Unable to send BTC from my Multibit wallet to my own Bitstamp a/c

[schneckito]

Since 2 weeks I'm unable to send BTC in my multibit wallet to my own bitstamp a/c, so that I could sell the BTC from there.
I have the multibit wallet since end 2013 (version 0.5.14).
The multibit site doesn't let me paste/drag the destination address nor the QR I received from bitstamp into the appropriate window - I have to type it in manually, the invariably a 'Invalid address!' message pops up.
I've posted varioius messages to multibit support over the last week, and have not received any answer
(so much for customer service at multibit).

Multibit also doesn't tell me what their fee is to make the transfer, and how I can pay for it - e.g. leaving some BTC in the wallet?

I'm very frustrated and would be very grateful for help!

[1713579030]

1713579030

[1713579030]

1713579030

[jeroenn13]

Have you tried using ctrl+C and then ctrl+V to paste the address into Multibit?

[schneckito]

thanks jeroenn.
sorry, i'm not very technically literate.
which sequence do you propose: clicking on the address as it appears in bitstamp, then hitting simultaneously ctrl and C, then clicking on the window in multibit that's directly below the 'send, request, transaction' line, then clicking ctrl plus V?
doing that copies the address in the multibit window, but still the same '... is an invalid address' pops up...

could it be that i have to switch to a newer version of multibit?
or that my pc OS is too old (i'm using vista)?

is it obligatory to additionally get the bitstamp QR in the appropriate multibit window to be able to send the BTC? so far i find it impossible to drag the QR over to multibit.

and do you know how the transfer fees are handled by multibit? do they automatically deduct some satoshis when sending my BTC?

many thanks! 

[HI-TEC99]

Can you confirm you are using multibit classic version 0.5.14, and not multibit HD?

If you are using classic then the version of multibit you are using is out of date. The Bitcoin network rules changed since that wallet was released. Your wallet might generate transactions that the network will no longer accept.

Also even the latest version of classic isn't capable of paying high enough fees to get fast confirmations in today's overloaded network. I suggest you install the electrum wallet, export your private keys from multibit classic and import them into electrum.

https://electrum.org/#download

There are instructions for switching to electrum in this post.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1922317.msg19181835#msg19181835

[schneckito]

thanks Hi-tec.

i'm indeed using version 0.5.14.
when searching for my wallet files to back up using your suggested lettering 'no files found' comes up.

where can i find my keys in multibit to at least manually note them as a backup?

when changing to a newer version of multibit, do I still have to export keys? if not that might be safer for me. how would I do that?
i'm not worried if a multibit transfer confirmation takes a bit longer - as long it's executed within 48 hrs max.
in any case i just want to transfer BTC to an a/c at bitstamp, from where I want to sell them and be done.

how much does multibit charge to transfer BTC to bitstamp and how do they debit their fees?

many thanks!

[HI-TEC99]

where can i find my keys in multibit to at least manually note them as a backup?

Use these instructions, but click the button labelled "export to". A pop up window should open which you can use to select the folder you want your .key file written to, and what name you want to give your .key file. Each .key file contains a private key.

Start multibit, select the wallet containing your coins, then click "tools", then select "export private keys" as shown in the screenshot.



A new tab should open like the one below. Select "do not password protect export file" at the bottom of the window, then click the "export private keys button".

Inside the folder you selected there should be a new file with an extension ending in ".key". Open it in notepad and copy your wallet's private key. In the example file below the private key is the bit in red.

# KEEP YOUR PRIVATE KEYS SAFE !
# Anyone who can read this file can spend your bitcoin.
#
# Format:
#   <Base58 encoded private key>[<whitespace>[<key createdAt>]]
#
#   The Base58 encoded private keys are the same format as
#   produced by the Satoshi client/ sipa dumpprivkey utility.
#
#   Key createdAt is in UTC format as specified by ISO 8601
#   e.g: 2011-12-31T16:42:00Z . The century, 'T' and 'Z' are mandatory
#
KwUVsx4nd4UTHUtNTPnLEEqapCFvNiBrVASBZPa1ZvStQbUD87VK 2017-03-26T01:36:45Z
# End of private keys

[schneckito]

when proceeding as you mention no files are transferred.
behind the icon on multibit 'export private keys' there's an 'xed out' circle - meaning they don't allow me to export keys?

can I see the key somewhere? then i'll note it manually - that's better than nothing.

thanks!

