How to install and operate bitcoin core wallet?

[drwhobox]

After a long time, I have decided to install the Bitcoin Core wallet on my windows laptop to securely store and manage my bitcoins. However, I was hesitant because I had heard that it was complicated to set up and took up a lot of storage space.

I created a brand new topic for just this to make sure I am not missing any information and able to make a clean and simple installation.
You are welcome to share any tips on using bitcoin Core wallet perfectly.

[BitMaxz]

Installing Bitcoin core doesn't need so much data space the current size of the blockchain is around 442 GB it needs at least 500 GB space but it requires big HDD space if you want to run a full node.

By default Bitcoin core on the first install is set to prune so if you have a small space in your laptop you can stay used pruned mode you can use the wallet as normally as a hot wallet but with limited features, unlike full node, you can use most of the RPC and console commands.

[n0nce]

Basically, just follow the official installation instructions.

Link for Linux GUI
Link for Windows 10
Link for macOS

Do keep in mind that you need roughly 500GB of disk space, and 8GB of RAM (to get initial block download done relatively quickly).

[jackg]

I wouldn't say the setup is too complicated, or complicated at all. Bitcoin core doesn't feel as intuitive as some other wallet software and seems to leave quite a few features hidden (such as how it used to not generate an address on startup iirc) but it's not hard to set up and is easy to use once you get used to it.

As said above you can run a full node if you have 500gb disk space free or you can run a pruned node that takes up less space (but you'll still have to do the initial sync and you might not be able to use multiple wallets as easily).

[drwhobox]

Basically, just follow the official installation instructions.

Link for Linux GUI
Link for Windows 10
Link for macOS

Do keep in mind that you need roughly 500GB of disk space, and 8GB of RAM (to get initial block download done relatively quickly).

I have 8GB of ram on my computer and I have over 500GB left on my hard disk, but can I install it on another removable disk and do I need a GFX card to run the software smoothly?

I want a personal user experience from you.

[drwhobox]

but can I install it on another removable disk

I don't think it's wise choice to install Bitcoin Core or any application on removable disk. Usually it's slow (unless it use HDD or SSD) and it's more prone to corruption if the removable disk is accidentally disconnected.

and do I need a GFX card to run the software smoothly?

Bitcoin Core does not utilize GPU/GFX card in any way.

That's the answer I need. I will uninstall some games from my hard drive to get some more free space. Anyway, its a plus for me that the core wallet doesn't utilize GPU.

[n0nce]

I have 8GB of ram on my computer and I have over 500GB left on my hard disk, but can I install it on another removable disk and do I need a GFX card to run the software smoothly?

Actually you can use an external disk for the Bitcoin data directory (the big one)! Bitcoin Core will still be installed on your main drive, but will take up almost no space at all.
Just specify the path in your bitcoin.conf bitcoin configuration file.

Simply add a new line like this, pointing to the right folder on the right drive, of course.

Code:

datadir=/mount/drive1/bitcoin

If you use the GUI version of Bitcoin Core, you can open the configuration file through its settings and 'Open Configuration File'.

[NotATether]

but can I install it on another removable disk

I don't think it's wise choice to install Bitcoin Core or any application on removable disk. Usually it's slow (unless it use HDD or SSD) and it's more prone to corruption if the removable disk is accidentally disconnected.

and do I need a GFX card to run the software smoothly?

Bitcoin Core does not utilize GPU/GFX card in any way.

That's the answer I need. I will uninstall some games from my hard drive to get some more free space. Anyway, its a plus for me that the core wallet doesn't utilize GPU.

Hardly any (non-game or CAD/video/image) software utilizes a GPU unless they are calling DirectX or OpenGL methods. And even then, there is usually either an integrated iGPU in your CPU, or there is a software-based renderer that should be able to provide reasonable performance.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Another thing that should be noted, is that you don't actually need to store the entire chain to your hard drive (which weights about 500GB as of December 2022). That's why there's pruning: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/58767/how-can-i-prune-my-bitcoin-core-correctly-the-other-way-did-not-work-for-me-ha

In summary, you can enable a setting in Bitcoin Core which dumps blocks a little after it verifies them, to free you up space. The downside with pruning is that if you want to re-index the chain (for any reason) you'll have to re-download it. One common reason you might want to do this is for importing new wallets.

