<p>First be very careful seeking help online, don't give the <code>wallet.dat</code> file or its contents to anyone, and don't screen share to get help.</p>

<p>Also, backup the <code>wallet.dat</code> file securely to make sure if you accidentally change the contents, you don't lose the money.</p>

<p>I don't use bitcoin core myself, so the following is just what I have been able to find out quickly.</p>

<p>So from <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Wallet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> I can see some information about the <code>wallet.dat</code> file format. I believe it to be plain text, so you can just open in a text editor.</p>

<p>It contains <code>- keypairs for each of your addresses</code> that's what you want.</p>

<p>First, step enter each of the <strong>public</strong> addresses e.g. <code>1GwV7fPX97hmavc6iNrUZUogmjpLPrPFoE</code> into a site like <a href="https://bitref.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://bitref.com/</a> to see if they have unspent outputs sent to them, i.e. a positive "balance". <strong>Only post the public addresses into a browser</strong>, they are the shorter strings, like the example I gave.</p>

<p>Now you know which addresses your money was sent to and that your wallet does indeed contain bitcoins and you can relax a little knowing you have all the private keys required to spend those coins.</p>

<p>There are several options going forward past this point, so I think you should check this first. It's safe if you don't modify the file and, again, only post the public addresses into a browser.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-08T21:01:26.077Z
2017-09-08T21:01:26.077Z
weston
<p>In the distant 2013 I tried to deal with mining. At that time it was much easier than it is now.
I downloaded the official program (the version I did not remember), installed it on my computer with a powerful, at that time, videocard and mined.
When I decided to stop I had a bit less than 1 btc. Without having any possibility to cash it out I just saved it to my wallet.dat. I did it with the thought in mind that in some time I would restore mining on its base.
Currently, it is already 2 months that I can not restore my wallet. I installed different versions of the software from bitcoin.org, synchronized them, but the balance writes 0.</p>

<p>Can you help me find out the reason of the fact that in 2013 I had some money there (the rate was $ 130) but 0 at the moment?</p>

<p>P.S. The only person who had access to the wallet was me. I even have the exact date I used it for the last time.</p>

<wallet.dat>
Problem with my bitcoin wallet
Godsun
# Problem with my bitcoin wallet

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-07)

In the distant 2013 I tried to deal with mining. At that time it was much easier than it is now.
I downloaded the official program (the version I did not remember), installed it on my computer with a powerful, at that time, videocard and mined.
When I decided to stop I had a bit less than 1 btc. Without having any possibility to cash it out I just saved it to my wallet.dat. I did it with the thought in mind that in some time I would restore mining on its base.
Currently, it is already 2 months that I can not restore my wallet. I installed different versions of the software from bitcoin.org, synchronized them, but the balance writes 0.

Can you help me find out the reason of the fact that in 2013 I had some money there (the rate was $ 130) but 0 at the moment?

P.S. The only person who had access to the wallet was me. I even have the exact date I used it for the last time.

**Tags:** wallet.dat


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-09-08. Score: 1

First be very careful seeking help online, don't give the `wallet.dat` file or its contents to anyone, and don't screen share to get help.

Also, backup the `wallet.dat` file securely to make sure if you accidentally change the contents, you don't lose the money.

I don't use bitcoin core myself, so the following is just what I have been able to find out quickly.

So from [here](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Wallet) I can see some information about the `wallet.dat` file format. I believe it to be plain text, so you can just open in a text editor.

It contains `- keypairs for each of your addresses` that's what you want.

First, step enter each of the **public** addresses e.g. `1GwV7fPX97hmavc6iNrUZUogmjpLPrPFoE` into a site like <https://bitref.com/> to see if they have unspent outputs sent to them, i.e. a positive "balance". **Only post the public addresses into a browser**, they are the shorter strings, like the example I gave.

Now you know which addresses your money was sent to and that your wallet does indeed contain bitcoins and you can relax a little knowing you have all the private keys required to spend those coins.

There are several options going forward past this point, so I think you should check this first. It's safe if you don't modify the file and, again, only post the public addresses into a browser.


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