(Help) I'm trying to get my private keys

[Sadderr]

I found my bitcoin file from 2020 (700mb )after 4 years  and found wallet.dat file and I have tried to install bitcoin core but idont have these huge specs and also poor internet so it'll take forever so I found the pywallet way and tried alot but cant use maybe cause my pc old  and bad material so I found another way (hxd ) and I tried it and I found alot of hits but I still cant know how to get private keys and where cause it's not have a big popularity so  if anyone here know how the full process (hxd program or any program like this) go please explain it to me and thanks

Also(I searched on the program by [01010420] and [0420] the last number gives me more plus hits and I dont know the meanings of these numbers I found while searching)

[BlackHatCoiner]

but idont have these huge specs and also poor internet so it'll take forever

- Bitcoin Core requires just 2 GB of RAM, and about 700 GB for storage, which can be reduced by more than 90% if you enable pruning (with pruned=550).
- How bad Internet connection? Downloading 700 GB shouldn't take more than two days, even in cases with very slow download speed.

I wouldn't experiment with my money, if I were you (it is clear that you don't know what you're doing). You used Bitcoin Core to receive the bitcoin, use it again to recover it.

[Sadderr]

but idont have these huge specs and also poor internet so it'll take forever

- Bitcoin Core requires just 2 GB of RAM, and about 700 GB for storage, which can be reduced by more than 90% if you enable pruning (with pruned=550).
- How bad Internet connection? Downloading 700 GB shouldn't take more than two days, even in cases with very slow download speed.

I wouldn't experiment with my money, if I were you (it is clear that you don't know what you're doing). You used Bitcoin Core to receive the bitcoin, use it again to recover it.

The problem here that I dont even have 20 gigabytes  free and the internet bad and still limited so If i spent money for getting another space and also for many times renew the internet quota it will be waste of money espicially that I dont know if there's a money or not (if I 100% know there is a money on it I'll spent the money )

[BlackHatCoiner]

Have you tried checking a few of its addresses on a block explorer, to confirm it does have funds? You can open the wallet.dat in Bitcoin Core (QT) and select addresses or generate new. Alternatively, you can open the wallet.dat in a text editor and find Bitcoin addresses generated inside. Make sure you backup wallet.dat, and when visiting the block explorer, use Tor.

It is not recommended to check it this way, and you can't be absolutely certain. I'd just buy a cheap USB 64 GB stick if I were you, enable pruning, and point my data dir there.

[LoyceV]

Bitcoin Core requires just 2 GB of RAM

Syncing the blockchain will take a very long time with so little memory.

The problem here that I dont even have 20 gigabytes  free and the internet bad and still limited so If i spent money for getting another space and also for many times renew the internet quota it will be waste of money espicially that I dont know if there's a money or not (if I 100% know there is a money on it I'll spent the money )

You can just export the private keys from Bitcoin Core, you don't need to sync the blockchain for that. Import them into Electrum, and see what you have.
Or did you buy/download this "wallet.dat"? Your story doesn't make much sense.

[Forsyth Jones]

You can just export the private keys from Bitcoin Core, you don't need to sync the blockchain for that. Import them into Electrum, and see what you have.
Or did you buy/download this "wallet.dat"? Your story doesn't make much sense.

As suggested by LoyceV, you don't need to wait for bitcoin core to synchronize, after checking whether the addresses in this wallet.dat actually have funds (utxo), open the bitcoin console located at: Window > Console.

If this wallet.dat is really from 2020 (legacy-wallet), you can select the addresses with allocated funds by typing directly in the command line window that will open when you click on console, type "dumprizkey youraddress", e.g:

Code:

dumprivkey 1xxxxx

The text that returns (if successful) will be your private key, do this with the same command using another address instead and import it into the electrum wallet.

