Help plz

[needsumhelp]

Hi! I was cleaning out storage space and found my brother's ancient computer. It still turned on and I was able to pull some old photos and videos that I had no idea existed. But I also found several wallet data files as well.

I assume this might have some crypto since my brother talked a lot about it back in the day. But how do I actually open it? I googled crypto wallets and downloaded a few different ones - but they want a recovery phrase instead of just opening a file.

Any guidance would be appreciated! Sorry for the newbie questions, I don't know how this stuff works.

[OmegaStarScream]

Any idea which year is it dating from? They probably belong to bitcoin core. So you should be able to download that and import the files. Note that you need to fully sync the wallet before being able to see the funds otherwise the wallet would just show 0 BTC.

[sokani]

Hi! I was cleaning out storage space and found my brother's ancient computer. It still turned on and I was able to pull some old photos and videos that I had no idea existed. But I also found several wallet data files as well.

I assume this might have some crypto since my brother talked a lot about it back in the day. But how do I actually open it? I googled crypto wallets and downloaded a few different ones - but they want a recovery phrase instead of just opening a file.

Any guidance would be appreciated! Sorry for the newbie questions, I don't know how this stuff works.

The PC is not yours. It belongs to your brothers, and since you said your brother was involved in crypto, I would assume the dat files also belong to him. As you found the files, why not reach out to him and let him know what you've found? Why trying to access the fund that's not yours? Isn't that theft?

[348Judah]

If after everything you got access to the wallet and have his coins with you, what will be your next step, are you going to claim his coins and pretend as if nothing happened or you're going to return everything back to him, because am not sure of your intention on his device which he's not even aware of you going through it, do you know he probably secure that and safe it for the future and be able to get access to his bitcoin later, are you not even intruding into his privacy by all these.

[pawanjain]

Hi! I was cleaning out storage space and found my brother's ancient computer. It still turned on and I was able to pull some old photos and videos that I had no idea existed. But I also found several wallet data files as well.

I assume this might have some crypto since my brother talked a lot about it back in the day. But how do I actually open it? I googled crypto wallets and downloaded a few different ones - but they want a recovery phrase instead of just opening a file.

Any guidance would be appreciated! Sorry for the newbie questions, I don't know how this stuff works.

Stop downloading wallets from the internet and trying recovering the dat files. You never know if those wallets turn out to scam you.
You would end up losing the coins even before getting access to them.

@sokani and @348Judah  have raised a very good point. Even if you somehow get the access to the wallets and find some coins in it, what would you do with it ?
Since you have mentioned that it was your brother's computer, why not inform him about it and I am sure he will be able to access the wallet file.

[PostQuantumBTC]

Any guidance would be appreciated! Sorry for the newbie questions, I don't know how this stuff works.

Your brother know best about the wallet, inform your brother about it for you not to waste your time.

[Bitcoin_Budha]

You already have enough suggestions from members now just don't waste your time and energy go ahead and talk to your brother he will do much better because maybe he forgot about this and now after your this work he tried to have things back which can change fortune.

You have no enough information about anything just downloading wallets and having things can create more mess-up which will be not good for anyone.

[needsumhelp]

Hi all!  Thank you for all the replies!

I don't really want to go into too much depth on our family situation, but my brother is no longer in the picture. It's on me to either figure out if these wallet.dat files (there are three, but one is labelled as a backup) can be opened somehow or just recycle the computer as is.  The computer is probably around 15 years old, so I don't think it's too useful anymore.  Do you think reaching out to Geek Squad or something could help?

[OgNasty]

Hi all!  Thank you for all the replies!

I don't really want to go into too much depth on our family situation, but my brother is no longer in the picture. It's on me to either figure out if these wallet.dat files (there are three, but one is labelled as a backup) can be opened somehow or just recycle the computer as is.  The computer is probably around 15 years old, so I don't think it's too useful anymore.  Do you think reaching out to Geek Squad or something could help?

Well, if you're willing to steal your brother's coins then I can understand why he is no longer in the picture.  However, if he has passed away then I truly am sorry for your loss.

In any event, without the password that encrypted the wallet, you are pretty much out of luck.  Every so often people get their hands on .dat files with BTC loaded on the addresses and try to sell them to others, but it is basically a scam as the password could be longer than a private key.

[needsumhelp]

I hope he is still alive, but I don't even know for certain!  He has fallen into drugs and an unfortunate lifestyle.  We haven't heard from him in years and don't know where he is or how to contact him anymore - nor are particularly interested in doing so.

Otherwise, I didn't know there was a password involved.  I could try guessing what it is?  It took a few tries, but I was able to remember his Windows password since I would play games on his computer sometimes.  How do I actually enter the password into the file though?

[mcdouglasx]

I hope he is still alive, but I don't even know for certain!  He has fallen into drugs and an unfortunate lifestyle.  We haven't heard from him in years and don't know where he is or how to contact him anymore - nor are particularly interested in doing so.

