It took me 3 weeks to get to just over 30%. Then I tried to carry on loading tonight and when it started up it said there was an error with the data.
The only options it gave were Abort or Reload. Abort stopped the Bitcoin Core program. I tried rerunning the program a few times but it did the same thing. When I clicked reload it loaded up and has gone back to 0%.
Surely there is a better way. Has anyone tried sharing the data on external HD with people locally?
What's your computer specs? Have you tried any hacks posted above (though it is 2 years old already)?
Sharing data is one of the options but it requires trust between you and the other parties. Not an ideal solution but somebody has done it IIRC. It might be a good alternative if you have a trusted friend. If not, be prepared with the risk.