I need Help finding or recovering bitcoins off an old hard drive

[HCP]

Pywallet doesn't look into directories in "recover" mode... it simply scans the entire device.

There really isn't a lot to learn if you're just wanting to scan a drive looking for potential/deleted wallet files. You simply use the options as already mentioned.

Code:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

# --recover option tells pywallet to operate in recovery mode (ie. scan the device looking for wallet files)
# --recov_size options specifies the size of the device... if you have a 256gig drive, you say 256Gio... if it is an 8Gig thumbdrive, specify 8Gio (the script author used Gio for Gigabytes for some reason?) Note that if you have an 8Gig drive and specify a smaller size (ie. 2Gio), the script will only scan the first 2 gigs then stop.
# --recov_device specifies the drive letter for the device you want to scan
# --recov_outputdir simply tells the script where to place any "recovered" wallet files etc.

I don't recommend the browser interface as it will slow things down considerably for drive scanning. Also, it isn't terribly stable, is horribly outdated and may cause more issues than it solves. By using the commandline you can see exactly what the script is doing rather than having it filtered through the browser interface and other unnecessary packages.

[SheriffBass]

Pywallet doesn't look into directories in "recover" mode... it simply scans the entire device.

There really isn't a lot to learn if you're just wanting to scan a drive looking for potential/deleted wallet files. You simply use the options as already mentioned.

Code:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

# --recover option tells pywallet to operate in recovery mode (ie. scan the device looking for wallet files)
# --recov_size options specifies the size of the device... if you have a 256gig drive, you say 256Gio... if it is an 8Gig thumbdrive, specify 8Gio (the script author used Gio for Gigabytes for some reason?) Note that if you have an 8Gig drive and specify a smaller size (ie. 2Gio), the script will only scan the first 2 gigs then stop.
# --recov_device specifies the drive letter for the device you want to scan
# --recov_outputdir simply tells the script where to place any "recovered" wallet files etc.

I don't recommend the browser interface as it will slow things down considerably for drive scanning. Also, it isn't terribly stable, is horribly outdated and may cause more issues than it solves. By using the commandline you can see exactly what the script is doing rather than having it filtered through the browser interface and other unnecessary packages.

Great, Thanks a lot for your patience and valuable advice, got it and no more web interface!

however when I tried the very clear much wanted and appreciated "idiot guide"

I got the following results:
C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover
You must provide the device, the number of bytes to read and the output directory

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recov_size=500.0Gio
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses
  --importprivkey=KEY   import private key from vanitygen

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recov_device C:\
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses
  --importprivkey=KEY   import private key from vanitygen
  --importhex           KEY is in hexadecimal format
  --datadir=DATADIR     wallet directory (defaults to bitcoin default)
  --wallet=WALLETFILE   wallet filename (defaults to wallet.dat)
  --label=LABEL         label shown in the adress book (defaults to '')
  --testnet             use testnet subdirectory and address type
  --namecoin            use namecoin address type
  --otherversion=OTHERVERSION
                        use other network address type, whose version is
                        OTHERVERSION
  --info                display pubkey, privkey (both depending on the
                        network) and hexkey
  --reserve             import as a reserve key, i.e. it won't show in the
                        adress book
  --multidelete=MULTIDELETE
                        deletes data in your wallet, according to the file
                        provided
  --balance=KEY_BALANCE
                        prints balance of KEY_BALANCE
  --web                 run pywallet web interface
  --port=PORT           port of web interface (defaults to 8989)
  --recover             recover your deleted keys, use with recov_size and
                        recov_device
  --recov_device=RECOV_DEVICE
                        device to read (e.g. /dev/sda1 or E: or a file)
  --recov_size=RECOV_SIZE
                        number of bytes to read (e.g. 20Mo or 50Gio)
  --recov_outputdir=RECOV_OUTPUTDIR
                        output directory where the recovered wallet will be
                        put
  --clone_watchonly_from=CLONE_WATCHONLY_FROM
                        path of the original wallet
  --clone_watchonly_to=CLONE_WATCHONLY_TO
                        path of the resulting watch-only wallet
  --dont_check_walletversion
                        don't check if wallet version > 81000 before running
                        (WARNING: this may break your wallet, be sure you know
                        what you do)
  --wait=NSECONDS       wait NSECONDS seconds before launch