Another important detail that I forgot to mention is that if the wallet is encrypted, before specifying the command, you must enter the password within the console with the following command: walletpassphrase "your-password" 60

If you have many addresses with allocated funds, you can give the command: dumpwallet "URL of the path to be saved on the computer with defined name" e.g:

Code:

dumpwallet "C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\bitcoin-keys.txt"

This will produce a readable document with all addresses, private keys and metadata belonging to this wallet.dat. With it you can open the document with a text editor on your computer and search for the desired address directly in the search keywords (ctrl + f), with this you can import the private keys of the corresponding addresses in electrum which does not require downloading the entire blockchain as it connects with servers provided by electrum.

When choosing to import these private keys that contain the funds in the electrum software, during the wallet creation process, in electrum you must select that you want to "import private keys or addresses"

Another item to be checked is the type of address to be imported into electrum:

Code:

Address starting with 3: p2wpkh-p2sh
Addresses starting with 1: p2pkh
Addresses starting with bc1q: p2wpkh

When importing the private key into electrum and the funds are allocated to one of the address types in the example above, simply enter the address type and private key, example below:

Code:

p2wpkh-p2sh:L4uEv1fycMbuGdCc16VD2NYkXJvzkLP2CPZSuYTawewDXKAgrf2j
p2wpkh:L4uEv1fycMbuGdCc16VD2NYkXJvzkLP2CPZSuYTawewDXKAgrf2j

p2wpkh-p2sh:privkey (will import the address with 3 prefix)

p2wpkh:privkey (will import the address with the bc1q prefix).

[BitMaxz]

If your wallet.dat file is not encrypted you can just open it with notepad or notepad++ I have an old wallet.dat 2015 and it can able to open with notepad it includes the private key and public key.

However, if it's encrypted then you will need Pywallet to decrypt it you can use the command below only apply this command if the wallet.dat file is on the same folder and make sure you already have a backup copy of wallet.dat just incase.

Code:

python pywallet.py --dumpwallet wallet.dat --passphrase="YourPassPhrase/Password"

[NotATether]

0x6de397fD620ABEe35815307e3F289833f6102BBD

Is this the address to
Your pk?

Do you really think that an Ethereum address can belong to a bitcoin private key?

The problem here that I dont even have 20 gigabytes  free and the internet bad and still limited so If i spent money for getting another space and also for many times renew the internet quota it will be waste of money espicially that I dont know if there's a money or not (if I 100% know there is a money on it I'll spent the money )

You can rent a dedicated server from Contabo or some other provider with at least a 700GB harddisk for a month and then sync Bitcoin Core on that. Or, you can simply use a VPS in pruning mode to save costs, and then upgrade the RAM to something like 16GB and set the dbcache accordingly so that the initial block download can go extremely fast, as in finishing in hours.

[LoyceV]

You can rent a dedicated server from Contabo or some other provider with at least a 700GB harddisk for a month and then sync Bitcoin Core on that. Or, you can simply use a VPS in pruning mode to save costs, and then upgrade the RAM to something like 16GB and set the dbcache accordingly so that the initial block download can go extremely fast, as in finishing in hours.

I wouldn't upload my wallet.dat to a server. It increases the risk.

[NotATether]

You can rent a dedicated server from Contabo or some other provider with at least a 700GB harddisk for a month and then sync Bitcoin Core on that. Or, you can simply use a VPS in pruning mode to save costs, and then upgrade the RAM to something like 16GB and set the dbcache accordingly so that the initial block download can go extremely fast, as in finishing in hours.

I wouldn't upload my wallet.dat to a server. It increases the risk.

Right, it is risky, and it should only be done if internet costs make it somehow prohibitive for you to run a full node locally even if you are otherwise able to buy all the necessary hardware.

In such a case you'd better be using a keypair to log into the server and then lock down the root user account from SSH - usually this is already done but it doesn't hurt to check.

[LoyceV]

it should only be done if internet costs make it somehow prohibitive for you to run a full node locally even if you are otherwise able to buy all the necessary hardware.

There's no need to download the blockchain, so there's no reason to ever upload your wallet to any server.

[RickDeckard]

~

To add to Forsyth Jones reply, I will just comment that you can also sweep your private keys into an existing Electrum Wallet (if you have any). In Electrum main window just select Wallet -> Private keys and then Sweep. You'll be presented with a menu that allows you to enter private keys (one per line), following Forsyth Jones methodology depending on what type of private key you have. Then you just have to insert an address for Electrum to sweep the funds to and you're set (and, of course, you will also need to set a fee for the transaction).

