Old newbie with newbie question(s)

[gabisdaddi]

Back in 2014 I installed Armory and created a wallet, and made a paper backup (and promptly misplaced that paper). Since then I've upgraded and rebuilt my computer twice.

The other day I found that paper, downloaded the current Armory and logged in. I'm getting the "Armory failed to spawn the DB!" error, and I've also found the btcarmory.com/docs/pathing page. There's no file or folder on my computer named "bitcoin". Do I need to download Bitcoin Core? Have I lost my wallet? Am I missing a step (or more than one?)

Thanks

[RickDeckard]

Back in 2014 I installed Armory and created a wallet, and made a paper backup (and promptly misplaced that paper). Since then I've upgraded and rebuilt my computer twice.

I'm assuming that when you talk about "promptly misplaced the paper" means that you basically hid them in a very specific place only known to you right? I'll assume that you didn't just "misplaced" a word or some of them (although I believe if you've just misplaced a word or two it would be easier to guess the combinations).

Do I need to download Bitcoin Core? Have I lost my wallet? Am I missing a step (or more than one?)
Thanks

You do, because Armory acts just a entity that reads the blockchain provided by Bitcoin Core. As such you'll need to have this blockchain downloaded before you even point Armory to the place where you have it stored. Also, be advised that if you choose to put your blockchain in a different path than the one chosen by Bitcoin Core, you'll need to update that path in Armory due to the fact that, by default, Armory assumes that you haven't changed that path and it won't recognize a new one.

If you shared with us whatever error log you must have it will probably contain something along this line (which would give you a hint of what could be wrong):

Code:

BadPath: Invalid blockdata path

As always, make sure you've downloaded the latest version of Armory and please do compare the checksum before installing it to avoid losing your BTC to some scammer.

[NotATether]

You haven't lost your bitcoins because they're still in your paper backup. Armory needs to connect to Bitcoin Core to handle transaction data and "cache" them inside Armory so it doesn't have to make so many round trips to Core, and it does so through the ArmoryDB process.

You should download Bitcoin Core (do not launch it) and then when Armory starts it will launch Bitcoin Core automatically and wait for it to finish downloading all the blocks.

[gabisdaddi]

I'm assuming that when you talk about "promptly misplaced the paper"

Yeah, we lost the paper, plain and simple. It got filed in the wrong place and while we were cleaning out the file cabinet it was found.

You should download Bitcoin Core (do not launch it)

I had already guessed that I should get the Core so about three hours and twenty minutes ago I downloaded it and started it. It's just about at twelve percent. Should I shut it down, uninstall it and reinstall it, then open Armory?

[NotATether]

I had already guessed that I should get the Core so about three hours and twenty minutes ago I downloaded it and started it. It's just about at twelve percent. Should I shut it down, uninstall it and reinstall it, then open Armory?

None of that is necessary. All you need to do is wait for it to finish. I have used Armory while Bitcoin Core was already running before.

My "don't launch it" notice is just for convenience, so you don't have to open Core every time you want to use Armory, but it works just as well if it's already open, as it only uses it for the RPC calls.

[gabisdaddi]

I was hoping that installing Core would solve the "Armory failed to spawn the DB!" error. The error mentions the dbLog.txt file, and the btcarmory.com/docs/pathing page discusses the armoryqt.conf file. My computer has neither (I use a third party search, I'm sure the files don't exist).

At this point I'm guessing that the Core, which is now at 13% after 9.5 hours, isn't going to be of any use with the Armory error.

[HCP]

Are you wanting to continue using Armory... or are you just wanting to recover your private keys and migrate to another wallet?

If you want to continue using Armory, then yes, you'll need to wait for Bitcoin Core to finish syncing.

If you just want to recover your private keys, then you can find my guide here on how to export your private keys: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4746784.msg43255691#msg43255691

Note: you will need to use the "Include Unused (Address Pool)" option (and get about 1000 keys) as Armory has no way of identifying the "used" keys until it has been fully synced (which it obviously can't do until Bitcoin Core is fully synced )...

Once you have all your private keys, you can easily import them into another wallet like Electrum.

It really comes down to what your plans are moving forward, and whether you are in a "hurry" to access your coins etc.

[gabisdaddi]

Are you wanting to continue using Armory... or are you just wanting to recover your private keys and migrate to another wallet?

I really don't know. Clearly there are lots of folks still using Armory. It's either a really good thing, or everyone is very stubborn...

And thanks for that link! I'll take a look at it. My Core is still going, currently at 22.6% and 84.GB after just over 24 hours. I've got the time, and the space, so I'm just going to let it keep going. Will anything get ...damaged?... if I stop running it?

[gabisdaddi]

Using this thread, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5318363.0, I was finally able to figure out how to circumvent the "Armory failed to spawn the DB!" and get Armory properly online, only to learn that my balance is zero. Pfft.

I knew that a zero balance was a possibility. The end of 2014 was hard time for us and I really couldn't remember how far in the process I had gotten. Bitcoin was only $343 back then. Sigh.

Everyone's help is truly appreciated.

[PhoenixFire]

Using this thread, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5318363.0, I was finally able to figure out how to circumvent the "Armory failed to spawn the DB!" and get Armory properly online, only to learn that my balance is zero. Pfft.

I knew that a zero balance was a possibility. The end of 2014 was hard time for us and I really couldn't remember how far in the process I had gotten. Bitcoin was only $343 back then. Sigh.

Everyone's help is truly appreciated.

If Armory and Bitcoin Core 's downloaded blockchain aren't up to date with whenever you last made a transaction the balance shown won't be accurate. You were only at 25% a few hours ago so let it run unless it is very clear you had some and transferred it away in the transaction log.
Something to check before writing it off.

[HCP]

Using this thread, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5318363.0, I was finally able to figure out how to circumvent the "Armory failed to spawn the DB!" and get Armory properly online, only to learn that my balance is zero. Pfft.

Make sure that the "blocks" shown in the bottom right corner of the Armory window is up to a block value of at least when you were last using Armory, if not much later. Otherwise, as PhoenixFire pointed out, you may not be seeing the "true" balance of your wallet.

For reference, Block# 340000 is from late January 2015