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Back in 2009 I remember putting Bitcoin-Qt on my computer. I went straight over to the site and downloaded, but never put any wallet name or passphrase. Now in 2021 I remembered what I had done. When I checked it with a new computer, it had uploaded many wallet .dat files. It had been syncing for nearly two months nearly.

Is this my wallet.dat from 2009 onwards? When fully synced, will any mined blocks coinbase, or Bitcoin I was rewarded for good questions back then about Bitcoin-Qt, show in my balance? If not, what do I do to receive my rewards? Is this possible?

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  • There are so many inconsistencies and missing pieces in this story I don't know where to start. Bitcoin-qt didn't exist until november 2011. How can a new computer you bought have uploaded something? Where did it upload it to? In general, if you don't have a backup of your wallet from 2009 (or whenever it was), there is no hope to recover your funds.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Oct 2 '21 at 23:54
  • Hi pieter, i can explain but can i do so in pm as have a few pics i could share to help you help me understand,,also if you like a challenge pieter this is for you,and thanks for reply.marc.
    – marc ashworth
    Oct 3 '21 at 8:39
  • Hi pieter,ill try and explain from begining,in 2008 i got made redundant as ressesion was kicking in,so i decided to start working on my future venture,so i ask a close friend who used to come and chip my NTL Box,after this i remmember chatting on sourceforge,bitcointalk,bittorrent, whilst on one of these site i got chatting to someone not sure who but i got sent invite to bitcoin via mailing list,i must have downloaded and remmember answering a few questions,also being rewarded bitcoin for this about 2 i think,was involved until i returned to work in 2012.you with me so far?
    – marc ashworth
    Oct 3 '21 at 8:45
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If you don't have an actual backup of your wallet.dat file from 2009 (or whatever time you were using/mining Bitcoin), there is no way to recover your funds. Sorry.

Ownership of BTC is defined by access to the private keys, which software early on (and some, still) stores in a wallet file. Without that actual wallet file, you don't have the keys, and there is no other way to obtain them.

BTC is not linked to IP addresses or any other real-world identity. The only thing that matters is the key/wallet.

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  • Thanks for your reply,i have wallet name,i have passphrase ,i have wallet.dat,but somehow ended up with various files and lots of them just need a bit of guidence as i dont want to delete anything that would be needed for my account,there are about 15 differant wallet dat files,also tar,sig also many more,where do i send pic if ok ?
    – marc ashworth
    Oct 3 '21 at 18:11
  • No Bitcoin wallet supported passphrases or any kind of encryption until september 2011. Is your wallet.dat file from back then, or is it one created on your new computer?
    – Pieter Wuille
    Oct 3 '21 at 18:23
  • HI Peter ,i thought that,when i plugged computer in on 21/08/21 for first time since about 2012/13 it for some reason cloned onto this computer as never kept old one but you are right in that there were no passphrases back then nor seeds i dont think,i have screenshot of propertys when it cloned to my computer,if you would care to veiw.?
    – marc ashworth
    Oct 3 '21 at 18:31
  • This is not how computers work. Computers don't clone themselves automatically. The data on a computer you don't have is gone.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Oct 3 '21 at 18:38
  • You're free to update the question here with additional information or photos (or more readable text with sentences and paragraphs...), but unless I'm very much misunderstanding you, this won't change anything about my answer.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Oct 3 '21 at 18:44

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