Otherwise, I didn't know there was a password involved.  I could try guessing what it is?  It took a few tries, but I was able to remember his Windows password since I would play games on his computer sometimes.  How do I actually enter the password into the file though?

You need to download Bitcoin Core; that's most likely where that wallet.dat comes from. Import the file, and if it requires a password, it will ask you to enter it. Before manipulating the .dat file, create a copy to avoid corrupting it. Then, you can examine the .dat file in Notepad or a text editor and extract the addresses by copying them. You won't have the keys, but at least you'll be able to check the balance on Blockchain and another explorer, so you don't have to download or sync anything to see your balance.

[nc50lc]

I don't really want to go into too much depth on our family situation, but my brother is no longer in the picture. It's on me to either figure out if these wallet.dat files

Are the actual names of those files "wallet.dat"?
Then it's either from Bitcoin Core, from Regtest/Testnet instance of Bitcoin Core or an altcoin that's a fork of Bitcoin Core.

For starters, if you want to get an initial but unreliable method to know where those belong (the post above mentioned this but not in detail):
You may create a copy of those wallet.dat files,
Then using the copies, open them "as text" (you'll see a bunch of garbage text),
Then find a string named: "name" (e.g.: CTRL+F, then search for name) and there should be a human-readable address next to it if the wallet is used.
Check each address on a blockexplorer if it has any transaction.

But for maximum reliability (recommended), you must Restore (File->Restore Wallet..) them to Bitcoin Core and let it sync.
Be aware that it will look like it's not encrypted when loaded but as others have mentioned, it must have been encrypted by your late brother and it'll only ask for the password when the prvKeys are required like when sending bitcoins.

Notes:
If you do not want to migrate them to use with the latest version of Core, use Bitcoin Core v29.x instead of the latest v30.x.
If you do not have the required disk space and has to use "prune" mode, you must restore all of those wallet.dat files before syncing Bitcoin Core or you'll have to resync again once you're ready to load the wallet files.

[needsumhelp]

Thank you all for your help, all the guidance is much appreciated!  I will give this my best effort over the weekend.  On the slim chance I figure this out and actually find anything - I may or may not let you know (I would rather keep anything significant private).  Thanks again!!

Are the actual names of those files "wallet.dat"?
Then it's either from Bitcoin Core, from Regtest/Testnet instance of Bitcoin Core or an altcoin that's a fork of Bitcoin Core.

There are 2 that are both named wallet.dat in different subfolders, but they have different sizes (46KB vs 391KB) so I think they might be for a different type of bitcoin.  The other is called wallet_backup.dat and is 121KB.

[nc50lc]

There are 2 that are both named wallet.dat in different subfolders, but they have different sizes (46KB vs 391KB) so I think they might be for a different type of bitcoin.  The other is called wallet_backup.dat and is 121KB.

The size isn't too important since it normally grows in size the more transactions added to it.
And the owner can always rename a "wallet.dat" file in "wallet_backup.dat" if he's aiming to keep it as a backup.

About the "name" method, with that larger wallet.dat size, various OS's default text editors may not be responsive while opening the file. (specially in low spec hardware)
But it should load if even if it looks frozen for a few minutes, else, use a better text editor for faster load time and better 'Find' tool.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

Well in addition to the information others here have given you, I'll like to add that you should be careful where you get your applications from just in case there's a private key to that wallet. dat file so you don't end up with a tweaked app so make sure you get your applications from the official site.

I saw your brief explanation about your brother in your later replies here and I'm urging you that if you eventually get access to the wallet a decent amount of funds courtesy demands you make it possible to reach out to him as much as you can. Farewell.

[m2017]

Hi! I was cleaning out storage space and found my brother's ancient computer.

All such stories begin with the "incredible" discovery of an old wallet. I'm not saying this particular story couldn't possibly be true, but I'm quite skeptical of such things. Especially when there's no evidence of their veracity other than the words.

Why trying to access the fund that's not yours? Isn't that theft?

Because people are always willing to take possession of something that doesn't belong to them. Especially if it belonged to a relative, which for them means automatic ownership due to kinship.

I don't really want to go into too much depth on our family situation, but my brother is no longer in the picture.

We're not familiar with your family's situation, but I'm still curious: did your brother want you to access his wallets? If he had, he would have disclosed the existence of these wallets, their balances, and access methods in the event of his death. Isn't that right?

Although it's possible that at the time he owned these wallets, bitcoin was worth little, and to him, it seemed like an insignificant amount. He also wasn't expecting a sudden death (like the rest of us), so he didn't take care of inheritance issues.

Do you think reaching out to Geek Squad or something could help?

If you can't solve the problem yourself, turn to someone who can. What could be simpler?

I hope he is still alive, but I don't even know for certain!  He has fallen into drugs and an unfortunate lifestyle.  We haven't heard from him in years and don't know where he is or how to contact him anymore - nor are particularly interested in doing so.

This detail clarifies the situation. So, maybe you shouldn't touch that wallet? At least until you have more information about your brother.