C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --importprivkey=KEY
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 5004, in <module>
    db_env = create_env(db_dir)
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 1269, in create_env
    r = db_env.open(db_dir, (DB_CREATE|DB_INIT_LOCK|DB_INIT_LOG|DB_INIT_MPOOL|DB_INIT_TXN|DB_THREAD|DB_RECOVER))
bsddb.db.DBNoSuchFileError: (2, 'No such file or directory -- C:\\Users\\Hoss\\AppData\\Roaming\\Bitcoin\\__db.001: No such
 file or directory')


C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --info
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses


C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --dumpwallet
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 5004, in <module>
    db_env = create_env(db_dir)
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 1269, in create_env
    r = db_env.open(db_dir, (DB_CREATE|DB_INIT_LOCK|DB_INIT_LOG|DB_INIT_MPOOL|DB_INIT_TXN|DB_THREAD|DB_RECOVER))
bsddb.db.DBNoSuchFileError: (2, 'No such file or directory -- C:\\Users\\Hoss\\AppData\\Roaming\\Bitcoin\\__db.001: No such file or directory')

C:\Users\Hoss>



C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --importhex
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,



The only command that properly worked was:

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --version
pywallet.py 1.1


am I missing something or doing something terribly wrong??
do I have to create a file (with defined path) for potentially recovered wallet/ keys before running it?
So sorry, I'm normally not as stupid as I appear here however it's all very new to me!!!
Thanks again,

[addarmstrong]

It looks like you are basically there and looks like pywallet is installed.

you arent giving all the required arguments for pywallet to actually do anything though.

You need to do a command like what has been posted by HCP:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

as an example:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=250Gio --recov_device F:\ --recov_outputdir C:\recoveredwallets

you will need to change 250 and F to the size of the drive you are scanning and the letter the drive shows up in my computer as.

As already said, make sure you take a back up first of the drive.

Also you will probably need to run command prompt as admin

[SheriffBass]

Ohh, all this is one command??
Sorry I thought they were multiple different commands serving multiple different purposes!!!
Will try the one big line, and how about the destination file? I will have to create that ahead as well right?

[Rath_]

Will try the one big line, and how about the destination file? I will have to create that ahead as well right?

No, the file will be created automatically. You have to specify where it is supposed to be created (--recov_outputdir parameter). Don't forget to modify all of the parameters.

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

[SheriffBass]

Will try the one big line, and how about the destination file? I will have to create that ahead as well right?

No, the file will be created automatically. You have to specify where it is supposed to be created (--recov_outputdir parameter). Don't forget to modify all of the parameters.
I did that, and It’s asking me to enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys, so do I make it up, generate it through a website, Or just ignore it/ bypass it for now??

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

you guys are amazing It is a one long line command, I'm getting very close :-)
Thank you,

[Rath_]

I did that, and It’s asking me to enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys, so do I make it up, generate it through a website, Or just ignore it/ bypass it for now??

You can either try to leave it blank or set it to something that you will remember (there is no need to use an external website for that). If I were you, I would set the passphrase just to be sure it worked fine. You will need it to open the wallet if the recovery turns out to be successful.

[SheriffBass]

I did that, and It’s asking me to enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys, so do I make it up, generate it through a website, Or just ignore it/ bypass it for now??

You can either try to leave it blank or set it to something that you will remember (there is no need to use an external website for that). If I were you, I would set the passphrase just to be sure it worked fine. You will need it to open the wallet if the recovery turns out to be successful.

so I put in a pass phrase to start the program, it asked to input possible passphrase for the deleted wallet, pushed enter to skip ( as I have no recollection), it said starting recovery and immediately: can't open \\.\c:\, check the path or try as root Error:(2, 'no such file or directory')
I tried again but searching a USB Changed the command to search device D and got:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')
 

[Rath_]

I tried again but searching a USB Changed the command to search device D and got:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')

So which drive is the one you want to scan? C or D? If D then running the command prompt as administrator should do the trick (simply right-click and select 'Run as administrator').

[SheriffBass]

I tried again but searching a USB Changed the command to search device D and got:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')

So which drive is the one you want to scan? C or D? If D then running the command prompt as administrator should do the trick (simply right-click and select 'Run as administrator').

