Old Electrum Default_wallet 2015 file - how to restore?

[Bitcoins1337sam]

Hey! I keep the text short and simple:

1. In 2015, my hard drive crashed with electrum installed. I had 0.7 in bitcoins at the time.

2. via safe mode I managed to save all files to Electrum including my wallet file.

3. I saved the files on my dropbox. I have not been able to restore the money.

4. I do not have my seed phrase but my password to the wallet file.

5. I need help on how to proceed. How do I recover my encrypted wallet file and access my money?

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[RickDeckard]

Assuming you have the correct password to your wallet.dat file (Make sure to create a backup of the file before the following steps) I believe it's a rather straightforward process:

• 1st -Download the latest version of Electrum from the official website - https://electrum.org/#home
• 2nd - Verify the installer using the PGP Signature - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0 . If everything is OK you may go ahead and install it.

• 3rd (Option 1) - Open Electrum and then choose File Menu -> Open -> Select your wallet.dat file
• 4th (Option 2) - If you're on Windows, go to "\Users\YourPCUsername\AppData\Roaming\Local\Electrum" and paste your wallet.dat file there. The program when running would be able to recognize the wallet and ask you for the password.

[AB de Royse777]

If you follow the steps given by RickDeckard then you should be able to restore your wallet. Once you restore, I will suggest you to move the coins to a new secure wallet since you have saved the files in an online storage which is not good practice.

3. I saved the files on my dropbox. I have not been able to restore the money.

Good luck to you.

[khaled0111]

3. I saved the files on my dropbox. I have not been able to restore the money.

What do you mean by this? Did you manage to restore your wallet and the money was gone or the file didn't open at all?
If it's the latter, and assuming you followed the right steps to recover your wallet, then either the password is incorrect or the wallet file is corrupted.

Note: never save your private keys/seeds/wallet files online.

[Bitcoins1337sam]

Assuming you have the correct password to your wallet.dat file (Make sure to create a backup of the file before the following steps) I believe it's a rather straightforward process:

• 1st -Download the latest version of Electrum from the official website - https://electrum.org/#home
• 2nd - Verify the installer using the PGP Signature - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0 . If everything is OK you may go ahead and install it.

• 3rd (Option 1) - Open Electrum and then choose File Menu -> Open -> Select your wallet.dat file
• 4th (Option 2) - If you're on Windows, go to "\Users\YourPCUsername\AppData\Roaming\Local\Electrum" and paste your wallet.dat file there. The program when running would be able to recognize the wallet and ask you for the password.

Thank you sir. I Will give you 4000$ If it works!

[RickDeckard]

Thank you sir. I Will give you 4000$ If it works!

I thank you for the generous offer. But first I ask you not to underestimate the second step that I've mentioned before regarding verifying the installer. No matter how official the website of Electrum looks, you never know if someone managed to replace the installer that you obtain from their website.

DireWolfM14 made a really compelling thread (that I've linked on my post) that allows you to verify the installer thus making sure you got an non tampered installer. You may spend 15-20 min with this step but I think it's a fair "deal" considering you're trying to access 0.7 BTC.

[nc50lc]

-snip-

Just a correction to the electrum data directory location for Windows and the wallet file's name:

• "electrum" folder is in the "roaming" folder and there's no 'local' folder in it, so the absolute path should be \Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Electrum
  Other OS's locations: #where-is-the-electrum-datadir-located
• Electrum's wallet file in 2015 is "electrum.dat", "default_wallet", "wallet_1" by default in newer versions, can be renamed.

[Bitcoins1337sam]

Assuming you have the correct password to your wallet.dat file (Make sure to create a backup of the file before the following steps) I believe it's a rather straightforward process:

• 1st -Download the latest version of Electrum from the official website - https://electrum.org/#home
• 2nd - Verify the installer using the PGP Signature - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0 . If everything is OK you may go ahead and install it.

• 3rd (Option 1) - Open Electrum and then choose File Menu -> Open -> Select your wallet.dat file
• 4th (Option 2) - If you're on Windows, go to "\Users\YourPCUsername\AppData\Roaming\Local\Electrum" and paste your wallet.dat file there. The program when running would be able to recognize the wallet and ask you for the password.

Hi again, when i try to open the file it stands ”cannot open this file” is it possible that i need to decrypt the wallet file first? Or is it possible that the file is corrupted after i uploaded it to my dropbox?

Assuming you have the correct password to your wallet.dat file (Make sure to create a backup of the file before the following steps) I believe it's a rather straightforward process:

• 1st -Download the latest version of Electrum from the official website - https://electrum.org/#home
• 2nd - Verify the installer using the PGP Signature - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0 . If everything is OK you may go ahead and install it.

• 3rd (Option 1) - Open Electrum and then choose File Menu -> Open -> Select your wallet.dat file
• 4th (Option 2) - If you're on Windows, go to "\Users\YourPCUsername\AppData\Roaming\Local\Electrum" and paste your wallet.dat file there. The program when running would be able to recognize the wallet and ask you for the password.

One more tjong: My file is called default_wallet and not wallet.dat, what do you think that means? Greetings

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[Charles-Tim]

Hi again, when i try to open the file it stands ”cannot open this file” is it possible that i need to decrypt the wallet file first? Or is it possible that the file is corrupted after i uploaded it to my dropbox?

Try to watch the YouTube video to check if it can help you out.

What version of Electrum did you installed? Beware on fake Electrum 4.0 wallet.

Are you using windows OS? if yes try this method below this is mostly work if the file is overwritten.

