Quote from: ChapInRed on May 11, 2023, 04:56:35 PM

Hello all,

I have found an old Windows disk backup, on which there is the 0.3.0 version of the bitcoin client which I played around with for maybe a day or two in 2010. The wallet.dat and associated %appdata% files are all there. I’ve made a few off-line copies of everything.

I have some knowledge of GnuPG and Linux (Debian mainly) but I have not used Bitcoin since 2010 so trying to get up to speed with things.

In case there is anything of value in the wallet, I want to be careful. Here is my plan – what do you think?:

1. Download latest Ubuntu ISO using a Linux laptop I have rarely used. Check SHA256 on the ISO.
2. Disconnect all drives from my usual PC (Ryzen 3).
3. Use the ISO to install Ubuntu on a SSD on the PC
4. Install current version of Bitcoin Core using Ubuntu’s own software installation tool.
5. Wait for Bitcoin Core to sync to the blockchain.
6. Import the old wallet.dat, rescan and hope for riches!?

If the old wallet contains anything of value, what should I do next? I gather a cold wallet like Ledger would be sensible, including carefully stored handwritten keyword backups.

Thanks for reading.

None of the above, the quickest way is to download pywallet and you can export the addresses/private keys. then import them to Electrum.

https://github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet
Pywallet Github

https://electrum.org/#home
Electrum download

Good luck
/KX