Bitcoin-qt catching up ridiculously slowly

[riofantastic]

Hello all,

I recently loaded my bitcoin client for the first time in a few months in order to receive some bitcoins. I sent the bitcoins about two hours ago and was surprised to find they still hadn't shown up in my bitcoin client. I deduced the reason is that it's still catching up - it says the last block received was generated 240 days ago and the catching up is going unbearably slowly. I remember it going a lot quicker the last time but for some reason it's going really slowly now - how can I speed it up without sabotaging the bitcoins I'm set to receive?

Thanks!

[URSAY]

You can't speed it up.  Your coins will arrive once the download has completed.   

[christop]

I have the same problem. I started Bitcoin-qt 5 days ago and it's only at 96% (last block was generated 57 days ago). That's with version 0.7.2.0.

On the other hand, I started version 0.8-beta around the same time and it completed within a day. I think the database storage is much more efficient on 0.8. If you're using a 0.7 client, try switching to 0.8. I don't know if you have to wipe out the old blockchain first or if Bitcoin-qt will automatically upgrade it.

Oh, and from what I understand of Bitcoin, nothing you do in your client can "sabotage" the bitcoins you're about to receive. The client may not record the transaction properly (and you may have to do something like clear the blockchain and restart the client), but the transaction will still be recorded "in the cloud", so to speak. As long as you still have access to your wallet, you'll be able to spend whatever you receive.

[DruffDuff]

It happens. A buddy came over tonight and noticed the slow sync. I'm told it's normal.