incorrect password electrum from flashdrive

[sylviasaint]

Hello, im totally new to both this forum and to btc.
i got paid for a job in btc on a electrum wallet, situated on a flashdrive.
I down loaded the electrum client and installed it on a hp elitebook windows 10.
so far so good.
in the instructions on the flashdrive the PW was as well.
so heres the problem: when i choose the walletfile(on the eletrum interface) on/from the flash, the whole foldername comes with.
(but it seems ok?)
until i try to write the submitted pw.then it says .: incorrect password.
am i missing something in the process.
so very thankful for answer.

[pooya87]

There is nothing you miss, it seems like you are simply typing the wrong password. It could be a typo when you created the password (entered a different letter when creating it) or it could be something as simple as having your caps lock on.
If you have your seed phrase you can recover your wallet easily though. Otherwise you would have to try different combinations or use a brute force software like bitcrack to recover your password.

[sylviasaint]

There is nothing you miss, it seems like you are simply typing the wrong password. It could be a typo when you created the password (entered a different letter when creating it) or it could be something as simple as having your caps lock on.
If you have your seed phrase you can recover your wallet easily though. Otherwise you would have to try different combinations or use a brute force software like bitcrack to recover your password.

Thanks a mill for a quick reply.
Forgive for being a total novice, seed phrase?
Also i didnt create the wallet , i was given it by the employer. (is it possible for him to change the pw afterwords?)
And if so , is it possible to retrieve it for me w bruteforce?
Again.thank you

[nc50lc]

-snip-
Also i didnt create the wallet , i was given it by the employer. (is it possible for him to change the pw afterwords?)

He can't but if he has the backup (seed phrase or private key) or a copy of the wallet file, then he can still spend it whenever he want.

BTW, payment through a flash drive with a pre-created wallet is a red flag.

Note: Bitcoins aren't stored in the wallet, handling you a wallet doesn't mean you received the bitcoins.
It's stored in the blockchain which every non-pruned Bitcoin Node has.
The wallet only contains the necessary keys that can spend the coins that it can prove the ownership.

The correct way to receive your payment through Electrum is to create your own wallet (instructions).
Use the receive tab to get an address, then send it to the employer so he can send the payment to that address.
Finish the deal after getting at least 1 confirmation (more for high-risk transactions).

[sylviasaint]

-snip-
Also i didnt create the wallet , i was given it by the employer. (is it possible for him to change the pw afterwords?)

He can't but if he has the backup (seed phrase or private key) or a copy of the wallet file, then he can still spend it whenever he want.

BTW, payment through a flash drive with a pre-created wallet is a red flag.

The correct way to receive your payment through Electrum is to create your own wallet (instructions).
Use the receive tab to get an address, then send it to the employer so he can send the payment to that address.
Finish the deal after getting at least 1 confirmation (more for high-risk transactions).

Aha ok, im starting to feel more than naive.
But say he gave me wrong pw, since i have the file,can i retrieve the pw with bitcrack as your college suggested?
So if the wallet is empty i can at least see the history of the latest transactions and so forth?
Thanks for all the valuable info and techings:)

[nc50lc]

But say he gave me wrong pw, since i have the file,can i retrieve the pw with bitcrack as your college suggested?

Possible but not feasible without at least knowing parts of the password, how many characters, etc.
Basically, to reduce the search-space by a lot.

So if the wallet is empty i can at least see the history of the latest transactions and so forth?

Is the wallet fully encrypted?
Electrum has two types of encryption; one is "the whole wallet file" (will immediately ask for the password if you want to open the wallet)
and other one is "just the keys" (can be opened but will ask for a password when the keys are needed).
If it's the former, then there's no way to check if the wallet file has any balance because the addresses are encrypted as well.

[sylviasaint]

But say he gave me wrong pw, since i have the file,can i retrieve the pw with bitcrack as your college suggested?

Possible but not feasible without at least knowing parts of the password, how many characters, etc.
Basically, to reduce the search-space by a lot.

So if the wallet is empty i can at least see the history of the latest transactions and so forth?

Is the wallet fully encrypted?
Electrum has two types of encryption; one is "the whole wallet file" (will immediately ask for the password if you want to open the wallet)
and other one is "just the keys" (can be opened but will ask for a password when the keys are needed).
If it's the former, then there's no way to check if the wallet file has any balance because the addresses are encrypted as well.

Aha , of course its the former, so i ll have to hope for a good outcome w the discussion w the guy or , as he wrote a pw on the flash hope for a chance w bitcrack.

Again.thank you for your time.

[LoyceV]

im totally new to ~ btc.
i got paid for a job in btc on a electrum wallet

Why? Why would you accept payment in a form you don't understand?

i didnt create the wallet , i was given it by the employer.

Do you trust the employer?

i ll have to hope for a good outcome w the discussion w the guy

This looks like your best shot, but it sounds like you got scammed:

payment through a flash drive with a pre-created wallet is a red flag.

as he wrote a pw on the flash hope for a chance w bitcrack.

I wouldn't bother trying to crack the password on a wallet if it came from a scammer.