Downloading blockchain on memory stick

[ovcijisir]

I downloaded Bitcoin core wallet and it takes hours to download blockchain. Currently my Bitcoin core is on windows.

I also want to try to use it on linux, but I want to avoid downloading whole blockchain again.

Is there a way to copy the blockchain on memory drive and copy it to linux machine?

Btw. I am using pruned blockchain to keep my disk relatively free.

[Cookdata]

I downloaded Bitcoin core wallet and it takes hours to download blockchain. Currently my Bitcoin core is on windows.

I also want to try to use it on linux, but I want to avoid downloading whole blockchain again.

Is there a way to copy the blockchain on memory drive and copy it to linux machine?

Btw. I am using pruned blockchain to keep my disk relatively free.

Get a USB drive that should be able to copy your pruned Bitcoin node data, plug it to your windows computer. You need to locate where your Bitcoin data is saved on your windows, if you used custom directory, locate and copy it and if you used default directory, locate your Appdata/local/, you will see Bitcoin folder there. Copy the entire folder into your USB drive.

Plug the USB on your Linux machine. If you have started the Bitcoin core on your Linux before and decided to stop because you don't want to continue the IBD, your Linux should have .bitcoin folder by default in your home directory, that's where your Bitcoin data is kept, delete the entire data and paste the complete data on your USB into the folder. Once done, start your Bitcoin core from your terminal with bitcoin-qt for GUI or bitcoind without the GUI.

If you are starting Bitcoin core on Linux for the first time, create .bitcoin folder, copy and paste the data from USB into the folder then follow this Linux installation and start your Bitcoin core, it will recognize the data directory by default.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

I downloaded Bitcoin core wallet and it takes hours to download blockchain. Currently my Bitcoin core is on windows.

I also want to try to use it on linux, but I want to avoid downloading whole blockchain again.

Is there a way to copy the blockchain on memory drive and copy it to linux machine?

Btw. I am using pruned blockchain to keep my disk relatively free.

Memory stick to store the whole Bitcoin blockchain, it's too much storage space and I have never tried it. I used to do that with a hard disk, not any USB memory stick.

Answers in Migrating OS; Bitcoin Core from Win to Linux mean it is possible to copy and use the blockchain data from Windows to Linux, you can migrate it.

[eternalgloom]

Size of pruned node is quite small, so sync will be completed very quickly.
So, why would you need to move it manually? idk
It would be faster and safer to simply set up a fresh sync in pruned mode on Linux.


Anyway, you could do that manually too.
Ensure that you use same version of Bitcoin Core in your both OS. Next in Windows go to Task Manager and find out Bitcoin Core to end process it. Copy entire data folder to USB drive.

Keep one thing in mind that copying only blocks folder will not be enough. You must also copy chainstate folder and blocks/index directory.
Next, paste those folder in ~/.bitcoin/ on Linux. Then fix permission by running command chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.bitcoin

Now, launch the core using same prune settings that you used on Windows. If this is not done correctly, it will lead to mismatch in Linux system. So, configuring prune parameter accurately in bitcoin.conf file is mandatory.

[hd49728]

Size of pruned node is quite small, so sync will be completed very quickly.
So, why would you need to move it manually? idk
It would be faster and safer to simply set up a fresh sync in pruned mode on Linux.

Full node or prune node, you always have to do your IBD (Initial Blockchain Download).

So syncing time from genesis block to current block will require the same time with either full node or prune node. The difference is only how much blockchain data you want to store on your computer, with prune node, you can set a small data storage while with full node, storage means all Bitcoin blockchain data from genesis block till now.

Downloading and using blockchain snapshot is dangerous and it's not recommended.
Bitcoin Core pruned blockchain: download it here! (DON'T DO THIS!)

[ovcijisir]

~

Get a USB drive that should be able to copy your pruned Bitcoin node data, plug it to your windows computer. You need to locate where your Bitcoin data is saved on your windows, if you used custom directory, locate and copy it and if you used default directory, locate your Appdata/local/, you will see Bitcoin folder there. Copy the entire folder into your USB drive.

