Please Help! Deleted my electrum wallet - what to do?

[Crypto_Lover]

Dear Forum Members!

i accidentally deleted my electrum wallet with BTC on it from my computer! But i still have the private key.

What exactly do i need to so to recover my coins?
If you can help me with the answer please explain it in layman´s terms since i am not i trained computer professional.

THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HELP UPFRONT... much appreciated!!!

Crypto_lover (needs to be more careful!!)

[1714116630]

1714116630

[1714116630]

1714116630

[1714116630]

1714116630

[bones261]

   When you open the Electrum wallet, under "file," there should be an option called New/Restore. Select that option and go through the step by step menus. You will get the option to restore by seed or importing a private key.

[Crypto_Lover]

Hi bones261!

thanks ...
But first i need to download it from https://electrum.org ... Correct?

What is the difference between seed and private key. You mean the 12 words that i got initally?

Thanks
CL

[eddie13]

Either your seed for the entire wallet or priv key for the specific address(s) that holds the coin should work.

[bones261]

Hi bones261!

thanks ...
But first i need to download it from https://electrum.org ... Correct?

What is the difference between seed and private key. You mean the 12 words that i got initally?

Thanks
CL

   The seed is the 12 word phrase. Yes, you can download it from the official electrum site. A private key is usually a long (256 bit) string of characters that are used to generate the public key. The public key is then used to generate the BTC address. You also need the private key in order to "sign" a transaction. The seed phrase is used to generate private key/public key pairs in a deterministic way. You can use the seed phrase to recover your wallet and get access to your BTC.
 

[bob123]

What is the difference between seed and private key. You mean the 12 words that i got initally?

A private key is used to sign transactions to spend UTXO's associated to the corresponding public key.

A seed (12-/24- word mnemonic code) is used to generate multiple private keys (using a kind of mathematical equation).
This allows you to backup 1 phrase (mnemonic code) which will create the same ('unlimited amount') of private keys.


You have the mnemonic seed phrase backed up, not a private key (which is good).
Create a new wallet and restore it using this seed.

But first i need to download it from https://electrum.org ... Correct?

Correct.
And preferably make sure you have downloaded the correct file by verifying its signature. 

[Crypto_Lover]

Dear all!

thanks for your helpful comments...

Let me see if i understood everything correctly.

1) Even if i download the wallet from the original website: www.electrum.org i need to test the signature, because it could be corrupted...Correct?

2) How can i check the signature from a downloaded file?

3) I have the 12 words to restore the whole wallet... this will include my held BTC. Thus no private key is needed.... Correct?

4) I used my wallet the last time 12 month ago. I dont remember ever using a private key nor having it gotten at any time. I remember sending BTC to adresses that involved long rows of random numbers and signs. Were those the private keys of other wallets?

5) I always thought that i only need to store my 12 words somewhere as a safety procedure.
          * Do i need to store safely my private key as well in the future
          * Where do i get this private key?

Your help is much appreciated!

Crypto_lover

[Lucius]

Crypto_Lover, most important thing now is to check your operating system with some good antivirus/antimalware program to be sure that your device is clean for any infection. I say this because you will need to enter your seed in new Electrum wallet, and it's sensitive step.

Then be sure to download latest version of Electrum for your OS from : https://electrum.org/#download

In the process of recovering wallet you will get option to set password for your wallet, and it is definitely recommended to do that. Just be sure to save this password with your seed words, and always update Electrum only from official site.

1&2. Yes, but this may not be easy task for you - check this link : How To Verify The Integrity Of Electrum Wallet Executable On Windows?

3. Yes, that is correct - when you restore from seed all private keys/transaction/balance will be restored.

4. Sending addresses are not important for you, but you will see all previous transactions in your wallet.

5. You only need your seed, there is no need to save any private keys from Electrum. If you need private key for some reason just click tab Address - Right click on address - Private key.

[pooya87]

to add to what @Lucius said, here is how things work with bitcoin:
in order to send/receive bitcoin you need to create a private key which is just a random number in a very big range. you convert that into an address using an irreversible function, and receive bitcoin using that. when spending you again use that private key to create a signature with another irreversible function.
to put simply, everything you do is with your private key.

in bitcoin, an address is meant to be used only once. so technically every time you spend bitcoin you should create a new key pair. that can become tedious when you want to create back ups. you have to back up thousands of keys which would become a huge file and you wouldn't be able to write them down.
so to fix this problem they came up with the  concept of having a "master key" that can generate all your keys and you only have to back that master key up. this makes it very simple because you are just writing down 1 key.
then they also came up with the idea of seed phrase so that you can see your "master key" in form of a set of words.
to put simply, you write down your seed phrase (the 12 words) on a paper then when you give it to your wallet, it generates your master key then all your singular private keys and then does all you need in the background without you noticing.

that is why you just have to create a back up of your seed not your individual private keys although you still have access to every one if you wish to.

[Crypto_Lover]

Hi Lucius!
thanks a lot for your input..
CL

Crypto_Lover, most important thing now is to check your operating system with some good antivirus/antimalware program to be sure that your device is clean for any infection. I say this because you will need to enter your seed in new Electrum wallet, and it's sensitive step.

Then be sure to download latest version of Electrum for your OS from : https://electrum.org/#download

In the process of recovering wallet you will get option to set password for your wallet, and it is definitely recommended to do that. Just be sure to save this password with your seed words, and always update Electrum only from official site.

1&2. Yes, but this may not be easy task for you - check this link : cutable-on-windows]How To Verify The Integrity Of Electrum Wallet Executable On Windows?

3. Yes, that is correct - when you restore from seed all private keys/transaction/balance will be restored.

4. Sending addresses are not important for you, but you will see all previous transactions in your wallet.

5. You only need your seed, there is no need to save any private keys from Electrum. If you need private key for some reason just click tab Address - Right click on address - Private key.

[HCP]

i accidentally deleted my electrum wallet with BTC on it from my computer! But i still have the private key.

thanks ...
But first i need to download it from https://electrum.org ... Correct?

Do you mean that you uninstalled the Electrum program by accident? As opposed to deleting the actual wallet file from your PC?

If you just uninstalled the app, your actual wallet file will NOT have been deleted. It is stored in a folder structure that is normally "hidden" by default. In this case, you can simply reinstall Electrum and it will automatically find your wallet file again.

However, if you actually deleted the wallet file (reformat, deleted appdata folder etc) then you will need to restore using the 12 word seed mnemonic that you have.