Transaction didn't go through

[Sonicx00222]

I'm pretty sure you guys get 100 of these a day, but I looked at the FAQ, and waited for a day or so, and nothing happened. I look in the blockchain, and the transaction has over 430 confirmations. The coins were sent to me while I was offline, so that could be why they never showed. How come the bitcoins didn't show up in my wallet? Here's the transaction: http://[Suspicious link removed]/UuFXou
It's a trivial amount of bitcoins, but it's really a matter of principle.

[DannyHamilton]

I'm not sure what site you linked to, but it appears to be blocked by the forum software.

Do you have a link to the transaction at blockchain.info?

The bitcoin address used to receive the bitcoins would probably be enough to find it.

[Sonicx00222]

I was trying to post a bitly link to the transaction on blockchain, ironically enough. It's a long link: http://blockchain.info/tx/196595c4b53695541a5974974249ebbf58491e179b433000b0f09f79055761b4

[odolvlobo]

If the address you intended to send it to was 16VjoCnqs438CyvcSSh6KGKLYMLZt7UDo9, then everything is fine, because that's where the money went.

Are you using the bitcoin-qt client? If so, then you won't see the transaction in your wallet until you have downloaded the entire blockchain. That could take a while.

[Foxpup]

Being offline does not prevent you from receiving coins, however they will not show up in your wallet until your client has finished synchronising (ie, downloading transactions that occurred while it was offline). If your client has not finished synchronising (the current version will display (out of sync) if this is the case) and it is missing recent transactions, this is almost certainly the cause. Note that this process will take several minutes depending on how long you've been offline (assuming it was already fully synchronised before you went offline, otherwise it will take much longer, even up to a few days if it was never previously synchronised), so if you're just opening the client to check your balance and then closing it immediately, that won't give it enough time. You must leave it open until it is finished.

I was trying to post a bitly link to the transaction on blockchain, ironically enough.

Please don't use URL shorteners. This forum isn't Twitter, there's nothing wrong with posting long URLs. URL shorteners are considered suspicious by the forum software since there's no way to know (short of actually clicking on them) where they lead.

[Sonicx00222]

If the address you intended to send it to was 16VjoCnqs438CyvcSSh6KGKLYMLZt7UDo9, then everything is fine, because that's where the money went.

Are you using the bitcoin-qt client? If so, then you won't see the transaction in your wallet until you have downloaded the entire blockchain. That could take a while.

I sent it to that address for sure, and it was the correct address; I double checked it in my receiving addresses section. I am using the bitcoin-qt client, and the blockchain's is for sure completely downloaded. The coins are just not in my wallet.

Being offline does not prevent you from receiving coins, however they will not show up in your wallet until your client has finished synchronising (ie, downloading transactions that occurred while it was offline). If your client has not finished synchronising (the current version will display (out of sync) if this is the case) and it is missing recent transactions, this is almost certainly the cause. Note that this process will take several minutes depending on how long you've been offline (assuming it was already fully synchronised before you went offline, otherwise it will take much longer, even up to a few days if it was never previously synchronised), so if you're just opening the client to check your balance and then closing it immediately, that won't give it enough time. You must leave it open until it is finished.

I was trying to post a bitly link to the transaction on blockchain, ironically enough.

Please don't use URL shorteners. This forum isn't Twitter, there's nothing wrong with posting long URLs. URL shorteners are considered suspicious by the forum software since there's no way to know (short of actually clicking on them) where they lead.

Sorry, I just liked using bitly, it makes the post look shorter/neater/less like a looming wall of text

[DeathAndTaxes]

What is the current block according to your client?

[Sonicx00222]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

[Kluge]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

Hover over the green checkmark (ETA: Oops - or the orange-yellow circle with "update" arrows) in furthest lower-right of the qt window. Should say "downloaded xxxxxxx blocks"

[odolvlobo]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

This is what you see if it is still downloading the blockchain. Hovering over the circling arrows on the right tells you how much you have left to go. There are 144 blocks per day, so the blocks remaining divided by 144 tells you how many days you are behind.




Here is what it looks like when it is done. Hovering over the check mark will tell you what block you are synced to. It should be at least 215520 if you are up-to-date.

[DeathAndTaxes]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

The posts above provide some insight but I am wondering how you can be "absolutely sure" your copy of the blockchain is complete and yet not know what is the most current block you have downloaded. 

[Sonicx00222]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

The posts above provide some insight but I am wondering how you can be "absolutely sure" your copy of the blockchain is complete and yet not know what is the most current block you have downloaded.  

I'm sure because there's no download bar and it doesn't say (out of sync). It says the most recent block is block 215520, as of this post, so it's definitely got the entire blockchain.