[Pmalek]

If you can't download and synchronize the whole blockchain because you are lacking storage and you can't even run the Bitcoin Core software properly due to an outdated computer, it should be pretty clear to you that you should forget about Bitcoin Core and running a node at this stage. As others have explained, install a light client like Electrum and import the private keys of your funded addresses.

In the future, if you want to to run your own node, get a normal internet subscription and a better desktop machine that will work flawlessly.

[Sadderr]

What do you think guys of this plan

(I have made a plan)
Downloading btc core 0.17 cause it's the last version work (win7 32bit)
After that turn on pruning mode = 550 and save it on another direction on c:/
Then have a multiple copies of wallet.dat file
And after btc core work I will close it and change the new dat file with old one
And open the btc core again then going to console and typing [listreceivedbyadress 0 true ]
To get all addresses and then check on blockchain explorer and If there a money I'll copy the address that contain the money and going back to console and type[dumprivkey .....address......] to get the priv key
And then downloading electruim and import the working keys so the money will show on the account
And for more privacy ( I'm thinking of made another account and sent the money to another account and pay the transaction fees from the first account )

[LoyceV]

have a multiple copies of wallet.dat file

This should be Step 1 of your plan, not Step 3.

And after btc core work I will close it and change the new dat file with old one

If you select pruning, your old wallet will require to download the blockchain again. No need for it to download anything if you want to get your addresses only.

I'm thinking of made another account and sent the money to another account and pay the transaction fees from the first account

This doesn't make sense.

[RickDeckard]

I think that you are over-complicating your situation. Like LoyceV said, you definitely should have a backup of your wallet.dat as a safety measure in any scenario, but what you should consider doing after is choose a route of action that is suitable to your needs and current limitations regarding setup. Why are you choosing with the route that you planned when there is an option that allows you access to your funds in a matter of minutes and allows you to see the total balance that is within your wallet (which seems to be your main goal)?

One could argue afterwards the best path to take but for now, considering your first comment, the previous solutions seems rather fit to your current needs.

[Sadderr]

have a multiple copies of wallet.dat file

This should be Step 1 of your plan, not Step 3.


I'm already having multiple copies of the file before doing anything It seems that I forget to say

And after btc core work I will close it and change the new dat file with old one

If you select pruning, your old wallet will require to download the blockchain again. No need for it to download anything if you want to get your addresses only.

 btc core 0.17 didn't ask me also about doing pruined mode and when it done installing I saw on settings that it work on normal one

I'm thinking of made another account and sent the money to another account and pay the transaction fees from the first account

This doesn't make sense.

I know but it will not be bad atleast and I'm know it's maybe will not have an effect
But what I want to ask here when you sent the money to another acc you should pay transaction fee not the other one right? Let's say 10$ you sent 9 and set up 1 as transaction fee

[Sadderr]

I think that you are over-complicating your situation. Like LoyceV said, you definitely should have a backup of your wallet.dat as a safety measure in any scenario, but what you should consider doing after is choose a route of action that is suitable to your needs and current limitations regarding setup. Why are you choosing with the route that you planned when there is an option that allows you access to your funds in a matter of minutes and allows you to see the total balance that is within your wallet (which seems to be your main goal)?

One could argue afterwards the best path to take but for now, considering your first comment, the previous solutions seems rather fit to your current needs.

I have set my plan on your comments and made  shortcut to done it

And I'm  already have all the addresses of the wallet but they're alot and it will take very long time to check them individually

And when I'm saying they're alot I really mean a big number

[RickDeckard]

But what I want to ask here when you sent the money to another acc you should pay transaction fee not the other one right? Let's say 10$ you sent 9 and set up 1 as transaction fee

The sender always pays the fee, not the receiver. In a transaction the size of the it influences the overall fee that you will pay for it, so you also have to take that in consideration.
If you decide to proceed with the previous recommended method to control your funds you will notice that the fees are currently very high so I advise you to wait until they are within an acceptable range again.