[BitMaxz]

That's the answer I need. I will uninstall some games from my hard drive to get some more free space. Anyway, its a plus for me that the core wallet doesn't utilize GPU.

What exactly do you want to achieve? Are you going to use a full node or is it just a wallet?
If it is just for a wallet you don't need so much space in your hard drive by default bitcoin core on the first install is pruned and it set it 2 Gb.

But if you want a full node with a high-speed syncing process switching to SSD is the recommended one with enough RAM.

[kamvreto]

What exactly do you want to achieve? Are you going to use a full node or is it just a wallet?
If it is just for a wallet you don't need so much space in your hard drive by default bitcoin core on the first install is pruned and it set it 2 Gb.

If it is only used for wallets, maybe the minimum specifications recommended by Bitcoin Core are sufficient.

System Requirements ( Minimum Recommended )

- Operating system
Windows 7/8.x/10
Mac OS X
Linux

- System
Desktop
Laptop
Some ARM chipsets >1 GHz

- Memory (RAM)
1 GB

- Upload
5 GB/day (150 GB/month)

- Download
500 MB/day (15 GB/month)*

- Disk space
350 GB

https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/features/requirements

But if you want a full node with a high-speed syncing process switching to SSD is the recommended one with enough RAM.

and for Full Nodes the use of an SSD is highly recommended, apart from the speed, the price of the SSD is still affordable and doesn't get too hot for quite a long time (provided it's not too over).

But if you want even faster, NVME SSD is highly recommended because the speed is very high compared to SATA SSD (ordinary), the speed reaches 3500 MB/s with the M.2 PCIe x4 connector.
the size is very small, the same as the size of RAM or it can be smaller, but the drawback is that it heats up faster when used for a long time and this is because the working power and speed of the NVME SSD are very high. For the price, of course, it will be more expensive than a regular SSD.

[n0nce]

System Requirements ( Minimum Recommended )
- Memory (RAM)
1 GB
[...]
- Disk space
350 GB

These are definitely outdated. Even with 4GB of RAM, full sync will take like a year. I've tried it on a Raspberry Pi with 1 or 2GB of RAM years ago and it took weeks to even reach 80%.

Here another experiment of mine. Notice how a (dirt cheap) upgrade from 4GB to 8GB dramatically sped up the IBD.
1GB is enough for running, but not for initial sync.

I let you guys guess at which point in time I upgraded the node from 4GB to 8GB

Disk space is suggesting a user runs full blockchain (since for pruning 2GB are enough); however today, you need at least 500GB as a bare minimum. It will be full right at the start though, so you will need to get a 1TB one instead.

But if you want even faster, NVME SSD is highly recommended because the speed is very high compared to SATA SSD (ordinary), the speed reaches 3500 MB/s with the M.2 PCIe x4 connector.
the size is very small, the same as the size of RAM or it can be smaller, but the drawback is that it heats up faster when used for a long time and this is because the working power and speed of the NVME SSD are very high. For the price, of course, it will be more expensive than a regular SSD.

I'm like 99% confident that NVMe won't make a difference for Bitcoin Core sync. Remember it's not a pure disk I/O process; it involves a lot of computation which will be the bottleneck as soon as you get an SSD of any kind; definitely on a lower-power chip, at least.
With a good rig and any SSD, as long as your internet bandwidth allows it, the full sync can be done in like a day; fast enough in my opinion.

[drwhobox]

That's the answer I need. I will uninstall some games from my hard drive to get some more free space. Anyway, its a plus for me that the core wallet doesn't utilize GPU.

What exactly do you want to achieve? Are you going to use a full node or is it just a wallet?
If it is just for a wallet you don't need so much space in your hard drive by default bitcoin core on the first install is pruned and it set it 2 Gb.

But if you want a full node with a high-speed syncing process switching to SSD is the recommended one with enough RAM.

I will definitely go to try a full node, if it does take several weeks to load and if that supports pause and resumes then I am ok with it. But if takes more than that time and doesn't have the feature to pause and resume it will be best for me to use just the wallet.

[Welsh]

Try it on the test net before fully committing to it. It's a relatively easy piece of software to use once you've become accustomed to it. However, as with anything when thinking about transferring your Bitcoin you should probably already have a decent idea of how it works. So, using it on the test net as first should be able to give you that degree of confidence.

