<p>As far as I know the versions should be backward compatible but I don't know how far back, 5 years is quite a long time, Bitcoin Core have had <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/version-history" rel="nofollow noreferrer">30 releases since then</a>.</p>

<p>I found two changes that might impact wallet compatibility in my opinion:</p>

<p>Version 0.9.0 (19 March 2014):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Also, the first time you run a 0.8.x release on a 0.9 wallet it will
  rescan the blockchain for missing spent coins, which will take a long
  time (tens of minutes on a typical machine).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Version 0.13.0 (23 August 2016):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>HD wallets are incompatible with older versions of Bitcoin Core.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Anyways, I would suggest to make a backup copy of your wallet, download an older version of Bitcoin Core, copy the wallet to the data directory of that client (you might need to specify it using <code>-datadir C:\bitcoin_old\data</code>), start the client (no need to synchronize the blockchain), <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/4203/how-can-i-export-the-private-key-for-an-address-from-the-satoshi-client">export the private keys</a>, exit, move away the wallet.dat from the data dir of your new Bitcoin Core client, then start it and <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5941/how-do-i-import-a-private-key-into-bitcoin-qt">import the private keys</a> to your newly created wallet.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T14:07:58.153Z
I will try and load the backup into the earliest possible release after my back up date. Thank you!
Swenny
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T14:13:50.930Z
I think you should try the latest release on the day of your backup.
Gábor Héja
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T16:30:45.670Z
Bitcoin Core right now should be compatible with all wallet files created since v0.2.10.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-01T10:30:47.887Z
From the  Bitcoin Core version history page I downloaded and unzipped the folder. To be honest I dont really know what to do with these contained files. What I'm looking for is a .DMG file for Mac to install a legacy version of the Bitcoin QT wallet from around 2012/09. Is there a simple way to download such a file? Thanks!
Swenny
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-02T11:14:44.097Z
I believe that's the source code. You need to compile it to make it work. I searched for binary/dmg release of Bitcoin Core 0.6.3 (latest at September 2012), although could not find on official sites, I found it at [bitcointrading](http://www.bitcointrading.com/files/), the SHA256 checksum of the image matches the one in a [bitcointalk post](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=89877.0). I am not saying this makes certain the .dmg is legit but it is likely, **please do your own research and only install it on your own risk**.
Gábor Héja
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T14:03:38.990Z
2017-06-29T14:03:38.990Z
Gábor Héja
<p>My encrypted Bitcoin QT wallet crashed years ago but I have backup copies.
It was an earlyish version of Bitcoin QT wallet, first transaction on it is 09/2012. 
I have loaded the backup into Bitcoin Core v0.14.1 (64-bit)
Full transaction history is there, wallet has synced. 
The password is rejected.
I wrote out the password exactly for safe keeping so I know it is correct and never changed it. There are a number of send transactions so it seems I must have used the passphrase a few times.
Have entered in every imaginable variation.
Could it be because of the upgrade from QT to Core?</p>

<bitcoin-core><wallet.dat><passphrase>
Bitcoin QT wallet crashed. Recovered using Bitcoin Core. Now password rejected!
Swenny
# Bitcoin QT wallet crashed. Recovered using Bitcoin Core. Now password rejected!

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-29)

My encrypted Bitcoin QT wallet crashed years ago but I have backup copies.
It was an earlyish version of Bitcoin QT wallet, first transaction on it is 09/2012.
I have loaded the backup into Bitcoin Core v0.14.1 (64-bit)
Full transaction history is there, wallet has synced.
The password is rejected.
I wrote out the password exactly for safe keeping so I know it is correct and never changed it. There are a number of send transactions so it seems I must have used the passphrase a few times.
Have entered in every imaginable variation.
Could it be because of the upgrade from QT to Core?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, wallet.dat, passphrase


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-06-29. Score: 1

As far as I know the versions should be backward compatible but I don't know how far back, 5 years is quite a long time, Bitcoin Core have had [30 releases since then](https://bitcoin.org/en/version-history).

I found two changes that might impact wallet compatibility in my opinion:

Version 0.9.0 (19 March 2014):

> Also, the first time you run a 0.8.x release on a 0.9 wallet it will
> rescan the blockchain for missing spent coins, which will take a long
> time (tens of minutes on a typical machine).

Version 0.13.0 (23 August 2016):

> HD wallets are incompatible with older versions of Bitcoin Core.

Anyways, I would suggest to make a backup copy of your wallet, download an older version of Bitcoin Core, copy the wallet to the data directory of that client (you might need to specify it using `-datadir C:\bitcoin_old\data`), start the client (no need to synchronize the blockchain), [export the private keys](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/4203/how-can-i-export-the-private-key-for-an-address-from-the-satoshi-client), exit, move away the wallet.dat from the data dir of your new Bitcoin Core client, then start it and [import the private keys](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5941/how-do-i-import-a-private-key-into-bitcoin-qt) to your newly created wallet.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I will try and load the backup into the earliest possible release after my back up date. Thank you!  
> **username_1**: I think you should try the latest release on the day of your backup.  
> **username_2**: Bitcoin Core right now should be compatible with all wallet files created since v0.2.10.  
> **username_0**: From the  Bitcoin Core version history page I downloaded and unzipped the folder. To be honest I dont really know what to do with these contained files. What I'm looking for is a .DMG file for Mac to install a legacy version of the Bitcoin QT wallet from around 2012/09. Is there a simple way to download such a file? Thanks!  
> **username_1**: I believe that's the source code. You need to compile it to make it work. I searched for binary/dmg release of Bitcoin Core 0.6.3 (latest at September 2012), although could not find on official sites, I found it at [bitcointrading](http://www.bitcointrading.com/files/), the SHA256 checksum of the image matches the one in a [bitcointalk post](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=89877.0). I am not saying this makes certain the .dmg is legit but it is likely, **please do your own research and only install it on your own risk**.  

---