[Sadderr]

If you decide to proceed with the previous recommended method to control your funds you will notice that the fees are currently very high so I advise you to wait until they are within an acceptable range again.
[/quote]
Thanks alot but is there is way for alot of adresses check and not (progrraming way )cause my device every time I'm trying There Is a something missing and overall not work

+ if anyone know a way but safe

+also I dont see transactions ,or addresses or anything on bitcoin core so I dont see a fund and still on 2011 and my wallet from 2020 so yeaaah because of that I must check all the adresses

[Cricktor]

Thanks alot but is there is way for alot of adresses check and not (progrraming way )cause my device every time I'm trying There Is a something missing and overall not work

You could import the public addresses into a watch-only wallet in Electrum and you could quickly see if any of those addresses holds any funds. Electrum is a lightweight wallet and doesn't require to download the full or partial blockchain.

If you want to go this way, make sure you download Electrum solely from the official website https://electrum.org/ and verify properly your download file. I'm not going into detail for this as there's an excellent description for that in this forum.

When you have verified that you have funds in your addresses, you could import the private keys of your funded addresses or all private keys of your addresses in a spending wallet in Electrum.

[Sadderr]

Thanks alot but is there is way for alot of adresses check and not (progrraming way )cause my device every time I'm trying There Is a something missing and overall not work

You could import the public addresses into a watch-only wallet in Electrum and you could quickly see if any of those addresses holds any funds. Electrum is a lightweight wallet and doesn't require to download the full or partial blockchain.

If you want to go this way, make sure you download Electrum solely from the official website https://electrum.org/ and verify properly your download file. I'm not going into detail for this as there's an excellent description for that in this forum.

When you have verified that you have funds in your addresses, you could import the private keys of your funded addresses or all private keys of your addresses in a spending wallet in Electrum.

Checked yesterday and It's empty

[Cricktor]

Based on your questions you had, I wouldn't place you in the experienced camp. What gives you confidence you did everything right? I ask because you don't give much details.

Are you sure you imported the correct address type (if you imported the private keys in Electrum)?

If you imported the public addresses and you expect to see some transaction history and there is none in Electrum, assuming it synced fully, then either you missed some public addresses or it is the wrong (empty) wallet you exported the addresses from. Based on your "Checked yesterday and It's empty" it could also be that your wallet has been emptied. It's guesswork.

[Sadderr]

Based on your questions you had, I wouldn't place you in the experienced camp. What gives you confidence you did everything right? I ask because you don't give much details.

Are you sure you imported the correct address type (if you imported the private keys in Electrum)?

If you imported the public addresses and you expect to see some transaction history and there is none in Electrum, assuming it synced fully, then either you missed some public addresses or it is the wrong (empty) wallet you exported the addresses from. Based on your "Checked yesterday and It's empty" it could also be that your wallet has been emptied. It's guesswork.

Yes cause i have good knowledge  about crypto currencies  but I'm not experienced (good surface knowledge )

I haven't import them on electrum cause i have found a python script that work for checking the balance of accounts and I tried with all of the addresses and every account was 0
And I put some random adresses with balance(not mine) and the script found them 
So that what make me know that adresses all empty

[nc50lc]

-snip-
And I'm  already have all the addresses of the wallet but they're alot and it will take very long time to check them individually

Are those addresses the result of the suggested dumpwallet command?

If so, you may have to specify which address type to dump because the command defaults to "bech32" if addresstype isn't explicitly set.
Since you do not know the actual address(es), you may have to create a separate dump with legacy and p2sh-SegWit addresses.

To do that, you either:

• A. Close Bitcoin Core, set addresstype=legacy to your bitcoin.conf file, Open Bitcoin Core then use dumpwallet command;
      Close Bitcoin Core, set addresstype=p2sh-segwit, Open Bitcoin Core then use dumpwallet command with different dump file name.
      (Your third option would be addresstype=bech32 if your current dump file has legacy addresses; and the other type, bech32m isn't an option in 2020)
  
      Those two dump files will contain same private keys and amount of 'key & address lines' as your first dump file but will have the specified address type.
      Then use the script that you've mentioned above (after you share it so we can check if it's legit) to see if those addresses have bitcoins.
  