I want to run it on many drives none off which are connected yet!

so running it as an admin. CMD changes to: C:WINDOWS\system32>

then running the command gives me: python can't open file 'pywallet.py' : [Errno 2] no such file or directory

[bob123]

You need to navigate into the folder containing the file first, using cd.

For example, enter the following to get into the root directory:

Code:

cd ..
cd ..

Then navigate into the folder containing the script, for example:

Code:

cd Users
cd USERNAME
cd Desktop

Then start the script again. But obviously after connecting the drive.

[Rath_]

then running the command gives me: python can't open file 'pywallet.py' : [Errno 2] no such file or directory

That's beucase the 'pywallet.py' is located somewhere else. I found its location on the previous page of this thread. Type in the following command.

Code:

cd C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master

Now, try to run the recovery command, but make sure to select the correct drive.

[SheriffBass]

so did that, it switched my commands in both user and admin to C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>
when I type the command:
C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff  ( filling in the drive, size and output location)
it asks for passphrase for the new wallet, then possible pass phrase for lost wallet ( I just click enter to skip it)

still get the same msgs!!
can't open \\.\c:\, check the path or try as root Error:(2, 'no such file or directory')

then tried the flash drive "D" switched parameters and got the same msg:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')

are there extra \\.\ in the program itself that makes it unrecognizable/inaccessible?

I tried to create a directory in the sys properties, environment variables as in: https://superuser.com/questions/143119/how-do-i-add-python-to-the-windows-path
python 27 was already in so I added python.exe
will try again.

[addarmstrong]

Could you post the actual command you are trying to use?

If i remember rightly you have to use unix style paths so '/'s instead of '\', even when using it in windows. So both --recov_device and --recov_outputdir would need to be '/'s not '\'s.

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:/ --recov_outputdir X:/Where/to/put/found/stuff

[SheriffBass]

so in the script it's self:   https://github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/blob/master/pywallet.py
line 4851:

4850       if len(device) in [2,3] and device[1]==':':
4851          device="\\\\.\\"+device

is this normal? are the \\\\.\\ out of place and confusing the program???

I have another copy of pywallet and the same command is on line 4778


here are the commands: ( PS** the passphrase is made up, wont be used ever after this operation)

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.17134.950]
(c) 2018 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C:\ --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open \\.\C:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (2, 'No such file or directory')

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device D:\ --recov_size=32.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (13, 'Permission denied')


when I change the directory as advised earlier same error but with only one proper (\) :


C:\Users\Hoss>cd C:\hoss\documents\pywallet-win-files-master
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Users\Hoss> cd C:\users\hoss\documents\pywallet-win-files-master

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device D:\ --recov_size=32.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open D:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (13, 'Permission denied')

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C:\ --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open C:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (2, 'No such file or directory')

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>

[HCP]

so in the script it's self:   https://github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/blob/master/pywallet.py
line 4851:

4850       if len(device) in [2,3] and device[1]==':':
4851          device="\\\\.\\"+device

is this normal? are the \\\\.\\ out of place and confusing the program???

Yeah... it's just the stupid complicated thing you need to do when "escaping" special characters in programming languages! You can ignore all this "gobbledy gook"... it's correct.

here are the commands: ( PS** the passphrase is made up, wont be used ever after this operation)
...
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

NOTE: It appears you are confusing a wallet encryption password (aka the "passphrase" that pywallet is prompting you to enter)... for a 12 word mnemonic recovery phrase. Bitcoin Core has never used 12 word mnemonic phrases. What pywallet is asking you for when it says "Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys" is simply a "password" that will be used to encrypt the wallet.dat file that it is going to create... this can be anything you like, like abc123 or password123 etc... but you need to be able to remember it, because if pywallet is successful in finding private keys... then to use the wallet.dat within Bitcoin Core to recover your coins (or to extract the private keys from it) you will need the password!



Anyway... onto the root cause of your current issue...

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C:\ --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open \\.\C:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (2, 'No such file or directory')

I apologise, I think I originally set you wrong with the device naming... DO NOT use the "\" char... so when you specify --recov_device, it should simply be C: or D: or X: or whatever

If you include the \ character, then the script will get confused and give you the "Can't open C:\, check the path or try as root" type error. Sorry!

