Only got the old wallets address, possible to use it?

[nc50lc]

After that I guess the wallet will continue the sync, how long would that take? And after that the next thing would be to send it to a new wallet, right? Any good recommendations for not having to pay a high fee?

Usually, it takes from 1day to two weeks (or more) depending on the PC.
It's mostly based from your internet speed next is your machine's specs.
To speed things up, I'd suggest you to increase the dbcache to at least half of your RAM.
The option is in "Settings->Options->Size of Database Cache".

For the fee, you can time it right when there are a few transactions in the network, you can use this site to check if the average fee/mempool size is low:
https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2h

[HCP]

Thank you for your answers. We decided we should chose the option of using bitcoin core on a new safe computer and import the dat-file from there. Since I am helping my friend by the phone, it would be great to know as much as possible before we start. We have some time since the downloading process of bitcoin core is pretty time consuming. Is there a function in the newer version of the program that we could be using in an easy way or do we have to replace files and such?

Yes, once Bitcoin Core is fully synced, you can shut it down... then copy the old wallet.dat into the Bitcoin Coin "data directory". You can find the data directory by looking in the "Window -> Information" menu... look for the "Datadir" value:


Once you've copied the wallet.dat into that directory, you can simply restart Bitcoin Core and it will automatically use this wallet.dat.

NOTE: if the file is not called exactly "wallet.dat", once you have restarted Bitcoin Core, you'll need to use the "File -> Open wallet" menu and select the .dat file that you copied into the datadir.

We have encrypted the dat-file from the old computer btw, so it feels much better to import it in the new one.

How exactly did you encrypt it? Did you add a passphrase to it using the "Settings -> Encrypt wallet" menu option within Bitcoin Core? or did you use some external form of encryption?

After that I guess the wallet will continue the sync, how long would that take? And after that the next thing would be to send it to a new wallet, right? Any good recommendations for not having to pay a high fee?

Network fees are always dependent on a number of things, data size of the transaction, current network conditions etc... if the wallet contains lots and lots of tiny amounts, it'll make any transaction you create larger than normal and the total fee required will be more than normal. If the network is busy, you don't necessarily need to send with a large fee, but you'll end up waiting for a number of hours to get the transaction confirmed.

In any case, Bitcoin Core allows you to customise the fee rates to your liking... you can easily send using the minimum amount of 0.00001000 BTC/kB if you want (that is the equivalent of 1 sat/byte). You just need to be aware that this could mean it takes a while for the transaction to get included in a block if the network is busy and fee rates are "high".

[highfarmer]

Thank you for your answers. We decided we should chose the option of using bitcoin core on a new safe computer and import the dat-file from there. Since I am helping my friend by the phone, it would be great to know as much as possible before we start. We have some time since the downloading process of bitcoin core is pretty time consuming. Is there a function in the newer version of the program that we could be using in an easy way or do we have to replace files and such?

Yes, once Bitcoin Core is fully synced, you can shut it down... then copy the old wallet.dat into the Bitcoin Coin "data directory". You can find the data directory by looking in the "Window -> Information" menu... look for the "Datadir" value:


Once you've copied the wallet.dat into that directory, you can simply restart Bitcoin Core and it will automatically use this wallet.dat.

NOTE: if the file is not called exactly "wallet.dat", once you have restarted Bitcoin Core, you'll need to use the "File -> Open wallet" menu and select the .dat file that you copied into the datadir.

We have encrypted the dat-file from the old computer btw, so it feels much better to import it in the new one.

How exactly did you encrypt it? Did you add a passphrase to it using the "Settings -> Encrypt wallet" menu option within Bitcoin Core? or did you use some external form of encryption?

After that I guess the wallet will continue the sync, how long would that take? And after that the next thing would be to send it to a new wallet, right? Any good recommendations for not having to pay a high fee?

Network fees are always dependent on a number of things, data size of the transaction, current network conditions etc... if the wallet contains lots and lots of tiny amounts, it'll make any transaction you create larger than normal and the total fee required will be more than normal. If the network is busy, you don't necessarily need to send with a large fee, but you'll end up waiting for a number of hours to get the transaction confirmed.

In any case, Bitcoin Core allows you to customise the fee rates to your liking... you can easily send using the minimum amount of 0.00001000 BTC/kB if you want (that is the equivalent of 1 sat/byte). You just need to be aware that this could mean it takes a while for the transaction to get included in a block if the network is busy and fee rates are "high".

But we are goin to import it to the new client on the new computer, it were never synced completed on the old one. It still possible to import it? And its the sam thing in the end?

"How exactly did you encrypt it? Did you add a passphrase to it using the "Settings -> Encrypt wallet" menu option within Bitcoin Core?"

Yes, we did it that way. That should be alright?

Thank you for your answers. We decided we should chose the option of using bitcoin core on a new safe computer and import the dat-file from there. Since I am helping my friend by the phone, it would be great to know as much as possible before we start. We have some time since the downloading process of bitcoin core is pretty time consuming. Is there a function in the newer version of the program that we could be using in an easy way or do we have to replace files and such?

