Baby steps please i need help

[happydaize]

So i have 2 wallets that i set up in 2016 and want to see if i have any coins
Ive clicked on MULTIBIT HD thats on my desktop from 2016
i log into wallet 1 and it says preparing to synchronize but doesnt seem to do anything after that, same with wallet 2
if i press the finish button i can see my payments list but i cant see an actual balance anywhere.
do i need to let it finish synchronizing first?
is there a way i can view my balance?
im so sorry if i sound stupid. i didnt really know what i was doing back in 2016 and i still dont now
i would insert a screen shot on this message if i knew how! ive had to add a link to the image
https://ibb.co/xJ41DvQ

[dkbit98]

do i need to let it finish synchronizing first?

Yes let it sync, or you can import seed phrase in some other wallet like Electrum for example.

is there a way i can view my balance?

Yes.
Just type your address to any bitcoin blockchain explorer:
- Bitaps.com
- Blockchair.com
- Blockcypher.com
- Blockchain.com
- Mempool.space
- Blockstream.info

[happydaize]

do i need to let it finish synchronizing first?

Yes let it sync, or you can import seed phrase in some other wallet like Electrum for example.

will this cost me any coins?

is there a way i can view my balance?

Yes.
Just type your address to any bitcoin blockchain explorer:
- Bitaps.com
- Blockchair.com
- Blockcypher.com
- Blockchain.com
- Mempool.space
- Blockstream.info

when u say address? where will i find this address please?

[NeuroticFish]

MULTIBIT HD thats on my desktop from 2016
i log into wallet 1 and it says preparing to synchronize but doesnt seem to do anything after that, same with wallet 2

Multibit and Multibit HD were discontinued years ago, and since they were SPV wallets needing servers, they most probably don't have any data source and that can be a good reason nothing useful happens at sync.
Unfortunately I don't have experience with Multibit HD, but you should have a way to get access to a seed.

If you want to spend the coins, you'll probably have to restore your wallet(s) into Electrum, from the seed(s) or private keys. (!! make sure you download from electrum.org and verify the signature)


If you know the address(es), as said in previous post, use a block explorer to see if you have funds there.

[happydaize]

i dont know how to do this seed thing

would be easier to just use that site to view any coins but how do i find the address? when i go to the send / receive area they are greyed out so i cant click them to view the address

i dont want to spend them, i just want to see if i have any as ive been told they could be worth a lot of money

can u tell if i have any coins from my image in my 1st post?

[NeuroticFish]

i dont know how to do this seed thing

The seed is a list of words. The private keys are based on those. And the private keys are the tool that allows you spend/transfer the coins.
There are tools to find your seed if you know the password for the wallet, but I fear that what I've found is command line, it requires more software to be installed and may confuse you even more.
However, here you are:

decrypt_bitcoinj_seed should be the tool you need.
The May I have help with Multibit HD wallet? topic may worth a read (by you or whoever will help you out)


I'll add that you should run all these programs in offline computer or even better virtual machine to avoid somebody steal your wallet file, seed or private keys (i.e. your funds).

[BitMaxz]

i dont know how to do this seed thing

would be easier to just use that site to view any coins but how do i find the address? when i go to the send / receive area they are greyed out so i cant click them to view the address

I don't have experience in using this wallet but can you try this one

Click the receiving in your history then click details. Look at the image



Then check the receiving address and copy them and put them to any block explorer like what dkbit98 posted above.
You should see the balance of your wallet and the old transaction history.

[FatFork]

i dont know how to do this seed thing

would be easier to just use that site to view any coins but how do i find the address? when i go to the send / receive area they are greyed out so i cant click them to view the address

i dont want to spend them, i just want to see if i have any as ive been told they could be worth a lot of money

can u tell if i have any coins from my image in my 1st post?

According to that image you posted, you should have about 6.35 mBTC on that wallet, that's about $350 at the current exchange rate.

Although I've never used the MultiBit HD wallet, based on what I've read, the next logical step would be to get your seed words and restore your wallet in another desktop software, such as Electrum. To restore your wallet in Electrum, you can try this instruction: https://bitcoinelectrum.com/restoring-your-multibithd-wallet-in-electrum/

[NotATether]

Multibit and Multibit HD were discontinued years ago, and since they were SPV wallets needing servers, they most probably don't have any data source and that can be a good reason nothing useful happens at sync.
Unfortunately I don't have experience with Multibit HD, but you should have a way to get access to a seed.