Anyway, based on what you have so your command should be:

Code:

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C: --recov_size=465Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet

NOTE: I would recommend that you don't use spaces in directory names... that could cause unexpected results. Also, you need to make sure that the output directory that you specify exists BEFORE you run the pywallet scan... otherwise it will fail at the end with an error like this:

[SheriffBass]

so in the script it's self:   https://github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/blob/master/pywallet.py
line 4851:

4850       if len(device) in [2,3] and device[1]==':':
4851          device="\\\\.\\"+device

is this normal? are the \\\\.\\ out of place and confusing the program???

Yeah... it's just the stupid complicated thing you need to do when "escaping" special characters in programming languages! You can ignore all this "gobbledy gook"... it's correct.

here are the commands: ( PS** the passphrase is made up, wont be used ever after this operation)
...
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

NOTE: It appears you are confusing a wallet encryption password (aka the "passphrase" that pywallet is prompting you to enter)... for a 12 word mnemonic recovery phrase. Bitcoin Core has never used 12 word mnemonic phrases. What pywallet is asking you for when it says "Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys" is simply a "password" that will be used to encrypt the wallet.dat file that it is going to create... this can be anything you like, like abc123 or password123 etc... but you need to be able to remember it, because if pywallet is successful in finding private keys... then to use the wallet.dat within Bitcoin Core to recover your coins (or to extract the private keys from it) you will need the password!



Anyway... onto the root cause of your current issue...

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C:\ --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: push costa surge wrote soil hospital derived migrate vacation arts fremont analyzed

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open \\.\C:\, check the path or try as root
  Error: (2, 'No such file or directory')

I apologise, I think I originally set you wrong with the device naming... DO NOT use the "\" char... so when you specify --recov_device, it should simply be C: or D: or X: or whatever

If you include the \ character, then the script will get confused and give you the "Can't open C:\, check the path or try as root" type error. Sorry!

Anyway, based on what you have so your command should be:

Code:

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C: --recov_size=465Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet

NOTE: I would recommend that you don't use spaces in directory names... that could cause unexpected results. Also, you need to make sure that the output directory that you specify exists BEFORE you run the pywallet scan... otherwise it will fail at the end with an error like this:

You are right, when It said passphrase I assumed it's the 12 words, my bad!

 I changed the Potential recovery folder name to avoid conflict ( no space now)

Changed the directory and commands with the following similar results: ( it now said permission denied instead of Error: (2, 'No such file or directory) now it's Can't open C:, check the path or try as root
  Error: (13, 'Permission denied')

Then displayed the Path and directory to see where the conflict may be coming from ( probably user error wrong download or install......).



C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --recover --recov_device C: --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: 123

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
Can't open C:, check the path or try as root
  Error: (13, 'Permission denied')

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>path
PATH=C:\Python27\;C:\Python27\Scripts;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\WINDOWS\System32\OpenSSH\;C:\Program Files\nodejs\;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin;;C:\Program Files (x86)\AOMEI Backupper;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Roaming\npm;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>dir
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is D6FD-F2FA

 Directory of C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master

08/23/2019  01:23 PM    <DIR>          .
08/23/2019  01:23 PM    <DIR>          ..
08/12/2019  05:23 PM             1,943 install.bat
08/21/2019  12:51 PM                 0 python
08/12/2019  05:23 PM                32 pywallet.bat
08/23/2019  10:32 AM           345,085 pywallet.py
08/23/2019  01:26 PM                 0 wallet.txt
               5 File(s)        347,060 bytes
               2 Dir(s)  454,830,444,544 bytes free


Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.17134.950]
(c) 2018 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Hoss>path
PATH=C:\Python27\;C:\Python27\Scripts;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\WINDOWS\System32\OpenSSH\;C:\Program Files\nodejs\;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin;;C:\Program Files (x86)\AOMEI Backupper;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Roaming\npm;C:\Users\Hoss\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin

C:\Users\Hoss>dir
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is D6FD-F2FA

