Forgot the password

[MiladMax]

I have the "bitcoin-wallet-backup-" file but i forgot the password, how can i restore it?

[jackg]

Have you got any idea to how much bitcoin might be in it? Any idea to what the password could be? Even the length of the password is a good start to cracking it.

When did you have this wallet, is it yours?

[AdolfinWolf]

Yup. As jackg said, if it’s encrypted with a password, you’ll have to bruteforce it. This is very much possible if you have any idea as to what the password might be.

If you do, you can use a tool such as https://github.com/gurnec/btcrecover

It’s definitely worth a try, especially if you reckon there’s a decent amount of coins there.

[LoyceV]

I have the "bitcoin-wallet-backup-" file but i forgot the password, how can i restore it?

FYI:

Determine wallets based on filenames (note: these are the default filenames, you could have renamed yours)

• bitcoin-wallet-backup-YYYY-MM-DD. Example: bitcoin-wallet-backup-2015-12-31
  Use Bitcoin Wallet on Android.

[jackg]

I have the "bitcoin-wallet-backup-" file but i forgot the password, how can i restore it?

FYI:

Determine wallets based on filenames (note: these are the default filenames, you could have renamed yours)

• bitcoin-wallet-backup-YYYY-MM-DD. Example: bitcoin-wallet-backup-2015-12-31
  Use Bitcoin Wallet on Android.

It’s possible to restore that wallet using a bitcoinj client as far as I can remember, there should be a guide somewhere on the internet (I did it with a hd wallet but yours might not be hd if it’s older than a few years).

[HCP]

I have the "bitcoin-wallet-backup-" file but i forgot the password, how can i restore it?

Without the password, the sad answer is that you can't... they're encrypted backups.

You either need to remember the password to be able to restore the wallet file back into a compatible wallet (ie. Bitcoin Wallet for Android)... or you need to try and "brute force" the password using a tool like btcrecover as suggested by AdolfinWolf.

[keychainX]

I have the "bitcoin-wallet-backup-" file but i forgot the password, how can i restore it?

You have several options. First you need to decide, should you crack it yourself or find a service.

Option 1) find a service. You can use walletrecoveryservice (bitcoin dave) but he is quite busy and won't take the deal if the wallet is small. You can hire my service (http://keychainx.io) an American company with private investors and one of the biggest GPU farms offered as a service. We are quite young as a company, but our hackers/crackers were legendary in the cracking business in the 80s/90s and have more experience in password cracking than the age of most of the users on this forum. You could also hire the many "self proclaimed" services who will PM you in private

Option 2) You crack it yourself. First you need to download a few tools, have python installed and have at least a GPU rig to do the job. You should follow these steps:

1) get python from here: https://www.python.org/downloads/
2) Get john the ripper from https://www.openwall.com/john/
3) run bitcoin2john.py to get the hash
4) get at least half a dozen of GPUs
5) There are several tools, but my favorite is hash cat, get it here: https://hashcat.net/hashcat/
6) Get a dictionary for your password attack from here: https://weakpass.com
7) knock yourself out. Be patient, don't give up. 

And most truly of all, if you have the wallet, you are safe, nobody can take your coins.

/KX