[DannyHamilton]

Ok, so we've established that 16VjoCnqs438CyvcSSh6KGKLYMLZt7UDo9 is an address in the receive coins tab of your wallet, and that you wallet has caught up synchronizing.

As I see it, this leaves 2 possibilities.

• Somehow Bitcoin-Qt missed the transaction and failed to add it to your total, or
• The transaction has been added to your total, and you didn't notice that the current balance already reflects this fact.

I have to say that typically with issues like this the second possibility ends up being what has happened, but there is always the chance that this time is different.

I suppose you could try a rescan. . .

That shouldn't hurt anything, and if the Bitcoin-Qt client missed the transaction somehow the first time, it might catch it with the rescan.

[DeathAndTaxes]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

The posts above provide some insight but I am wondering how you can be "absolutely sure" your copy of the blockchain is complete and yet not know what is the most current block you have downloaded. 

I'm sure because there's no download bar and it doesn't say (out of sync). It says the most recent block is block 215520, as of this post, so it's definitely got the entire blockchain.

Ok so does the transaction not show in the client at all?  If so verify the address is in your list of transactions. You didn't by any chance send the coins to an address in your address book (other people's addresses).  Assumming the tx is not listed in the client and it is a correct address you may need to restart the client using --rescan option (sorry there is no option in the GUI).

Close the client, open command prompt/console and enter

Code:

bitcoin --recan

It will take a little longer than normal before the GUI appears (it is rescanning the blockchain to look for tx involving your keys).  For windows you will need to ensure you are in the folder where bitcoin is installed.

By default

Code:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Bitcoin\

[Sonicx00222]

Ok, so we've established that 16VjoCnqs438CyvcSSh6KGKLYMLZt7UDo9 is an address in the receive coins tab of your wallet, and that you wallet has caught up synchronizing.

As I see it, this leaves 2 possibilities.

• Somehow Bitcoin-Qt missed the transaction and failed to add it to your total, or
• The transaction has been added to your total, and you didn't notice that the current balance already reflects this fact.

I have to say that typically with issues like this the second possibility ends up being what has happened, but there is always the chance that this time is different.

I suppose you could try a rescan. . .

That shouldn't hurt anything, and if the Bitcoin-Qt client missed the transaction somehow the first time, it might catch it with the rescan.

I know for a fact that's not the case, because the balance is 0.

[Sonicx00222]

Where would I find that on bitcoin-qt?

The posts above provide some insight but I am wondering how you can be "absolutely sure" your copy of the blockchain is complete and yet not know what is the most current block you have downloaded. 

I'm sure because there's no download bar and it doesn't say (out of sync). It says the most recent block is block 215520, as of this post, so it's definitely got the entire blockchain.

Ok so does the transaction not show in the client at all?  If so verify the address is in your list of transactions. You didn't by any chance send the coins to an address in your address book (other people's addresses).  Assumming the tx is not listed in the client and it is a correct address you may need to restart the client using --rescan option (sorry there is no option in the GUI).

Close the client, open command prompt/console and enter

Code:

bitcoin --recan

It will take a little longer than normal before the GUI appears (it is rescanning the blockchain to look for tx involving your keys).  For windows you will need to ensure you are in the folder where bitcoin is installed.

By default

Code:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Bitcoin\

It worked!! I got my bitcoins back! Thanks a ton!

[21after2]

I'm not sure what site you linked to, but it appears to be blocked by the forum software.

I apologize for being a bit off topic here, but there's forum software that recognizes suspicious looking links? I always figured it was the mods removing them.

[Kluge]

I'm not sure what site you linked to, but it appears to be blocked by the forum software.

I apologize for being a bit off topic here, but there's forum software that recognizes suspicious looking links? I always figured it was the mods removing them.

Forum software generally has easy-censorship settings, probably usually intended to filter out curse words. "Fuck" could turn into "Love," "****," or " "

[21after2]

I'm not sure what site you linked to, but it appears to be blocked by the forum software.

I apologize for being a bit off topic here, but there's forum software that recognizes suspicious looking links? I always figured it was the mods removing them.

Forum software generally has easy-censorship settings, probably usually intended to filter out curse words. "Fuck" could turn into "Love," "****," or " "

Huh. Learn something new every day, lol.

[theymos]

I apologize for being a bit off topic here, but there's forum software that recognizes suspicious looking links? I always figured it was the mods removing them.

The forum software is heavily modified.

Only newbies have URL shorteners and other suspicious links filtered out. (300+ banned patterns!) There's no problem with other people posting such links, though I recommend posting the whole link unless it's really long.