What is Bitcoin wallet doing when it says synchronizing with network?

[rilesbriles]

What exactly is Bitcoin wallet doing when it says "synchronizing with network" and says " x blocks remaining" I know a block is an algorithm solving missing transaction equations but I don't understand what what exactly it has to synchronize just to access your online currency. My guess is that my bitcoins are being physically being saved on my hard drive some how. Can someone explain?

[elebit]

No, it's not.

Basically its downloading the ledger for all acounts that ever existed in the Bitcoin system. A "block" is roughly equal to ten minutes worth of transactions. That how the system works.

And yes, this will likely have to change in the future. Right now you're looking at downloading some 10 GB of data. If that's a problem for you, you'd better off using a thin client or a web wallet (but please do choose a somewhat secure one where your keys are stored encrypted).

[deepceleron]

It's downloading all past transactions, which need to complete before you can see your balance.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=51456.0

[rilesbriles]

Awesome thank you! So now I'm assuming miners are the ones using their processing power to calculate those transactions? If I'm not mistaken bitcoin miners create blocks.

[centove]

Awesome thank you! So now I'm assuming miners are the ones using their processing power to calculate those transactions? If I'm not mistaken bitcoin miners create blocks.

Section 5 of this http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf  from 3 down is what the miners do (I think!)

[leijurv]

Actually, miners have already calculated the blocks and you're just downloading a copy. Also, the transactions are made by people who want to send bitcoins.

[coinator]

Think of it this way, you are "part of a bank" and you won't be able to get an accurate balance of your wallet because you have not received the transaction block yet. The wallet synchronize all the transaction happening when bitcoin started, so it will take time for it to catch up to your recent transaction.