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I found an old bitcoin wallet from a Windows v0.3.0 client, backup from 2010 The wallet.dat is there and everything else in \AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin

I ran the client overnight in 2010 for 1 or 2 nights out of curiosity for this new thing, decided it was pointless on my feeble PC, then have never bothered with Bitcoin since. There might be something in the wallet, or nothing.

I understand that much has changed since then, but is there a way to move the old wallet into a modern wallet? I don't have a current wallet.

Thanks for reading!

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  • @Mercedes maybe but as mine is from such an old client (pre bitcoin-qt) I wasn't sure.
    – Murgatroyd
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 20:18

2 Answers 2

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The first thing to do is backup your original wallet.dat file.(Save a copy of it to secured computer or thumbdrive).This contains the private keys for your bitcoins. If you lose it, you lose your coins.

Next, try reading this question. It might solve your problem. bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/10974/import-wallet-dat-into-a-new-bitcoin-qt-client

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  • Thanks for the quick reply @Romo. So bitcoin-qt is now bitcoin-core Should (indeed can) I do this on a non-connected PC, in case there is anything of worth in the wallet? It sounds the like the rescan step might need to connect to the internet?
    – Murgatroyd
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 7:35
  • To find out if the old wallet had control of any money you only need to get a list of addresses out of it. You should be able to do this offline. You can then check the current balance for each address by typing them into any blockchain explorer website.
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 11:05
  • To check your address, read the answer[PsySc0rpi0n], from this question [link]bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/113042/…
    – Romo
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 12:06
  • I used pywallet.py to get addresses and looked them up on blockchair. One had a small amount which someone must have sent me when playing around with it in 2010. The others showed Zero and no transactions. However, I found and ran the original 0.3.0 client on a disconnected machine, which showed the small amount sent to me and also mined amounts.
    – Murgatroyd
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 12:22
  • @Murgatroyd Hey, Is 'ChapInRed' your other name? If so, congrats on the good news.
    – Romo
    Commented May 15, 2023 at 2:01
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Thanks all, current version of Bitcoin Core opened the wallet.dat fine, done after downloading blockhain and going offline.

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