Plug the USB on your Linux machine. If you have started the Bitcoin core on your Linux before and decided to stop because you don't want to continue the IBD, your Linux should have .bitcoin folder by default in your home directory, that's where your Bitcoin data is kept, delete the entire data and paste the complete data on your USB into the folder. Once done, start your Bitcoin core from your terminal with bitcoin-qt for GUI or bitcoind without the GUI.

If you are starting Bitcoin core on Linux for the first time, create .bitcoin folder, copy and paste the data from USB into the folder then follow this Linux installation and start your Bitcoin core, it will recognize the data directory by default.

Thanks for detailed instructions, I will try it when I finish downloading blickchain on my windows machine

~
Memory stick to store the whole Bitcoin blockchain, it's too much storage space and I have never tried it. I used to do that with a hard disk, not any USB memory stick.

Answers in Migrating OS; Bitcoin Core from Win to Linux mean it is possible to copy and use the blockchain data from Windows to Linux, you can migrate it.

I am using pruned blockchain (it is just a few GB in size, so it should fit on my memory stick), not a full size blockchain (>700GB)

[Mia Chloe]

I downloaded Bitcoin core wallet and it takes hours to download blockchain. Currently my Bitcoin core is on windows.
I also want to try to use it on linux, but I want to avoid downloading whole blockchain again.
Is there a way to copy the blockchain on memory drive and copy it to linux machine?
Btw. I am using pruned blockchain to keep my disk relatively free.

Although I've not really tried it hands on yet, it should work actually. Personally I'll suggest you use a hard drive to make a copy of the node instead of regular flash drives. You see most flash drives out there are not really authentic and because of that you'll be taking the risk of having a corrupt file at the end of the process.

Also if you have the storage option and convenience just download the entire Blockchain instead however pruning will still work fine.

[ovcijisir]

~
Although I've not really tried it hands on yet, it should work actually. Personally I'll suggest you use a hard drive to make a copy of the node instead of regular flash drives. You see most flash drives out there are not really authentic and because of that you'll be taking the risk of having a corrupt file at the end of the process.

Also if you have the storage option and convenience just download the entire Blockchain instead however pruning will still work fine.

Unfortunately I don’t have external storage large enough for entire blockchain. I set the size of blockchain to 21 GB so that should be small enough for memory stick.

If something gets corrupted in the process I can try with HDD, but in my opinion using memory stick for transfer should be ok.

[Mia Chloe]

Unfortunately I don’t have external storage large enough for entire blockchain. I set the size of blockchain to 21 GB so that should be small enough for memory stick.
If something gets corrupted in the process I can try with HDD, but in my opinion using memory stick for transfer should be ok.

Ohh I see. Well with that small of a size a flash should be able to handle it properly and using an HDD regardless would not be an issue. Personally I'll recommend you format your USB stick to ext4 format it should work better since you're switching to Linux instead.

exFAT too should also work but from what I've seen in the past they claimed ext4 is better for Linux I'm recommending exFAT too because it works on almost all OS.

[Sammysmart001]

Yeah it going to work out, since it pruned you are using, like a 21GB flash can carry it.
Just make sure that you stop Bitcoin Core finish for windows before copying, you shouldn’t copy it while still running, it can corrupt.

And again you should use same Core version for Linux also plus same prune size for that of you Bitcoin.conf. If not it can start to re-sync again.And after copying safely eject the USB dont just pull.

[Cookdata]

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And again you should use same Core version for Linux also plus same prune size for that of you Bitcoin.conf. If not it can start to re-sync again.And after copying safely eject the USB dont just pull.

If he is using Bitcoin-qt on Linux, Bitcoin core would still be able to recognize the prune=21gb from settings.json, but it's still better if he configure the Bitcoin.conf and set prune to 21gb before copy the entire data from windows to Linux to avoid any errors.

[coinlary]

Just do a new IBD on the Linux machine  it shouldn't really take you that long, max a week if you don't want your PC running it whole day but you can continue using your wallet while syncing.

If you still insist due to one or two reason, then create a cp of the blocks directory so you can have a backup to re-copy incase the first attempt didn't succeed and also endup missing up the existing.

And if what you're planning is cold storage setup, you can just use list descriptor after installing  and copy use the Xpub with its respective derivation path.