How difficult is it to set up an SPV server for multibit? I could try making one for OP, but the problem is going to be the scarcity of documentation and possibly getting it synced with peers.

From what I gathered, it looks like I just need a full node (which I already have)?

[fxsniper]

I use electrum, I don't know how to use multibit 

try export private key from multibit  and import it to electrum and sync on electrum

sync is read history of you bitcoin transaction and save in new client

no need to waiting on multibit , just move and use at electrum

[BlackHatCoiner]

when u say address? where will i find this address please?

A bitcoin address is an identifier, beginning with the number 1, 3 or bc1 that represents a destination for a bitcoin payment. Examples:

Code:

18xFoDJHTY3LxjVJ3HmWZYJZmaeefAJBr9
3PfMWt9d8zzZjy7yiZJWQiPKxKn969mPkj
bc1q8f5tlkgsum7zex0qch8jw5vzpdvh8z5p5appe0

On your Multibit you most probably have the first example (starting with 1), because the others were added later. Somewhere in your multibit you can locate addresses, it must be actually obvious. You can see their balance by checking them on a block explorer. @dkbit98 posted some block explorers on #2.

[posi]

So i have 2 wallets that i set up in 2016 and want to see if i have any coins
Ive clicked on MULTIBIT HD thats on my desktop from 2016
i log into wallet 1 and it says preparing to synchronize but doesnt seem to do anything after that, same with wallet 2
if i press the finish button i can see my payments list but i cant see an actual balance anywhere.
do i need to let it finish synchronizing first?
is there a way i can view my balance?
im so sorry if i sound stupid. i didnt really know what i was doing back in 2016 and i still dont now
i would insert a screen shot on this message if i knew how! ive had to add a link to the image

You are not asking a stupid question and what you're experiencing is understandable because ever since KeepKey that acquire the Multibit wallet from the original developers declared they will no longer sustain the wallet software Multibit have been having some issue and people are advised not to use it anymore.
I am use to the wallet but you should find your wallet private keys in the "Tools" section.

[happydaize]

right lets start from beginning cos i no idea what i need to do.

i have my password and my 12 random words but when i open multibit hd it wont synchronise.

i can view my transaction history but nothing more

all i wish to do is find out if i have any coins. i dont want to restore my wallet or create a new one or transfer to a new wallet. just want to check my bitcoin balance

to do this i know i need my wallet address but i dont know how or where to find this

can anyone advise how i find my wallet address?

thanks for all you help and advice so far but its just too confusing for me i need it to be step by step instructions to guide me to viewing my wallet address please x x

[happydaize]

i dont know how to do this seed thing

would be easier to just use that site to view any coins but how do i find the address? when i go to the send / receive area they are greyed out so i cant click them to view the address

i dont want to spend them, i just want to see if i have any as ive been told they could be worth a lot of money

can u tell if i have any coins from my image in my 1st post?

According to that image you posted, you should have about 6.35 mBTC on that wallet, that's about $350 at the current exchange rate.

Although I've never used the MultiBit HD wallet, based on what I've read, the next logical step would be to get your seed words and restore your wallet in another desktop software, such as Electrum. To restore your wallet in Electrum, you can try this instruction: https://bitcoinelectrum.com/restoring-your-multibithd-wallet-in-electrum/

oh what a shame. how come i have over 6 but they only worth $350? is it cos they are micro bitcoins?

[o_e_l_e_o]

i have my password and my 12 random words but when i open multibit hd it wont synchronise.

Multibit HD will never synchronize as there are no servers running since it was discontinued. Take your 12 words and use them to restore your wallet in Electrum by following the instructions linked to by FatFork above - https://bitcoinelectrum.com/restoring-your-multibithd-wallet-in-electrum/. This will recreate your wallet in Electrum and allow you to see all your addresses and balances.

how come i have over 6 but they only worth $350? is it cos they are micro bitcoins?

mBTC is millibitcoin, which is 1/1000th of a bitcoin. 6.35 mBTC is the same as 0.00635000 BTC, which is currently worth around $350.

[Lucius]

i have my password and my 12 random words but when i open multibit hd it wont synchronise.

Ignore the advice of those who tell you to wait for the wallet to sync, the Multibit has long since stopped working and cannot be synchronised with the blockchain. Since you have 12 words (seed) you don't have to worry, if the words are correct, you can get access to your Bitcoins very easily.

