I do not want blockchain data stored under Application Data folder, how to

[fizzisist]

I tried Timo Y's idea  but I have three .dat files:
blk0001.dat
blk0002.dat
blkindex.dat

and I wasn't sure how they would work out. 

jake262144's trick is what I used. It lasts perfectly through upgrades and does exactly what I wanted.

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[Joshwaa]

I think Tinman is asking if he has to link each of the 3 files.

[saqwe]

yeah wtf,
 downlaoding the initial blockchanin is a mess! i corrupted three hard disks and even with the initial file from sourceforge i am trying to it for over a month now here in vienna/austra/europe

so i cannot stress enough the following proposal:

Ideally, path to the data files should be accessible in the client via the Settings -> Options menu.

The beauty of using a symlink is that it won't ever be broken by reinstalling the client. It is paid for by the necessity to type a few dozen characters into the elevated command prompt.
The biggest benefit of modifying shortcuts is simplicity. This approach is less bulletproof.
Both are acceptable solutions, enough said.

A bright side of messing with the registry... ugh, there is no bright side to that

[Fiyasko]

I feel that this need a necrobump, I ran into this solution, And damn, Jake262144's fix is PERFECT
It creates a shortcut to tell your bitcoin client to go someplace else, BTW, if your blockchain downloads really really slow, Blame your harddrive

[taltamir]

My data dir is 13.4GB... That is a LOT of expensive SSD space. My SSD is very nearly full now
Junction are workable but aside from being advanced knowledge they are also hard to change later on (if I want to move it again to a new location).

1. conf file should be stored in same directory as executable, not in data dir.
2. conf file should specify the data dir (as either relative or absolute path), which should be changable via GUI.

[Fiyasko]

Anyone think that this information is worth pinning/adding into the bitcoin client?

[arklan]

Anyone think that this information is worth pinning/adding into the bitcoin client?

pinning at least.

btw, i use the -datadir option, works fine.

[taltamir]

I do think something needs pinning but it would be better served with a new thread where the first post is a step by step guide on how to apply the two alternative fixes (with a link to this thread)
Adding to the client itself... I am not sure what you mean there.

[Sukrim]

Adding a "Data directory" field in the options I guess.

That way only maybe a "datadir.conf" file would be at the default location pointing to the actual location.

[TierNolan]

Adding a "Data directory" field in the options I guess.

That way only maybe a "datadir.conf" file would be at the default location pointing to the actual location.

Exactly, or just add it to the current config file.

New versions of the software and all shortcuts will then work, and no hard links required.

[taltamir]

Adding a "Data directory" field in the options I guess.

That way only maybe a "datadir.conf" file would be at the default location pointing to the actual location.

That is a great idea! better then mine

[proudhon]

Any word on whether the option to specify the blockchain location is getting worked into the main client?

[Gamesfreak13563]

This is what I have done on Windows 7 using a symbolic link:

1. Open C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\

2. Move the file blk0001.dat (the large file that stores the block chain) to a different disk, eg. D:\bitcoin-blockchain\

3. Run Command Prompt as Administrator (Accessories>Command Promt) and right click "Run as administrator". CAREFUL! mistyping a command here could damage your OS, so make sure you have backed up all important files before doing this.

4. Go to Bitcoin Folder

Code:

cd C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\

5. Execute mklink commnand, eg.

Code:

mklink blk0001.dat D:\bitcoin-blockchain\blk0001.dat

This replaces your blk0001.dat file with an identically-named symbolic link file.

Good luck.

For anyone still struggling with this issue:

You can follow the steps above, but instead, copy the entire Bitcoin folder to a separate drive. Then, in place of step 5, do this:

Code:

mklink /d Bitcoin D:\Bitcoin

This will create a directory link, allowing you to store ALL blocks at a separate location.

[saqwe]

Any word on whether the option to specify the blockchain location is getting worked into the main client?

