My bitcoin transfer didn't go through

[Gibbie]

Hello bitcoin users! I am new here. I am really liking this new currency and I am getting my friends interested by giving away free bitcoins. I've been able to mine bitcoins and I've bought a t-shirt with bitcoins. A friend of mine got his bitcoin client installed and I sent him a .01 bitcoin to his address and it never made it into his wallet and it is not listed in his transactions tab. The transaction on my end has been verified numerous times. We thought it might be a firewall issue but he's looked into that with out much luck. Maybe there is still something in the firewall that is preventing this from working.

I didn't know what to search for so forgive me if this has been asked a million times.

What could be causing his client to not receive transfers? And also is there any possibility that the transfer will make it to his wallet at this point in time if the problem is resolved?

Thanks for any help you can offer me!

[jh1523]

Are you absolutely sure you typed the recipient address correctly? Or that you copied/pasted it correctly? A typo could cause the bitcoins you sent to vanish in the big bottomless pit of uncertainty.

[Gibbie]

I copied what he had posted in the instant message window. I will ask him to post his address again next time I see him online. But the transfer was confirmed in my client... Could it be that someone recieved an anonymous .01 bitcoin gift? 

[JoelKatz]

First, punch his address into block explorer and make sure you see the transaction. You can also note the block number of the transaction.

Second, make sure his client has downloaded all the blocks (138,691 as of now). This can take 8 hours or so when you first install it. The client cannot see any transactions in blocks after the last block it has processed.

[jh1523]

Read this thread, it explains what happens when BTC are sent to addresses that are valid but not assigned to anyone... Chances are your transfer will show up in someone's wallet years from now.

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=32807.0

[delson]

If you were typing it manually, the chances of hitting another valid address are rather slim. Be absolutely sure it was the right address. It would be funny if those coins show up years from now. Maybe BTC will be worth $1000/coin and that will be a nice surprise!