[HI-TEC99]

when proceeding as you mention no files are transferred.
behind the icon on multibit 'export private keys' there's an 'xed out' circle - meaning they don't allow me to export keys?

can I see the key somewhere? then i'll note it manually - that's better than nothing.

thanks!

Try turning your internet connection off, then restarting multibit a few times.

Sometimes that fixes the greyed out menu problem. Multibit wallet doesn't need to be online or synced to export the private keys. It can export them when offline and unsynced.

[schneckito]

multibit IS online and synched - so no idea why export doesn't work.

can I see the key somewhere in the wallet without exporting it, just to write it down?

and could you tell me how I can change to a current multibit version?
do I need to export keys for that, too? if not at least I could that done.

thank you!

[HI-TEC99]

multibit IS online and synched - so no idea why export doesn't work.

Sometimes it has to be offline to export the keys. I don't know why, that's just my experience of how it can work.

I wouldn't consider upgrading until you make a backup, and I would advise against upgrading to the latest multibit classic. The guy who started the linked thread waited for three days for his multibit classic transaction to confirm. Eventually he had to pay a miner to get it confirmed.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1909433.0

This is the transaction.

https://blockchain.info/tx/026ca669edad3ab32320b22688694f89b873bc068e4cbc8cd7ce73d2daf552c5

Although the network was more overloaded in early May the number of unconfirmed transactions could suddenly increase and leave a multibit classic transaction stuck in limbo.

The latest version of multibit classic has a slider which you can use to increase the fee. This quote explains it, but the maximum it will let you pay is 0.0005 BTC per KB which isn't enough at times when the network's extremely overloaded.

The latest multibit classic (0.5.19) has a fee slider in the preferences. It's maximum possible fee is 0.0005 BTC per KB, and there are times when that's not high enough to get a fast confirmation. This is a screenshot of it.

For a transaction sending one input to one receiving address and a change address paying a fee of 0.0005 BTC per KB would result in you paying a fee of about 0.0001 BTC for a transaction, which is about 28 cents. That's nine times lower than the fee this website recommends to get fast confirmations.

https://bitcoinfees.21.co/

If you switch to electrum and use its dynamic fees feature your transactions won't get stuck in limbo.

If you still want to risk upgrading to the latest version of classic there's a guide here.

https://multibit.org/help/v0.5/help_upgrading.html

[schneckito]

I take your advice re electrum.
But first I have to backup my key and wallet.
I tried to export the multibit key offline, which didn't work either.
I actually found multibit files on my pc like 'key backup', 'rolling backup', 'wallet backup' - but when trying to open them the message always is 'This file has no program associated with it' ??

Thanks!

[HCP]

They're not really designed to be opened by clicking on them... But you should be able to open them with a text editor like Notepad if you really want to. Right click and select "Open With"... then you'll probably need to click "Show More Apps"... and you can select Notepad from the list. You'll probably just get a whole bunch of "gobbledygook" like this:

org.bitcoin.production      ¤Ä%€Õ
ßØgêªy�Ä„Æ3¦‘gÑ{Hìm!ã7±6�ÀŠF<›dãÊW¥Žöq“þšŒÕCÓɼԖM( 2D
ÂtÂç[µ›+¨ìb3ÍûL0Õ¯™Š딋g„A·*µ+·ßè   _;Û(Aø±|\ÐsÖ˜HòÜø Ýò½–&ÿ(2

{H÷vžœ:Â8R#
org.multibit.walletProtect.2

ZYour wallet description`°Þh

NOTE: Make sure you UNTICK the box that says "Always use this app to open .xxxx files"... otherwise your wallet files will be associated with Notepad permanently... not the end of the world, but not ideal.

But if you save all of those folders like key-backup, rolling-backup, wallet-backup and wallet-unenc-backup and everything in them... you've pretty much backed up everything you need. The multitbit.wallet file in the %AppData%/MultiBit directory is the only other file you really want.