  
• B. This wont require another two dump files;
      When you import to Electrum, specify the script types as noted in 'import private key' window's "info" tooltip button.
      Each WIF private key should be imported with different script types to restore all three address types.
  
  e.g. (imports legacy, p2sh-SegWit and Native SegWit addresses):

  WIF_Private_Key01
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key01
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key01
  WIF_Private_Key02
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key02
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key02
  WIF_Private_Key03
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key03
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key03
  ...

  But, don't import too many in one wallet or Electrum may not sync.

[Cricktor]

If so, you may have to specify which address type to dump because the command defaults to "bech32" if addresstype isn't explicitly set.
Since you do not know the actual address(es), you may have to create a separate dump with legacy and p2sh-SegWit addresses.

Holy moly, this is new to me, thanks for this! I just looked up the short help with bitcoin-cli help dumpwallet (Bitcoin Core v26.0) and there's absolutely no reference to addresstype whatsoever affecting the output of this command. I'm puzzled, need to investigate further.

When dumpwallet is affected by settings in bitcoin.conf like addresstype=legacy, it might be necessary to also specify changetype=legacy for change addresses (for legacy address type here).

I haven't import them on electrum cause i have found a python script that work for checking the balance of accounts and I tried with all of the addresses and every account was 0
And I put some random adresses with balance(not mine) and the script found them  
So that what make me know that adresses all empty

I'd rely at such an important verification step on proven tools like Electrum wallet. Your Python script may be OK, but how do you know after just a few tests? Your script may just skip gracefully without signaling issues if it's programmed the wrong way. If you don't understand the code, you can't know what it is doing. I would be careful with "unknown" scripts.

You don't give any details about the script and it's a bit annoying to always have to ask for further details. I mean, you should be the one who is very much interested to be certain to use the right tools, no?


What address type did you get in your output file of dumpwallet command (public addresses of 1... / 3... or bc1q...)?

[Sadderr]

-snip-
And I'm  already have all the addresses of the wallet but they're alot and it will take very long time to check them individually

Are those addresses the result of the suggested dumpwallet command?

If so, you may have to specify which address type to dump because the command defaults to "bech32" if addresstype isn't explicitly set.
Since you do not know the actual address(es), you may have to create a separate dump with legacy and p2sh-SegWit addresses.

To do that, you either:

• A. Close Bitcoin Core, set addresstype=legacy to your bitcoin.conf file, Open Bitcoin Core then use dumpwallet command;
      Close Bitcoin Core, set addresstype=p2sh-segwit, Open Bitcoin Core then use dumpwallet command with different dump file name.
      (Your third option would be addresstype=bech32 if your current dump file has legacy addresses; and the other type, bech32m isn't an option in 2020)
  
      Those two dump files will contain same private keys and amount of 'key & address lines' as your first dump file but will have the specified address type.
  
      Then use the script that you've mentioned above (after you share it so we can check if it's legit) to see if those addresses have bitcoins.
  
  
• B. This wont require another two dump files;
      When you import to Electrum, specify the script types as noted in 'import private key' window's "info" tooltip button.
      Each WIF private key should be imported with different script types to restore all three address types.
  
  e.g. (imports legacy, p2sh-SegWit and Native SegWit addresses):

  WIF_Private_Key01
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key01
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key01
  WIF_Private_Key02
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key02
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key02
  WIF_Private_Key03
  p2wpkh-p2sh:WIF_Private_Key03
  p2wpkh:WIF_Private_Key03
  ...

  But, don't import too many in one wallet or Electrum may not sync.

I think it's gonna be useless because yesterday when I'm trying I used (getbalance) on btc core and it shows 0.000 I dont remember how many zeros but there wasn't another numbers

Also: on the first I tried to search for (name ) on wallet.dat file by notepad (normal one) and hxd (hex editor) and there wasn't

That script I used :https://github.com/geniusprodigy/bitcoin-qt
+ I'll try electrum way but I dont feel like it will work + what to do with another adresses if import some of them doing new wallet?

