Saving my Bitcoins before a System Restore?

[BittBurger]

I just got a bunch of malware and adware installed on my system - brand new computer - so pissed ... so I need to do a system restore.

I am going to toss all my files onto an external drive.

How do I get my bitcoins off this computer safely without all that insanely complex nonsense for making a paper wallet or cold storage?  I dont have the technicall know-how to do all of that.

Is there some way i can get them onto the external drive safely?   Maybe just copy the Bitcoin-QT files onto the drive?

Or would just the DAT file be sufficient?

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[Cyberdyne]

I just got a bunch of malware and adware installed on my system - brand new computer - so pissed ... so I need to do a system restore.

I am going to toss all my files onto an external drive.

How do I get my bitcoins off this computer safely without all that insanely complex nonsense for making a paper wallet or cold storage?  I dont have the technicall know-how to do all of that.

Is there some way i can get them onto the external drive safely?   Maybe just copy the Bitcoin-QT files onto the drive?

Or would just the DAT file be sufficient?

Yes, just copy the wallet.dat some where safe.

After you have re-installed bitcoin on your new system, you can copy your saved wallet.dat over the new one.

[Jozzaboy]

Alternatively, you could send them to another wallet and keep them there. If you have a sizable sum of coins, it would be a good idea to have dedicated hardware just to store them. I've got a 150$ netbook for that very purpose.

[dhenson]

Your wallet.dat is stored in your user profile directory.  Simply type the following in the run command of your start menu:

%appdata%\bitcoin\

Then you can copy the wallet.dat file to a USB stick or some other removable media.  This is a good practice to do every 50 or so transactions as a backup anyway.

Enjoy!

[saddambitcoin]

I just got a bunch of malware and adware installed on my system - brand new computer - so pissed ... so I need to do a system restore.

I am going to toss all my files onto an external drive.

How do I get my bitcoins off this computer safely without all that insanely complex nonsense for making a paper wallet or cold storage?  I dont have the technicall know-how to do all of that.

Is there some way i can get them onto the external drive safely?   Maybe just copy the Bitcoin-QT files onto the drive?

Or would just the DAT file be sufficient?

personally i dont think cold storage is all that difficult so here is my attempt at simplifying it while leaving crucial steps intact.

1.  go to https://tails.boum.org and download the current tails OS.  burn it to a DVD.  

2.  boot your computer from tails OS and generate bitcoin address using https://bitaddress.org

3.  print address/private key and shutdown tails.

4.  scan QR code and send your BTC to paper wallet.   i highly recommend testing with a small amount first to avoid potential costly mistakes.  verify using blockchain.info

5.  wipe your HD, restore, download Bitcoin-Qt and wait for blockchain to sync

6.  open debug window in Bitcoin-Qt

7.  scan the QR code of your private key that you printed out and copy it to clipboard

8.  in the debug window type "importprivkey <copyyourprivatekeyhere> [optional label here for your address] and hit enter

9.  wait several minutes for your private key to be added and rescanned your BTC will show up and you can breathe easy!

edit: also coinbase will generate paper wallets for you now, the only difference is you have to trust them when they say they do not store the private key.  https://coinbase.com/paper_wallets

possible 10. shred paper wallet or save it somewhere carefully as it is possible after enough transactions your wallet will use this address as change address and if someone got ahold of the private key it they could be waiting for this to occur and sweep coins.

[raze]

personally i dont think cold storage is all that difficult so here is my attempt at simplifying it while leaving crucial steps intact.

1.  go to https://tails.boum.org and download the current tails OS.  burn it to a DVD.  

2.  boot your computer from tails OS and generate bitcoin address using https://bitaddress.org

3.  print address/private key and shutdown tails.

4.  scan QR code and send your BTC to paper wallet.   i highly recommend testing with a small amount first to avoid potential costly mistakes.  verify using blockchain.info

5.  wipe your HD, restore, download Bitcoin-Qt and wait for blockchain to sync

6.  open debug window in Bitcoin-Qt

7.  scan the QR code of your private key that you printed out and copy it to clipboard

8.  in the debug window type "importprivkey <copyyourprivatekeyhere> [optional label here for your address] and hit enter

9.  wait several minutes for your private key to be added and rescanned your BTC will show up and you can breathe easy!

edit: also coinbase will generate paper wallets for you now, the only difference is you have to trust them when they say they do not store the private key.  https://coinbase.com/paper_wallets

possible 10. shred paper wallet or save it somewhere carefully as it is possible after enough transactions your wallet will use this address as change address and if someone got ahold of the private key it they could be waiting for this to occur and sweep coins.
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*Step 2.5* Spend half an hour trying to find compatible printer drivers