the machine to be syncing, so I don't want to repeat the process.

I've rebooted the client several times, but it keeps hanging on the same address (I can give the number if it helps).

Is there anything I can do for it to skip, accept or ignore that block and continue and finish the sync?

[Stephen Gornick]

My client got as far as 99.11% and than it hung on a particular block.

Well, first thing is check your disk space.  Maybe it is running full and stopping?

Also make sure you are using the most recent client.

[Freja]

My client got as far as 99.11% and than it hung on a particular block.

Well, first thing is check your disk space.  Maybe it is running full and stopping?

Also make sure you are using the most recent client.

Thanks for the response!
There is no problem with disk space at all.
I checked the client and I only downloaded it for the first time a couple of weeks ago or so.
I seem to remember that I got the beta client due to some problem with the regular client.
The About box says QT 4.8.2

Any further tips?

[paraipan]

My client got as far as 99.11% and than it hung on a particular block.

Well, first thing is check your disk space.  Maybe it is running full and stopping?

Also make sure you are using the most recent client.

Thanks for the response!
There is no problem with disk space at all.
I checked the client and I only downloaded it for the first time a couple of weeks ago or so.
I seem to remember that I got the beta client due to some problem with the regular client.
The About box says QT 4.8.2

Any further tips?

Update the client, allot of stuff has changed in the meantime 

[Digigami]

BitcoinQT version is behind bitcoind version.. use the "About Bitcoin" and not "About QT" to find the backend version..

My bitcoin version is one behind at 0.7.1, but QT version is 4.8.1

[flatfly]

If your computer doesn't like the Qt client, how about trying out Electrum or Multibit (both lightweight, fast-starting clients)? You'll be up and running in minutes, literally. and you can always come back to the Qt client when it's more reliable on regular PCs.

See this chart for a quick comparison of the various bitcoin clients:

http://dre.redmartian.org/compare.htm


Seriously, I feel bad for you (and all unsuspecting new users) wasting so
much of your valuable time just getting the Qt client started.

[Hanna]

If your computer doesn't like the Qt client, how about trying out Electrum or Multibit (both lightweight, fast-starting clients)? You'll be up and running in minutes, literally. and you can always come back to the Qt client when it's more reliable on regular PCs.

See this chart for a quick comparison of the various bitcoin clients:

http://dre.redmartian.org/compare.htm


Seriously, I feel bad for you (and all unsuspecting new users) wasting so
much of your valuable time just getting the Qt client started.

Well I am the original poster here (lost access to the account).
I should have listened to you and used Electrum. But I got so angry and suspicious because the "official" client didn't work. Plus I had problems finding a way to buy bitcoins in the UK.

Can't believe I didn't buy any Bitcoins in December 2012 when I posted this....

Imagine if I had spent a few hundred pounds, as I wanted!

Instead, I bought them at ten times the price now, in January 2014.... In the meantime I heard Max Keiser talk of bitcoin on RT during the autumn. Lately taking some time off work, I listened to tons of podcasts and now I am up to speed.

I was sooo close in 2012! But I dropped out because QT was so useless and hung. Seriously, this client is a liability. I have a high spec PC but it just didn't work.

My impression at the time, was that it was "buggy". I wasted 2 weeks on and off trying to get the QT current operational... Then I got so annoyed that I just dropped out altogether

And now I am running Electrum, just as flatfly suggested! 

I think that QT has become a liability. The download page should actively discourage n00bs from using it, and point them towards a light client instead.

[Sonny]

I think that QT has become a liability. The download page should actively discourage n00bs from using it, and point them towards a light client instead.

It does have a warning here http://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

Bitcoin-Qt is a full Bitcoin client and builds the backbone of the network. It offers the highest levels of security, privacy, and stability. However, it has fewer features and it takes a lot of space and memory

And here http://bitcoin.org/en/download

You will need to be patient
Bitcoin-Qt initial sync can take a very long time to complete. You should make sure that you have enough bandwidth and storage for the full block chain size. If you know how to download a torrent file, you can speed up this process by putting bootstrap.dat (a previous copy of the block chain) in the Bitcoin-Qt data directory before starting the software.