eLECTRUM DESKTOP WALLET ? which wallet am i actually in here ?

[Pippylong20]

 Hi

 Thanks in advance for any help

 I set up an electrum wallet 3 years ago which has remained empty/ innactive

 I recently decided to move BTC to a wallet and decided to use this old electrum wallet

 I downloaded electrum to My PC and was able to open wallet with password that was set up on original wallet

 Successfully moved BTC to wallet.

 When i log into wallet it shows this

   Wallet - default wallet

     This file is encrytped with a password . Enter your Password or choose another file

          Or create a new wallet

    So I can log in with password.  I can also see Seed phrase in this wallet which is the original seed phrase

   My question is how do i know what type of wallet i have here.  Is this an online wallet?  I have the master key for the original wallet so does this mean that i have full custody of any

  BTC in the wallet?  How can i check if i have full access to the contents of wallet

     Bit of a noob

        Many Thanks

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[TryNinja]

If you have the seed or addresses private keys, then you have full control over the wallet. If you generated the seed through Electrum and never posted it anywhere nor saved online (on your email, google drive, etc...), then you should be safe (assuming your PC is clean).

Open the wallet, if there is any balance, you have BTC there.

[hugeblack]

   My question is how do i know what type of wallet i have here.  Is this an online wallet?  I have the master key for the original wallet so does this mean that i have full custody of any

Click on the "Receive" button and check the first number that appears in the address:
if it was 1 it is Legacy wallet, bc1 is SegWit wallet, 3 is either MultiSig or SegWit wallet.
If you own the private key, you can spend the money.
Assuming that your wallet is safe, but it is better to create a new wallet and send money to it.

[nc50lc]

 BTC in the wallet?  How can i check if i have full access to the contents of wallet

Electrum has its wallet type written on the title bar after the version and wallet name.

If it says: Electrum 4.1.2 - wallet_name [standard], [imported] or [2fa] - You have full access to your wallet.
If it's followed by "watching only" like [standard, watching only] - means it's for watching-only, literally.

[Pippylong20]

Thanks for replies

   very helpful

[Pippylong20]

 " Assuming your computer is clean"

   mmm  can anyone make that assumption ?

If i create a new wallet I will get a new seed phrase and a new set of keys right ?

 the seed can be written down but how can i save the keys ?  Is it possible to copy and paste the key offline ?

  I would like to go straight to the most secure method to save messing about later as my stack increases over time

    Am i right in thinking that i can set up an offline version of electum and just have a viewing wallet ?   is this the most secure option ?

   I am picking your brains because the website assumes that you can code in your sleep x

[nc50lc]

   Am i right in thinking that i can set up an offline version of electum and just have a viewing wallet ?   is this the most secure option ?

Right yes, that's very secure as long as you did the setup correctly.
You can follow this guide to correctly create a cold-storage setup: https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

If i create a new wallet I will get a new seed phrase and a new set of keys right ?
 the seed can be written down but how can i save the keys ?  Is it possible to copy and paste the key offline ?

Yes, you'll be given a new seed phrase during new wallet creation.
Your seed phrase is basically where your wallet's key pair and addresses are based from so it's unnecessary to export the individual private keys for backup purposes,
but if you really want to, it's available in the right-click menu of the addresses in the 'Addresses' tab ("View->Show Address" to display).

[Pippylong20]

 Thanks for your help !!  x   I will have a good read of the link you sent

     Hari Om

[o_e_l_e_o]

If i create a new wallet I will get a new seed phrase and a new set of keys right ?

Yes.

the seed can be written down but how can i save the keys ?  Is it possible to copy and paste the key offline ?

I wouldn't go copy and pasting your private keys. You are more likely to end up accidentally exposing them to additional risk. Just write down the 12 words that Electrum generates for you on paper. Those 12 words will recover all your private keys, and therefore all your coins.

I would like to go straight to the most secure method to save messing about later as my stack increases over time

Am i right in thinking that i can set up an offline version of electum and just have a viewing wallet ?   is this the most secure option ?

Offline cold storage is certainly a very secure option if set up correctly, but it is also not the most user friendly and you can easily run in to problems if you don't fully understand what you are doing. If you want to go down this route then make sure you learn how to properly airgap a computer, how to wipe it and install a clean OS on it, how to create a paired watch only wallet on an online computer, and how to safely move transactions back and forth between the two. Alternatively, a hardware wallet can be a good choice which will take most of the complexity out of your hands while still being very secure.

[Abdussamad]

when you enter your password into electrum you are not logging into a remote system. you are simply decrypting the wallet file on your own hard disk or solid state drive. the wallet remains on your system only.