New to Ethereum - need help please

[Larryag99]

Hello All...
As the subject line indicates, I am new to Ethereum and am in need of some assistance.  Although I am very familiar with BitCoin, not so much with Ethereum.  I downloaded, and installed, what I believe to be is an Ethereum Wallet (at least that what it says at the top of the screen).  I transferred some BitCoin to the wallet last night, but don't see it in the wallet.  I'm not really looking to spend any Ethereum (or perhaps it's called Ether) right now, just looking for a storage of value I think they call it. 

I was going to copy and paste an image of what I'm seeing on the screen (i.e. wallet) but couldn't figure out how to do that (obviously copy and past from Snipping tool didn't work).  So, the only thing that looks like might be the issue is, I see in the top-middle of the wallet screen it indicates (kinda grayed out) that there is 1-peers and 3,720,723 blocks left.  Perhaps this is similar to my BitCoin wallet where transactions don't show up until the sync is up to date.  However, the wallet was open all last night and its still showing 0%. 

What am I, or have I done wrong ?

Thanks so much...

Larry

[kc.]

You don't get Ethereum by transferring BTC into an ETH wallet. Which wallet are you using? Please provide more info.

This is a great guide about Ethereum, I seriously recommend you read it if you are new - https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Orqm9sfoRcCgn1FTp_h2qIFgjeS7-LB6krKHhFCFuI/

Take a look at the link in my signature to join our Discord chat server. There are over a thousand members. You can chat, chill, ask nooby questions... etc.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

Never mix things up ,i am still not sure how you were able to send the coins to an ETH address in the first place ,because normally you could get a warning that it is not a valid bitcoin address,you can use a light weight web wallet too,which i think is more convenient and if you are planning to send bitcoin to your ETH address make sure you use shapeshift to convert your coins or use a real exchange to buy ETH instead.

[giveen]

Ok first of all as he mentioned you can't just convert btc to eth by sending to your eth address , for that you should use shapeshift or maybe changelly.
No about the ether wallet it can take months to sync with the network even if you have a good pc/laptop , what's best to do in this case is use myetherwallet and remember your password and keep your key somewhere safe always.

[boy130]

You will not see your ethereum balance updated until your wallet finish downloading actual blockchain... It will take some time... (for me it have took some hours).

[jmigdlc99]

You need to convert your bitcoin into ethereum first. You can do this by trading your bitcoin for ethereum on exchanges (such as www.poloniex.com).

Once you have actual ethereum you can then store it in your personal wallet (such as one you can download from www.jaxx.io).

If you need any more help feel free to ask.

[sobsitesearch]

You need to convert your bitcoin into ethereum first. You can do this by trading your bitcoin for ethereum on exchanges (such as www.poloniex.com).

Once you have actual ethereum you can then store it in your personal wallet (such as one you can download from www.jaxx.io).

If you need any more help feel free to ask.

That was a good recommendation, much better to have own wallet to store your ethereum balance it is much safer than to keep it in an exchange and you can choose what exchange is much better for you to trade your ethereum. You can exchanged that anytime you want because your balance is in your hand.

[Larryag99]

You don't get Ethereum by transferring BTC into an ETH wallet. Which wallet are you using? Please provide more info.

This is a great guide about Ethereum, I seriously recommend you read it if you are new - https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Orqm9sfoRcCgn1FTp_h2qIFgjeS7-LB6krKHhFCFuI/

Take a look at the link in my signature to join our Discord chat server. There are over a thousand members. You can chat, chill, ask nooby questions... etc.

Thanks for the reply...

Under the "Help" menu item it states: Ethereum Wallet Version 0.8.10 // License GPL-3.0 // GitHub github.com/ethereum/mist // Copyright 2016 Ethereum Foundation.

When the app was first launched it gave direction for transferring BTC into the Ethereum wallet.  It gave an destination address to place it in the BTC wallet.  I can see the transaction went through from my BTC wallet.  It looked as though there was some sort of transfer functionality set up in the app initiation procedure. 

UPDATE:  the blocks left indication I mentioned in my first post seems to be moving now.  There are 2,689,780 blocks left (28% complete).  I suspect (hope) that when the blocks reach 100% I will see my deposit amount.

Thanks...

[Larryag99]

You need to convert your bitcoin into ethereum first. You can do this by trading your bitcoin for ethereum on exchanges (such as www.poloniex.com).

Once you have actual ethereum you can then store it in your personal wallet (such as one you can download from www.jaxx.io).

If you need any more help feel free to ask.

Personally, I don't like the idea of having to identify myself to these exchanges, or, an exchange holding my value.  I will manage my own value, in my own wallet.  In my mind this is electronic "cash", and I don't need ID when I'm using fiat cash, and have been spending BTC for a while now without ID.  For me, it's all about the value exchanged, not the identity exchange.  Yes, it's a"public" blockchain, but no one needs my drivers license, SSN, or other personal identifying information to accept my BTC.  If someone is moving very large sums of value frequently, then I can see the government tracking that... but not my few hundred bucks infrequently. 

Does anyone know of an exchange where you don't need to personally identify yourself ?

Thanks...

[Larryag99]

Hello... I'm still having issues with this Ethereum wallet application.  The app connects to peers (as many as 8 I have seen), and it appears to be downloading something (on the initial blue screen that says Launch Application), but then it stops.  I have launched, then closed too many times to count but still will not download all the blocks.  Currently the wallet screen (the one that says Accounts Overview) indicates 4-peers connected, and 2,262,661 blocks left, 0%. 

I have searched the web for answers and either they are ineffective, or, too difficult to follow.  When I click on Help from the menu bar, then click Check for Updates, it returns No update found - you are running the latest version of Ethereum Wallet (0.8.10).  Under the Develop tab it states Node Geth 1.6.5 (Go).  In the Console screen there are a ton of errors, but most seem to indicate IPC Connection Error

Can anyone help with some instructions on how to get this to sync and/or download the blocks?  I thought about uninstalling and downloading the app again, but feared losing the 50-bucks worth of Ethereum I transferred into the initial wallet. 

Thanks...

[btbrae]

You're giving yourself a lot of ball-ache.

If you have BTC, use Poloniex or Bittrex to buy ETH with it.

Use myetherwallet.com to create a seed offline and get your ETH address.

Send your ETH from the exchange to your MEW wallet.

You can also import your client file stored in AppData/Ethereum to MEW.

No need to run a node unless that's what you intend to do.

[Larryag99]

You're giving yourself a lot of ball-ache.

If you have BTC, use Poloniex or Bittrex to buy ETH with it.

Use myetherwallet.com to create a seed offline and get your ETH address.

Send your ETH from the exchange to your MEW wallet.

You can also import your client file stored in AppData/Ethereum to MEW.

No need to run a node unless that's what you intend to do.

Thanks... but that doesn't get my $50.00 bucks back (likely about $100.00 now), and I am not inclined to give any of the exchanges my social or drivers license number.  Shame they can't get the Ethereum wallet to function properly.  My BitCoin wallet functions without any issues whatsoever. 

[mining1]

@Larryag99  I never had a problem with eth wallet, always used latest ethereum mist version. To properly use it, you have to wait to download the blockchain. It takes 20GB. Sometimes you need to wait 1-2-3 mins for downloading to start.