- First, go to the Electrum folder it mostly located to C:\Users\admin\AppData\Roaming\Electrum
- Now open wallet folder then look for default_wallet.dat
- Right the default_wallet.dat and click restore the previous version
- Now the file properties will pop up then choose the old Default_wallet.dat.

I got this method from here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PED-F3_7hOc
So credit to him if this method work.

If not try to do a system restore this is working sometimes to me if I accidentally update some software in my PC. So I think it might also work on restoring your old wallet and files.

One more tjong: My file is called default_wallet and not wallet.dat, what do you think that means? Greetings

You can check this quote, it is not wallet.dat, wallet.dat is backup for Bitcoin Core, while default_wallet is backup file for Electrum.

You might have just selected a new directory for the newly created wallet file or downloaded a different version (Installer/Stand-alone or Portable) with different default directories, thus, changed the default wallet selection directory upon start.
If this is the case, follow Bitmarxz's "First" step with a small correction:
Browse to: C:\Users\admin\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets and look for "default_wallet" without an extension (.dat).
Use search function to the whole computer if you're not sure where you've stored the wallet file.

[nc50lc]

-snip-

One more tjong: My file is called default_wallet and not wallet.dat, what do you think that means? Greetings

That simply means that your wallet was created by versions higher than v2.0.

Hi again, when i try to open the file it stands ”cannot open this file” is it possible that i need to decrypt the wallet file first? Or is it possible that the file is corrupted after i uploaded it to my dropbox?

It could be corrupted because old wallets are still compatible with the latest version.
Since the hard drive crashed, it may be corrupted before you uploaded it to Dropbox.

There should be an error message beside "cannot open this file" that describes the issue, what did it say?
example:

Code:

Cannot load wallet (1):
WalletFileException('Cannot read wallet file. (parsing failed)')

[Bitcoins1337sam]

-snip-

One more tjong: My file is called default_wallet and not wallet.dat, what do you think that means? Greetings

That simply means that your wallet was created by versions higher than v2.0.

Hi again, when i try to open the file it stands ”cannot open this file” is it possible that i need to decrypt the wallet file first? Or is it possible that the file is corrupted after i uploaded it to my dropbox?

It could be corrupted because old wallets are still compatible with the latest version.
Since the hard drive crashed, it may be corrupted before you uploaded it to Dropbox.

There should be an error message beside "cannot open this file" that describes the issue, what did it say?
example:

Code:

Cannot load wallet (1):
WalletFileException('Cannot read wallet file. (parsing failed)')

Exactly that error message sir! How did you now? :p

[Bitcoins1337sam]

-snip-

One more tjong: My file is called default_wallet and not wallet.dat, what do you think that means? Greetings

That simply means that your wallet was created by versions higher than v2.0.

Hi again, when i try to open the file it stands ”cannot open this file” is it possible that i need to decrypt the wallet file first? Or is it possible that the file is corrupted after i uploaded it to my dropbox?

It could be corrupted because old wallets are still compatible with the latest version.
Since the hard drive crashed, it may be corrupted before you uploaded it to Dropbox.

There should be an error message beside "cannot open this file" that describes the issue, what did it say?
example:

Code:

Cannot load wallet (1):
WalletFileException('Cannot read wallet file. (parsing failed)')

Exactly that error message sir! How did you now? :p

when I right-click on the file and select properties, it says: this file came from another computer and may have been blocked to protect the computer. Next to it is a box that says "unblock"

[RickDeckard]

Exactly that error message sir! How did you now? :p

I don't want to discourage you mate, but that is an error that's associated with a corrupted wallet (in some way). Searching trough the forum I've found a report[1] of a user with the same error. I would suggest you to try to follow btchris recommendation (2nd post) to see if you're able to "fix" yourself the backup (always make some backups before trying any of these solutions).

EDIT: Instead of making a double post (something that a moderator already "warned") you should try to edit your first post like I just did. That prevents "double posting" and your message is still understood
[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=998480.0

[Bitcoins1337sam]

Exactly that error message sir! How did you now? :p

I don't want to discourage you mate, but that is an error that's associated with a corrupted wallet (in some way). Searching trough the forum I've found a report[1] of a user with the same error. I would suggest you to try to follow btchris recommendation (2nd post) to see if you're able to "fix" yourself the backup (always make some backups before trying any of these solutions).

EDIT: Instead of making a double post (something that a moderator already "warned") you should try to edit your first post like I just did. That prevents "double posting" and your message is still understood
[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=998480.0

Yes ofcourse. Thank you sir, have a nice day

[RickDeckard]

Yes ofcourse. Thank you sir, have a nice day

Let us know if you're able to regain access to your wallet using the method that's explained in the linked thread that I've gave you. I suppose you don't have access to the HDD anymore?

[nc50lc]

when I right-click on the file and select properties, it says: this file came from another computer and may have been blocked to protect the computer. Next to it is a box that says "unblock"

Hmm, permission issues should have a different error message but it wont hurt to "unblock" the file since it's yours anyways.
Maybe Windows file blocking doesn't work like permission management.

For reference, permission issue will result with this error:

Code:

"wallet name"
You don't have permission to open this file.

Contact the file owner or administrator to obtain permission.

-snip-

Exactly that error message sir! How did you now? :p

That's the error message you'll get if the file is corrupted and the wallet can't parse the contents, there are some mild corruption that will enable the wallet to open but with missing keys but yours appears to be corrupted beyond readable.
Like I've said above, you can try to unblock the file, then make copies and open the unblocked copy.
(make a copy of the blocked file first if do not want to download a fresh copy from Dropbox)