[Sadderr]

If so, you may have to specify which address type to dump because the command defaults to "bech32" if addresstype isn't explicitly set.
Since you do not know the actual address(es), you may have to create a separate dump with legacy and p2sh-SegWit addresses.

Holy moly, this is new to me, thanks for this! I just looked up the short help with bitcoin-cli help dumpwallet (Bitcoin Core v26.0) and there's absolutely no reference to addresstype whatsoever affecting the output of this command. I'm puzzled, need to investigate further.

When dumpwallet is affected by settings in bitcoin.conf like addresstype=legacy, it might be necessary to also specify changetype=legacy for change addresses (for legacy address type here).

I haven't import them on electrum cause i have found a python script that work for checking the balance of accounts and I tried with all of the addresses and every account was 0
And I put some random adresses with balance(not mine) and the script found them  
So that what make me know that adresses all empty

I'd rely at such an important verification step on proven tools like Electrum wallet. Your Python script may be OK, but how do you know after just a few tests? Your script may just skip gracefully without signaling issues if it's programmed the wrong way. If you don't understand the code, you can't know what it is doing. I would be careful with "unknown" scripts.

You don't give any details about the script and it's a bit annoying to always have to ask for further details. I mean, you should be the one who is very much interested to be certain to use the right tools, no?


What address type did you get in your output file of dumpwallet command (public addresses of 1... / 3... or bc1q...)?

I'll try electrum  one but I dont put a hope for it
In my previous comment I have put the script link

It's not (not giving any details ) I'm just lost the hope and the energy that it can have anything on it
And I'm replying with what you asking for

The adresses types all of them was starting with 3

[Cricktor]

You don't need to full quote always, not to mention that consecutive posts aren't allowed either (see forum rules #13 and #32).

I think it's gonna be useless because yesterday when I'm trying I used (getbalance) on btc core and it shows 0.000 I dont remember how many zeros but there wasn't another numbers

getbalance will only work properly and give a reliable balance when your Bitcoin Core is fully synced and the wallet addresses have all been fully scanned (rescanned if necessary) over the whole blockchain.

That script I used :https://github.com/geniusprodigy/bitcoin-qt

I can't remember having seen this script you found, but I'm far from knowing a lot of them. I stick to proven tools that are well known and that I mostly can understand myself, but I'm no programmer or coder.

Your script queries blockchain.info to get balances and what if blockchain.info has some rate limits for querying a lot of addresses. I don't see too much exception handling in the script, especially when blockchain.info wouldn't give good answers.

If I were you, I'd use Electrum.

The adresses types all of them was starting with 3

P2SH-Segwitt address type (3...) seems to be default for at least Bitcoin Core 26.0. --- edit: see following post

Follow advise of nc50lc and create dumpwallet files with

addresstype=legacy
changetype=legacy

in your bitcoin.conf and another dumpwallet file with

addresstype=bech32
changetype=bech32

in your bitcoin.conf, so that you have all three address types covered.

[nc50lc]

-snip-

I think it's gonna be useless because yesterday when I'm trying I used (getbalance) on btc core and it shows 0.000 I dont remember how many zeros but there wasn't another numbers

It's 0.00000000 BTC, so is you Bitcoin Core fully synced?
Because if not, getbalance will just show you false-negative results regardless if the wallet has bitcoins.

If yes, then why did you have to go through the unsafe dumpwallet and manual/scripted balance checking if you're going to sync Bitcoin Core anyways?

What's done is done and if it's the actual balance Bitcoin Core shows,
then the wallet is really empty since it already checked all script types derived from the wallet's private keys.

Also: on the first I tried to search for (name ) on wallet.dat file by notepad (normal one) and hxd (hex editor) and there wasn't

The former isn't reliable specially if the backup is an unused copy of the wallet.dat file.
Without any history of usage, you wont find any address using that method.

P2SH-Segwitt address type (3...) seems to be default for at least Bitcoin Core 26.0.

It's been "bech32" since v20.0: github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/release-notes/release-notes-0.20.0.md#wallet