<p>You very probably have a massive <code>wallet.dat</code> file.</p>

<p>This happens with Instawallet's bitcoind, it takes an hour to start up, it spends this time loading the wallet.</p>

<p>If you want to make sure :</p>

<ul>
<li>Stop bitcoind</li>
<li>Open up a Terminal, and type :
<code>$ tail -f ~/Library/Application\ Support/Bitcoin/debug.log</code></li>
<li>Press ⌘K to clear the scrollback and window</li>
<li>Start bitcoind</li>
</ul>

<p>You should see some output when the client starts, if the problem is actually with loading the wallet the output should stop for a while on 'Loading wallet'.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-31T08:15:50.177Z
mmh, seems to be stuck here `Bound to [::]:8333
Bound to 0.0.0.0:8333
Loading block index...
dbenv.open LogDir=/Users/looris/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/database ErrorFile=/Users/looris/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/db.log
`
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-31T09:34:54.000Z
Looks like it's loading the block DB
David
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T16:17:40.970Z
And what should I do about that in that case?
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T17:22:52.827Z
I'd say try to remove your DB entirely and redownload the chain see if that solves the issue, the folks on #bitcoin-dev might have some better insight here.
David
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-31T06:58:25.820Z
2013-01-31T06:58:25.820Z
David
<p><code>bitcoind</code> is extremely slow to start (~5-20 minutes). I'm not talking about keeping up with the blockchain, that would be perfectly fine, I'm talking about an initial phase where it doesn't even respond to requests: any call to it returns <em>"error: couldn't connect to server"</em> (either from command line or from web).</p>

<p>Is it a known issue, is there a workaround?</p>

<p>OSX 10.6.8, bitcoind 0.7.0 (but happened with earlier versions too).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-31T01:14:44.273Z
How slow are we talking? 30 seconds? 30 minutes?
Nick ODell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-31T08:10:31.357Z
@NickODell any time between 5 and 20 minutes, more or less.
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T02:43:35.230Z
I have the same issue.  Do you have FileVault trend on by chance?
Andrew Burns
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T16:17:11.220Z
@AndrewBurns nope :/
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-07T11:03:17.853Z
Calling for a close vote: no longer useful.
o0'.
<bitcoind>
Slow starting bitcoind
o0'.
# Slow starting bitcoind

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-01-30)

`bitcoind` is extremely slow to start (~5-20 minutes). I'm not talking about keeping up with the blockchain, that would be perfectly fine, I'm talking about an initial phase where it doesn't even respond to requests: any call to it returns *"error: couldn't connect to server"* (either from command line or from web).

Is it a known issue, is there a workaround?

OSX 10.6.8, bitcoind 0.7.0 (but happened with earlier versions too).

**Tags:** bitcoind

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: How slow are we talking? 30 seconds? 30 minutes?  
> **username_0**: @NickODell any time between 5 and 20 minutes, more or less.  
> **username_2**: I have the same issue.  Do you have FileVault trend on by chance?  
> **username_0**: @AndrewBurns nope :/  
> **username_0**: Calling for a close vote: no longer useful.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-01-31. Score: 2

You very probably have a massive `wallet.dat` file.

This happens with Instawallet's bitcoind, it takes an hour to start up, it spends this time loading the wallet.

If you want to make sure :

* Stop bitcoind
* Open up a Terminal, and type :
  `$ tail -f ~/Library/Application\ Support/Bitcoin/debug.log`
* Press ⌘K to clear the scrollback and window
* Start bitcoind

You should see some output when the client starts, if the problem is actually with loading the wallet the output should stop for a while on 'Loading wallet'.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: mmh, seems to be stuck here `Bound to [::]:8333 Bound to 0.0.0.0:8333 Loading block index... dbenv.open LogDir=/Users/looris/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/database ErrorFile=/Users/looris/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/db.log `  
> **username_3**: Looks like it's loading the block DB  
> **username_0**: And what should I do about that in that case?  
> **username_3**: I'd say try to remove your DB entirely and redownload the chain see if that solves the issue, the folks on #bitcoin-dev might have some better insight here.  

---