At least, learn how to send transactions. Then you can either import your private key or send it there. If sending it to a new wallet generated with Bitcoin Core I'd recommend doing it in increments (and testing afterwards) just in case you make a mistake. 

[Pezroly]

I don't think it's wise choice to install Bitcoin Core software, because you need install whole blockchain ~440 GB. Much better choice would be Electrum desktop wallet. You will have your private keys, do not need install whole blockchain and also have Bitcoin LN too for small payments. 

[n0nce]

That's the answer I need. I will uninstall some games from my hard drive to get some more free space. Anyway, its a plus for me that the core wallet doesn't utilize GPU.

What exactly do you want to achieve? Are you going to use a full node or is it just a wallet?
If it is just for a wallet you don't need so much space in your hard drive by default bitcoin core on the first install is pruned and it set it 2 Gb.

But if you want a full node with a high-speed syncing process switching to SSD is the recommended one with enough RAM.

I will definitely go to try a full node, if it does take several weeks to load and if that supports pause and resumes then I am ok with it. But if takes more than that time and doesn't have the feature to pause and resume it will be best for me to use just the wallet.

For sure! Please refer to the picture I posted above. As long as you either have an SSD or 8GB of RAM (or both) it should be doable in a few days.
If you want a better estimate, feel free to report your hardware setup (type of drive, amount of RAM, processor).

I don't think it's wise choice to install Bitcoin Core software, because you need install whole blockchain ~440 GB. Much better choice would be Electrum desktop wallet. You will have your private keys, do not need install whole blockchain and also have Bitcoin LN too for small payments. 

Sure; security-wise it will be similar, but Bitcoin Core will give you much better privacy. Instead of connecting to Electrum servers and asking them information about the blockchain, with Bitcoin Core you have it right there locally and can check for yourself: what's the latest block, are there any new transactions, etc.

[BlackHatCoiner]

I don't think it's wise choice to install Bitcoin Core software, because you need install whole blockchain ~440 GB.

You don't need to keep the entire blockchain if storage cost is your concern. It'd be much better for you if you did, because re-indexing requires to re-download the blocks, and you might need to re-index at least once after you're fully synced. Also, it exceeded 500 GB this month.

[nc50lc]

I will definitely go to try a full node, if it does take several weeks to load and if that supports pause and resumes then I am ok with it. But if takes more than that time and doesn't have the feature to pause and resume it will be best for me to use just the wallet.

I bet that there'll be lot of pause and resume that'll happen...
Please remember when shutting-down your computer, make sure that Bitcoin Core is fully closed before doing so.
Means that it should finish displaying the small "Bitcoin Core is shutting down" screen; also do not force-close it if your PC found-out that it's still running in the background.

Also, Bitcoin Core's GUI may appear frozen during the initial block download but don't worry since it's still running in the background.
If you need to shutdown the PC while it's not responding, do not force-close it; wait for it to respond (which it will after a few minutes) to do the normal closing process.

That's because just one abrupt shutdown could halt your progress that require a time-consuming "repair" process.

[yhiaali3]

You don't need to keep the entire blockchain if storage cost is your concern. It'd be much better for you if you did, because re-indexing requires to re-download the blocks, and you might need to re-index at least once after you're fully synced. Also, it exceeded 500 GB this month.

Of course, I know that Bitcoin Core provides high levels of security, privacy, and stability. But at the same time it consumes a lot of space and memory.
Therefore, I have a question: Will the performance of the computer be affected after downloading the entire program with data and consuming the equivalent of about 500 GB, and also consuming part of the RAM?

Also, since the size of the data is constantly increasing, will the computer be able to continue running the program after its space exceeds 600 GB, for example? Will the program continue to run, or will we need to replace the hard drive with a larger one?

[drwhobox]

For sure! Please refer to the picture I posted above. As long as you either have an SSD or 8GB of RAM (or both) it should be doable in a few days.
If you want a better estimate, feel free to report your hardware setup (type of drive, amount of RAM, processor).

I have checked your image plus I also have 8GB of ram. Right now I failed to provide any feedback regarding wallet installation because I can not boot my PC now. There is something wrong with my bootable device (SSD). My PC stuck on the BIOS setup, maybe I need to open and check the SSD or its connection.