Yes, once Bitcoin Core is fully synced, you can shut it down... then copy the old wallet.dat into the Bitcoin Coin "data directory". You can find the data directory by looking in the "Window -> Information" menu... look for the "Datadir" value:


Once you've copied the wallet.dat into that directory, you can simply restart Bitcoin Core and it will automatically use this wallet.dat.

NOTE: if the file is not called exactly "wallet.dat", once you have restarted Bitcoin Core, you'll need to use the "File -> Open wallet" menu and select the .dat file that you copied into the datadir.

We have encrypted the dat-file from the old computer btw, so it feels much better to import it in the new one.

How exactly did you encrypt it? Did you add a passphrase to it using the "Settings -> Encrypt wallet" menu option within Bitcoin Core? or did you use some external form of encryption?

After that I guess the wallet will continue the sync, how long would that take? And after that the next thing would be to send it to a new wallet, right? Any good recommendations for not having to pay a high fee?

Network fees are always dependent on a number of things, data size of the transaction, current network conditions etc... if the wallet contains lots and lots of tiny amounts, it'll make any transaction you create larger than normal and the total fee required will be more than normal. If the network is busy, you don't necessarily need to send with a large fee, but you'll end up waiting for a number of hours to get the transaction confirmed.

In any case, Bitcoin Core allows you to customise the fee rates to your liking... you can easily send using the minimum amount of 0.00001000 BTC/kB if you want (that is the equivalent of 1 sat/byte). You just need to be aware that this could mean it takes a while for the transaction to get included in a block if the network is busy and fee rates are "high".

Alright, some days that are more optimal than others?




Thank you !

[HCP]

But we are goin to import it to the new client on the new computer, it were never synced completed on the old one. It still possible to import it? And its the sam thing in the end?

It won't matter if it was synced on the old one or not... when you have the new computer and new client setup and fully synced, you'll be able to see everything as required.

"How exactly did you encrypt it? Did you add a passphrase to it using the "Settings -> Encrypt wallet" menu option within Bitcoin Core?"

Yes, we did it that way. That should be alright?

Yes, that should be fine... you will just need to make sure that you don't forget that passphrase, as it will be required to send coins from that wallet.dat now.

Alright, some days that are more optimal than others?

If you have a look here: https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2w

You can see the last 2 weeks worth of activity... you'll note that generally, the mempool is relatively "empty" and the fees are generally lower on "weekends"...  Having said that, if you look at the "30d" chart, you'll notice things were just crazy during the end of Oct... and even on weekends the mempool was quite full and the fees were quite high. So, it's not guaranteed, and a big bull run or price dump can mean lots of extra activity, even on weekends... but weekends tend to be quieter and the fees lower.

Just check the website, when you're considering sending, and you'll get a quick snapshot of how "busy" things are etc.

[highfarmer]

But we are goin to import it to the new client on the new computer, it were never synced completed on the old one. It still possible to import it? And its the sam thing in the end?

It won't matter if it was synced on the old one or not... when you have the new computer and new client setup and fully synced, you'll be able to see everything as required.

Thank you for response.
What is the meaning of syncing it? I mean whats the good stuff syncing it instead of just send it? Is it even possible to send it without synching it beforehand? If you compere it with import/sweep in into another application?

[bob123]

What is the meaning of syncing it?

That's the process of downloading and verifying the blockchain on your own computer a.k.a. full node.
Once you are up-to-date with the current network, your node is synced (with the network).

Is it even possible to send it without synching it beforehand? If you compere it with import/sweep in into another application?

It is, if you decide to import your private keys into a different (SPV) wallet.
If you want to send a transaction from core, it needs to be synced first.

But you are free to export the private keys and import (or sweep) them into another wallet. For this, your node does not need to be synced.

[highfarmer]

Thank you, so whats the reason with synching when you can use it directly instead?

What is the meaning of syncing it?

That's the process of downloading and verifying the blockchain on your own computer a.k.a. full node.
Once you are up-to-date with the current network, your node is synced (with the network).

Is it even possible to send it without synching it beforehand? If you compere it with import/sweep in into another application?

It is, if you decide to import your private keys into a different (SPV) wallet.
If you want to send a transaction from core, it needs to be synced first.

But you are free to export the private keys and import (or sweep) them into another wallet. For this, your node does not need to be synced.

[ranochigo]

Thank you, so whats the reason with synching when you can use it directly instead?

You can't get all your transaction information if you don't synchronize it. SPV wallet or not, you're still synchronizing your wallet. It's just that SPV wallets are way faster than Bitcoin Core due to the fact that SPV wallets only download the block headers. You can't use a wallet without synchronization because you'll likely get outdated information which wouldn't allow you to spend your coins.

[bob123]

Thank you, so whats the reason with synching when you can use it directly instead?

Bitcoin core is a full node. This means it will download, verify and store the whole blockchain. And this takes time.
With a SPV wallet, your client is connecting to a server (which has the whole blockchain) and asks them about your transactions/addresses.  Note that it is a bit more complex like that, i.e. the server can not simply "lie".

If you don't want to rely on any 3rd party, you need to run your own full node (which takes time to synchronize). If you just want to "use" BTC, a SPV wallet is sufficient.