 Directory of C:\Users\Hoss

08/23/2019  12:21 PM    <DIR>          .
08/23/2019  12:21 PM    <DIR>          ..
07/08/2019  07:56 AM    <DIR>          .config
08/05/2019  02:38 PM    <DIR>          .idlerc
07/29/2019  11:59 AM               810 .node_repl_history
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07/08/2019  07:53 AM    <DIR>          .vscode
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07/31/2019  11:52 AM                83 2.14.2
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08/14/2019  05:32 PM    <DIR>          Searches
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07/31/2019  11:37 AM             3,824 zipp-0.5.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl
08/07/2019  12:48 PM           213,891 zope.interface-3.7.0-py2.7-win-amd64.egg
              93 File(s)     16,852,723 bytes
              21 Dir(s)  454,830,092,288 bytes free

C:\Users\Hoss>


hope this have enough info to resolve the problem,
Thank you so very much.

[HCP]

It is probably more likely due to Windows 10 locking down the root directory of C: in an attempt to prevent viruses/malware from doing "bad things"™ to the system drive... and/or accessing privileged information (ie. other users data/info etc).

Where you running as Administrator? If not, then try that. Also, I'd recommend not trying to scan your C: unless you have a really good reason to. Try scanning a small USB thumb drive first.

[SheriffBass]

It is probably more likely due to Windows 10 locking down the root directory of C: in an attempt to prevent viruses/malware from doing "bad things"™ to the system drive... and/or accessing privileged information (ie. other users data/info etc).

Where you running as Administrator? If not, then try that. Also, I'd recommend not trying to scan your C: unless you have a really good reason to. Try scanning a small USB thumb drive first.

so do all paths and directories looks good?

Yes, I do run it as an admin and as a user, I found a video to switch permissions for local disk to full control will try it!
I try to scan C and a flash drive as well  ( just want to test/ properly run the program to apply it to an external drive later)
Do u recommend me to keep tweaking the current till it hopefully works,  restarting a fresh install on another fresh windows 10 or  downgrading to windows 7 and reinstalling everything??
Thank you,

[SheriffBass]

OOOOOk,
Good news and Bad news!!

 the good is that I think I figured out how to make it work ( hope it's properly working)

was the wrong (PY wallet) directory, supposed to be pywallet-master not pywallet-master-win files!

tried it on a flash drive:
C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=32.0Gio --recov_device E: --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: *********
Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
0.10 Go read
0.20 Go read
0.30 Go read
0.40 Go read
0.50 G


31.00 Go read

Read 31.0 Go in 14.0 minutes

Found 0 possible wallets
Found 0 possible encrypted keys
Found 0 possible unencrypted keys
The wallet is encrypted and the passphrase is correct


Importing:


The new wallet C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet/recovered_wallet_1******.dat contains the 0 recovered key

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>

**Although I specified only 465 GB it went through all the drive 500GB**

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_device C: --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: *********
Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
0.10 Go read
0.20 Go read
0.30 Go read
0.40 Go read
0.50 Go read

498.80 Go read
498.90 Go read
499.00 Go read
499.10 Go read
499.20 Go read

Read 499.3 Go in 165.4 minutes

Found 2 possible wallets
Found 0 possible encrypted keys
Found 0 possible unencrypted keys
The wallet is encrypted and the passphrase is correct


Importing:


The new wallet C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet/recovered_wallet_1******.dat contains the 0 recovered key

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>




C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=465.0Gio --recov_device E: --recov_outputdir C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet
Enter the passphrase for the wallet that will contain all the recovered keys: *****

Enter the possible passphrases used in your deleted wallets.
Don't forget that more passphrases = more time to test the possibilities.
Write one passphrase per line and end with an empty line.
Possible passphrase:

Starting recovery.
0.10 Go read
0.20 Go read
0.30 Go read
0.40 Go read



399.30 Go read
399.40 Go read
399.50 Go read
399.60 Go read
399.70 Go read
399.80 Go read
399.90 Go read
400.00 Go read

Read 400.1 Go in 445.7 minutes

Found 0 possible wallets
Found 0 possible encrypted keys
Found 0 possible unencrypted keys
The wallet is encrypted and the passphrase is correct


Importing:


The new wallet C:\Users\Hoss\Desktop\found_wallet/recovered_wallet_1******.dat contains the 0 recovered key

C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-master>


The Bad news is the mother of old backups found nothing!!!

will try my other hard drives later, and cancel my Lexus order for now!!!