+1

[BombaUcigasa]

This is what I have done on Windows 7 using a symbolic link:

1. Open C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\

2. Move the file blk0001.dat (the large file that stores the block chain) to a different disk, eg. D:\bitcoin-blockchain\

3. Run Command Prompt as Administrator (Accessories>Command Promt) and right click "Run as administrator". CAREFUL! mistyping a command here could damage your OS, so make sure you have backed up all important files before doing this.

4. Go to Bitcoin Folder

Code:

cd C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\

5. Execute mklink commnand, eg.

Code:

mklink blk0001.dat D:\bitcoin-blockchain\blk0001.dat

This replaces your blk0001.dat file with an identically-named symbolic link file.

Good luck.

This!

Except you can do it better by deleting everything except wallet.dat, linking the whole folder on another drive and redownloading the blockchain.

[Fiyasko]

On Windows Vista or later, the whole %appdata%\Bitcoin directory can be replaced with a symbolic directory link:
(0) Make sure the bitcoin client is not running.
(1) Move the %appdata%\Bitcoin directory to its target location (e.g. d:\bitcoinData)
(2) Run the command prompt as root and issue the command mklink /d "c:\users\<your_user_name_here>\appdata\roaming\bitcoin" "d:\bitcoinData"
done!

This allows you to keep bitcoin client data anywhere, e.g. on a secure local fileserver.

Guys, Really this is the better one, I literally forgot that i was using it, ive been using it all the bitcoin clients across my house's computers it works great and im even using Shortcuts instead!

[theta]

A more user-friendly way of essentially the same thing is using this tool:
http://bitsum.com/junctionmaster.php

[epivitoras1]

thank you for all the replies !!! i just transfered my bitcoin,litecoin,dogecoin appdata folders to my external hard drive disk !!
thank you !

[taltamir]

My solution is to create a bat file in the same directory as the exe for litecoin/bitcoin/dogecoin/etc
You need to disable the "run at startup" option in the client itself, as this would create a shortcut at the startup dir for running the client with the default data directory. Trying to change that shortcut will be futile as it will reset to the defaul form (IIRC whenever you look at options menu)

bat file code:

Code:

IF NOT EXIST .\DATA mkdir DATA
start bitcoin-qt.exe -min -datadir=.\DATA
exit

As you can see, it uses a relative subdirectory called DATA and located inside the client's folder.
It creates that directory if it doesn't exist because otherwise the client will error out saying the directory is missing and self terminate (instead of creating the directory)

Then you just need to put a shortcut to that bat file in the startup directory and set that shortcut to run minimized to avoid an unsightly command prompt coming up every time.
The reason I use "start" and "exit" is to ensure that the cmd prompt itself is gone after the program starts.

oh, and make sure to change bitcoin-qt.exe to litecoin / dogecoin / whatevercoin as needed

[Wusolini]

My solution is to create a bat file in the same directory as the exe for litecoin/bitcoin/dogecoin/etc
You need to disable the "run at startup" option in the client itself, as this would create a shortcut at the startup dir for running the client with the default data directory. Trying to change that shortcut will be futile as it will reset to the defaul form (IIRC whenever you look at options menu)

bat file code:

Code:

IF NOT EXIST .\DATA mkdir DATA
start bitcoin-qt.exe -min -datadir=.\DATA
exit

As you can see, it uses a relative subdirectory called DATA and located inside the client's folder.
It creates that directory if it doesn't exist because otherwise the client will error out saying the directory is missing and self terminate (instead of creating the directory)

Then you just need to put a shortcut to that bat file in the startup directory and set that shortcut to run minimized to avoid an unsightly command prompt coming up every time.
The reason I use "start" and "exit" is to ensure that the cmd prompt itself is gone after the program starts.

oh, and make sure to change bitcoin-qt.exe to litecoin / dogecoin / whatevercoin as needed

This is exactly what i've been looking for. 

many thanks