bitoin-qt wallet wont open what can i do

[amandamin]

please help in basic layman's terms i had bit coins a few years ago and have recently found my laptop they were on but when i try to open the wallet it starts to load then stops after a few mins loading blocks and addresses, any advice , all the files seem to be on my computers systems i think, i am not very savvy but can follow basic instructions, please help xx

[1714908335]

1714908335

[1714908335]

1714908335

[achow101]

What version of bitcoin-qt/Bitcoin Core are you using? What operating system are you using?

[amandamin]

i have no idea how do i find out

[amandamin]

laptop is running windows

[Herschy]

please help in basic layman's terms i had bit coins a few years ago and have recently found my laptop they were on but when i try to open the wallet it starts to load then stops after a few mins loading blocks and addresses, any advice , all the files seem to be on my computers systems i think, i am not very savvy but can follow basic instructions, please help xx

Open the folder where wallet.dat is stored (For Windows 10 it is) "/ user_dir / appdata / bitcoin /"
Find there the file debug.log, open it and copy the contents of it and show us

[amandamin]

cant find wallet.dat file

[amandamin]

have found wallet.db.h

[aleksej996]

please help in basic layman's terms i had bit coins a few years ago and have recently found my laptop they were on but when i try to open the wallet it starts to load then stops after a few mins loading blocks and addresses, any advice , all the files seem to be on my computers systems i think, i am not very savvy but can follow basic instructions, please help xx

Were you not using that laptop for few years? Do you know how many approximately? If it is pretty old, then it might be the old Windows XP.
I wouldn't even start that old PC for security reasons. I would boot TailsOS and move that wallet to somewhere else safe. And put it in a new Bitcoin Core software on a new PC.

PS: wallet should be in a data directory https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory#Windows

[amandamin]

once i have moved the wallet info to a usb stick and downloaded a new version to my other pc what do i do then
i have found the files 

[Juscelia]

please help in basic layman's terms i had bit coins a few years ago and have recently found my laptop they were on but when i try to open the wallet it starts to load then stops after a few mins loading blocks and addresses, any advice , all the files seem to be on my computers systems i think, i am not very savvy but can follow basic instructions, please help xx

[jackg]

once i have moved the wallet info to a usb stick and downloaded a new version to my other pc what do i do then
i have found the files 

If you have found the files, there is one labelled debug.log in that folder?
Can you open that using notepad and copy and paste it's entire contents here?

Also, try booting the computer in safe mode: http://support.eset.com/kb2268/?locale=en_US - and see if you can start your bitcoin core wallet on that (just to eliminate if there are any problems with the program itself.

[aleksej996]

once i have moved the wallet info to a usb stick and downloaded a new version to my other pc what do i do then
i have found the files 

The wallet file should be called "wallet.dat". Ok, now start that new version Bitcoin Core on that pc. It will create it's data folder, you can look up the location on the link I post earlier. I think it should create a wallet.dat file as well. Now just turn the Bitcoin Core off, don't need to wait for the sync to finish and replace the new wallet.dat in your data directory with your old wallet.dat from the usb. You might need to run Bitcoin Core with the option "--rescan" next time you start your Bitcoin Core. Either way, after sync is over (it can take quite a while), you will be able to use your bitcoins normally.