[schneckito]

when I click on 'open with' - the exact same message pops up:
'This file has no program associated with it'
?
 

[HCP]

Like I said... you don't really need to open them anyway... just back them up some place safe...

If you are really keen to open them... just open up Notepad first, then drag and drop the file into Notepad.

[schneckito]

thanks HCP!

do you know whether upgrading from multibit 0.5.14 to the newest version (no hardware wallet) demands that I export my keys?
i know that multibit might be slow confirming, but that's not a great concern.
more importantly i just can't figure out how to export my keys from multibit.
otherwise I'd transfer my wallet to electrum.

thanks!

[HCP]

IMPORTANT NOTE: Export your keys when your computer is offline. Disconnect from the internet etc and make sure you delete the unencrypted .key file when you are finished!!
Seriously, handle private keys with care!


Alright, so now that the over the top warning is out of the way, the best thing to do is backup the contents of the %appdata%/MultiBit directory.... #justInCase

Then you should be able to just upgrade to 0.5.19 without too many bothers... I just downloaded the 0.5.19 installer from here: https://multibit.org/release-info/classic/v0.5.19.html
I ran it, and it installed and started using my existing wallet files... for some reason I only had MBC 0.5.18 running??!? Could of sworn I had 0.5.19!

Anyway, to export the keys... it is just: "Tools" -> "Export Keys"


You'll get the export keys pane come up... You must put your wallet password at the top... make a note of the location of the .key file (or pick one that you want by clicking the button)... and DO NOT password protect the file... ie. leave the password boxes at the bottom blank...


Then click the "Export private keys" button and you should get confirmation that it all worked...


You should then find your .key file can be opened in Notepad and should contain something similar to this:

# KEEP YOUR PRIVATE KEYS SAFE !
# Anyone who can read this file can spend your bitcoin.
#
# Format:
#   <Base58 encoded private key>[<whitespace>[<key createdAt>]]
#
#   The Base58 encoded private keys are the same format as
#   produced by the Satoshi client/ sipa dumpprivkey utility.
#
#   Key createdAt is in UTC format as specified by ISO 8601
#   e.g: 2011-12-31T16:42:00Z . The century, 'T' and 'Z' are mandatory
#
L3vptLPjyktfw8EEpfaFevZhUNMQJqb83Gu3NFx3G4bcxLNR1fCe 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
KygiLkMDUr2BRGpZjd8eAK58eFw4ZHXUE7rPz9xzhdCXF7mRkcfk 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
L5JPkt7oEwAYerABMisaHYsgx99R16CDPGdD48HmKAQJjkQG3nW7 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
L4qy42ZkEkbvim4xdkCawufxLRSo7k6fNitA9NZai91V5CCUDSvS 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
KwejaFt8keKvuivNLY2WN3tVSdvUNcgX6xgB36PuyW4fViUwixLi 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
L2UvGiBpEcApgoDn6d26zD2y4YSNojkFTC8aCiqfLgDoYTbD5ywv 2017-06-10T04:38:54Z
# End of private keys

The bits in red are the private keys in (compressed) "WIF" format... they should all start with a K or L (or if they are quite old, possibly a '5')... you don't need the date/time stamp on the end... You can then import them into Electrum either by copy/pasting the keys or by importing the file (Electrum will moan about all the other bits in the file... but it will still import the keys

[schneckito]

many thanks HPC
does the key/wallet content transfer automatically to the newly installed new version?
or do I I  have to import anything, keys etc.?

thank you!
 

[HCP]

many thanks HPC
does the key/wallet content transfer automatically to the newly installed new version?
or do I I  have to import anything, keys etc.?
thank you!

If you install the newer version, it should default to using the same wallet file (with all the keys, transactions etc) as the previous version... assuming you had your wallet file(s) stored in the default appdata location.

However, if you had your wallet file stored in a non-standard location, you may need to go "file->open wallet" and navigate to where the wallet file is located.

In either case, the newer version should be able to read the wallet file without you having to do any conversion or export etc.

Note: even the latest version of MultiBit Classic will only allow a max fee of 50,000 satoshis which could lead to your transactions getting "stuck" due to low fees.