newbie problem

[lemonbelly]

hello, I bought a nominal amount just to get the feel of it, i was using a different wallet (msigna) seemed straight forward the coin showed up in there very quickly but then i had problems connecting so i decided to try a different wallet, Armory. i have sent some from msigna but now i find in order to connect armory i have to download data from bitcoin which so far has taken 3 days and looks like taking another 5-10 days, am i missing something or doing something really stupid? please advise

[droark]

Armory is a "full node" wallet, basically meaning you have to download the entire blockchain (~180 GB) via Bitcoin Core before you can send coins.

[lemonbelly]

what is the advantage of full node ie having to download 180gb when other wallllets dont seem to require this.. my main concern is that it has taken 3 days and likely another 5 days, is this normal?

[droark]

Look up full node vs. lite node (aka SPV). Long story short, you basically are your own bank with Armory.

[lemonbelly]

is the length of time it is taking normal?   also what happens if i run out of disk space?

[droark]

It can take days, and you'll have to make space or get a thumb drive or something else to hold the data. The web site has more info regarding all that. Please read up before proceeding.