[taufik123]

Memory stick to store the whole Bitcoin blockchain, it's too much storage space and I have never tried it. I used to do that with a hard disk, not any USB memory stick.

Answers in Migrating OS; Bitcoin Core from Win to Linux mean it is possible to copy and use the blockchain data from Windows to Linux, you can migrate it.

Hard disks in general with a large size may be less efficient for now, because for large storage capacity and also high read speed,
you can use NVMe SSDs with an additional enclosure that can make NVMe SSDs can be used portable with high storage and transfer speeds.

This will be more optimal for Bitcoin Core storage and is highly recommended,
the high IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) speed on NVMe speeds up the Initial Block Download (IBD) process and UTXO (chainstate) database verification drastically compared to SATA HDDs or SSDs.

Storage Comparison For Bitcoin Core Linux & Windows

Source Image: AI Generate

[Changoo]

Before you copy the pruned data to Linux, set the same prune value in bitcoin.conf on the new machine. If Core starts on a pruned datadir without prune enabled, it stops and tells you to rebuild with -reindex, and on a pruned node that means downloading the chain again, which is what you're trying to avoid. Copy both the blocks and chainstate folders while Core is fully closed.

[ovcijisir]

~
Hard disks in general with a large size may be less efficient for now, because for large storage capacity and also high read speed,
you can use NVMe SSDs with an additional enclosure that can make NVMe SSDs can be used portable with high storage and transfer speeds.

This will be more optimal for Bitcoin Core storage and is highly recommended,
the high IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) speed on NVMe speeds up the Initial Block Download (IBD) process and UTXO (chainstate) database verification drastically compared to SATA HDDs or SSDs.
~

Thanks for the info, but I just plan to use memory stick to transfer downloaded (pruned) blockchain. Both my machines (linux and windows) have hard drives. Thanks about NVM advice tho.

Before you copy the pruned data to Linux, set the same prune value in bitcoin.conf on the new machine. If Core starts on a pruned datadir without prune enabled, it stops and tells you to rebuild with -reindex, and on a pruned node that means downloading the chain again, which is what you're trying to avoid. Copy both the blocks and chainstate folders while Core is fully closed.

Nice, very useful info. I will look into it! It will help me avoid potential issues down the road.

[X-ray]

~
Although I've not really tried it hands on yet, it should work actually. Personally I'll suggest you use a hard drive to make a copy of the node instead of regular flash drives. You see most flash drives out there are not really authentic and because of that you'll be taking the risk of having a corrupt file at the end of the process.

Also if you have the storage option and convenience just download the entire Blockchain instead however pruning will still work fine.

Unfortunately I don’t have external storage large enough for entire blockchain. I set the size of blockchain to 21 GB so that should be small enough for memory stick.

If something gets corrupted in the process I can try with HDD, but in my opinion using memory stick for transfer should be ok.

Why not simply use rsync or SFTP if both your machine connected to the same network, you don't even need to do transfer twice which is transfer from your PC to the memory stick and memory stick to linux considering memory stick is as slow as snail.

Just transfer it over the local network you're in and you're going to get faster speed without corruption.

These external storages usually are the biggest bottleneck.

[ABCbits]

Aside from what other member said. when you start Bitcoin Core GUI (bitcoin-qt) for first time or with argument -choosedatadir, you can choose folder path/location which contain your synced pruned node files.

Size of pruned node is quite small, so sync will be completed very quickly.
So, why would you need to move it manually? idk
It would be faster and safer to simply set up a fresh sync in pruned mode on Linux.

Just do a new IBD on the Linux machine  it shouldn't really take you that long, max a week if you don't want your PC running it whole day but you can continue using your wallet while syncing.

I think you forget both pruned node and typical full node need to download whole blockchain, which make sync time could be long or longer than expected.

[taufik123]

Thanks for the info, but I just plan to use memory stick to transfer downloaded (pruned) blockchain. Both my machines (linux and windows) have hard drives. Thanks about NVM advice tho.

NVMe is the best choice compared to using a memory stick with a minimal read speed, especially if you buy a Counterfeit Flash Drive,
the speed is even unreliable and quickly corrupted if used for large file storage and also accessed in realtime.