 - What you need is Electrum - I advise you to download it only from the official site because there are a lot of fake versions -> https://electrum.org/#home

- As an extra precaution, you can verify the Electrum file before installation by following these instructions (this step is optional) - > https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0

 - After installing Electrum, follow the instructions below, be careful to do exactly as it is written, every mistake will result in an empty wallet - but you don't have to worry too much, you can try as many times as necessary until you are successful.

https://bitcoinelectrum.com/restoring-your-multibithd-wallet-in-electrum/

[NeuroticFish]

How difficult is it to set up an SPV server for multibit? I could try making one for OP, but the problem is going to be the scarcity of documentation and possibly getting it synced with peers.

From what I gathered, it looks like I just need a full node (which I already have)?

No idea, sorry. I've been using Multibit a lot, I've not used Multibit HD at all and I have no idea what severs they've used. I can only guess/hope it's the same server.
I guess that it could be one these projects https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy  (maybe the BritService, I have no idea).
However, imho it's a risky endeavor if you go on that path. When I last used MultiBit it had some odd errors now and then which I don't know if they ever got fixed, since the development was already stopped.

So instead of spend a lot of time making it work - who knows how bad - you can make better use of that time and maybe improve the existing tools in order to help (Windows) people get the useful information out from their wallets and into Electrum.

[FatFork]

thanks for all you help and advice so far but its just too confusing for me i need it to be step by step instructions to guide me to viewing my wallet address please x x

I still believe that wallet recovery is your best option, but if you really just want to check the balance at your receiving addresses, you can follow the instructions posted by BitMaxz:

Click the receiving in your history then click details. Look at the image



Then check the receiving address and copy them and put them to any block explorer like what dkbit98 posted above.
You should see the balance of your wallet and the old transaction history.

It shouldn't be difficult to identify the receiving address from transaction details (unfortunately, I couldn't find an example screenshot online), but if you can't, you can take a screenshot and post it here.

It is important to note that publishing transaction information compromises your privacy; hence, don't do it if your privacy is extremely important to you.

[bob123]

i have my password and my 12 random words but when i open multibit hd it wont synchronise.

As long as you have your mnemonic code (the 12 words), you are fine.

Choose a wallet (e.g. electrum) and restore your wallet there using your mnemonic code:
1) Download electrum from electrum.org
1.1) If we are talking about more money you are ready to completely lose: Verify the signature. There are lots of tutorials available on this forum and on the WWW
2) Create a new wallet using the "i already have a seed" option
3) Enter your mnemonic code (the 12 words), click on options and check "BIP 39"

Afterwards, everything should be self-explanatory. Wait a minute after creating your wallet, and you should see your funds appear.

[HCP]

right lets start from beginning cos i no idea what i need to do.

i have my password and my 12 random words but when i open multibit hd it wont synchronise.

When you say it won't synchronise... how long did you wait? I just started up MultiBit HD and it was slow (it only found 1 peer to start with, but eventually increased to 11), but it synchronised an old wallet of mine from years ago... note that it may appear to be doing nothing for extended periods of time... and I actually had to shutdown and restart MultibitHD a couple of times when the sync "stalled".

From your screenshot, your version has found 8 peers, so it should be possible to get synced.

As far as finding out what your addresses are... it's likely to be a bit difficult without using other software, as MultiBitHD doesn't really provide any useful way of showing you all your receive addresses and, somewhat more importantly, your change addresses... aside from looking at the transaction history


Honestly, the easiest and fastest solution would be to simply recover your wallet using Electrum and your 12 word seed backup... it'll take a few minutes at most, and you'll be able to see your entire wallet history, all the addresses and the remaining balance etc.

Plus you'll have the added benefit of being able to spend those coins without too many issues... MultibitHD doesn't allow for very good fee management and may result in a "stuck" transaction... so you're probably going to need to recover your wallet using Electrum (or some other solution) at some point anyway, so you may as well do it sooner rather than later

How difficult is it to set up an SPV server for multibit? I could try making one for OP, but the problem is going to be the scarcity of documentation and possibly getting it synced with peers.

From what I gathered, it looks like I just need a full node (which I already have)?

There aren't specific SPV servers for MultibitHD... it uses BitcoinJ and connects directly to full nodes...