Electrum Assistance

[Spicoli]

Hello, I bought my bitcoin nearly 10 years ago and stored it in a paper wallet.  Unfortunately, no exchanges accept the old private key format.  I was provided a Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRVTnWozw8) that explains how to import a private key using Electrum but, when I enter the private key to import it, it does not appear to be recognizing it (it won't activate the "Next" button).  Does anyone have insight into what I may be doing wrong? 

[DireWolfM14]

The key needs to be in WIF format for Electrum to accept it.  It's probably in hexadecimal or compressed format.

WIF keys start with a "5", "K", or "L" as far as I know.  A hexadecimal key will start with a "0" or "9".  Assuming my suspicion is accurate, you can use the Ian Coleman tool to convert the key to proper format.  Download the tool and use it on an off-line computer, don't use the online version.

No matter what you do, don't share the private key with anyone.  You're likely to get offers to help in PM inbox, those will be scammers.

[bitmover]

Hello, I bought my bitcoin nearly 10 years ago and stored it in a paper wallet.  Unfortunately, no exchanges accept the old private key format.  I was provided a Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRVTnWozw8) that explains how to import a private key using Electrum but, when I enter the private key to import it, it does not appear to be recognizing it (it won't activate the "Next" button).  Does anyone have insight into what I may be doing wrong? 

Which wallet did you use to generate that private key? What kind of private key do you have?

10 years ago isn't too much for bitcoin, as it used to be. In 2016 there were plenty of bip39 wallets, so you might have a seed (12-24, words).

As mentioned above by DireWolfM14, dont copy/paste that private key to anyone. Also, dont paste into into websites or softwares you are not 100% sure about it

[nc50lc]

I was provided a Youtube video -snip- that explains how to import a private key using Electrum -snip-
-snip-
Unfortunately, no exchanges accept the old private key format.

Wait, you said "I was provided".
Have you asked this somewhere else or you're being contacted by a seemingly technical support agent?
Because you should be careful on this matter since you could lost all of your old bitcoins to a scammer in one simple wrong move.

And you've mentioned "Exchanges" while talking about the private key, those two can't be correlated
It only raised a red-flag in case someone is providing you those instructions.
Please be extremely vigilant.

Anyways, as for Electrum, it supports WIF with compressed flag or not (the ones described by DireWolfM14) and Mini Private key (starts with S).
If it's in bare hexadecimal, you'll need to encode it to WIF using a reputable "Private key to WIF" tool that you can run offline.

e.g. (only use on an offline machine) You can use this tool's "Convert" tab by selecting "HEX" as input and "Base58check" as output
GitHub, you can review the code if you can: github.com/brainwalletX/brainwalletX.github.io (results with WIF that starts with "5")
Then you can get the compressed WIF by adding "01"  at the end of the hex private key (results with WIF that starts with "K" or "L")
Then, import both to Electrum.

[Marck Carney]

first you need to convert your old private key so that Electrum wallet can support it

[Yamane_Keto]

the length of the private key and whether it starts with "5", "K", or "L", will determine whether it can be identified or not; if it does not begin with "5", "K", or "L", then it could be as a hex key, hash160, or an encrypted copy of the private key.

Which wallet did you use to generate that private key? What kind of private key do you have?

It's a paper wallet, meaning Bitcoin was purchased and received QR codes to access the funds.

[LoyceV]

no exchanges accept the old private key format.

Please learn what you're doing before doing it. Be your own bank means there is no "Undo" button!

Does anyone have insight into what I may be doing wrong?

Not really, you didn't give enough information. To start: does your paper wallet look like the one in your Youtube video? Did you create it yourself 10 years ago, or did someone sell you the paper wallet? If it looks like the Youtube video and Electrum doesn't accept it, you probably typed it wrong. Try again (and again and again). BUT: instead of just messing around with a potentially substantial amount of money on a computer connected to the internet, you should learn to do it safely BEFORE doing it:

Online:
Install Electrum on your PC.
Import your address to create a watch-only wallet.
Preview the transaction, Copy the unsigned transaction. Put it on a USB stick.

Offline and running without hard drive storage:
Get a Linux LIVE DVD. Use Knoppix or Tails for instance, or any other distribution that comes with Electrum pre-installed.
Unplug your internet cable. Close the curtains. Reboot your computer and start up from that DVD. Don't enter any wireless connection password. Keep it offline.
Start Electrum. Import your private key.
Copy your unsigned transaction from the USB stick, load it into Electrum.
CHECK the transaction in Electrum. Check the fees, check the amount, check all destination addresses (character by character).
If all is okay, sign the transaction. Copy it back to your USB stick.
Turn off the computer. That wipes the Live LINUX from memory and all traces are gone.

Online:
Use your normal online Electrum to (check again and) broadcast the transaction.