Problem: Blocks are not loading or loading very slow, so filling the blockchain database takes forever.
One solution is to aquire bootstrap.dat via the Torrent network. That will help, but 22+ GB will take hours.
- The current bootstrap.dat contains 317000 blocks.
The bootstrap.dat needs to be placed in the directory containing bitcoin.conf and wallet.dat. Better make a clean start and just delete everything else in that directory.
After starting either bitcoind or bitcoin-qt, the blocks from bootstrap.dat file will be loaded in the newly created blochain database structure.
- This can take a while.
After loading all blocks from bootstrap.dat, the file is renamed bootstrap.dat.old.
- Better not delete this file right away when you have enough space left on your disc(s), because you never know if/when you're going to need it again.
Another solution is to connect to very fast nodes on the bitcoin network with the "-connect=" directive. But you'd have to start bitcoind for that using the command line interface.
- Here's the latest list:
last updated 2014.11.25
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IP - location - owner[1] - speed - info/stats page[2] - testnet
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eldinhadzic.org[4] - LA, USA - eldinhadz - 1000 mbit/s - no - no
84.200.34.113 - Freinsheim, DE, EU - Newar - 1000 mbit/s - yes - no
185.45.192.129 - Amsterdam, NL, EU - anon - 1000 mbit/s - /node.php[3] - yes
213.165.91.169 - Germany, EU - shorena - 100 mbit/s - yes - no
50.7.68.180 - New York, USA - Newar - 100 mbit/s - yes - no
5.9.24.81 - Germany, EU - zvs - unknown - no - no
178.79.173.71 - United Kingdom, EU - zvs - unknown - no - no
107.155.104.194 - Dalls, USA - zvs - unknown - no - no
106.185.32.195 - Japan, Asia - zvs - unknown - no - no
94.242.57.173 - Russia, Asia - zvs - unknown - no - no
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[1] refers to a bitcointalk.org username or anon if requested
[2] same IP, port 80 or path/port given
[3] work in progress
[4] IP is 173.236.158.177
My problem: Did all that, but..
After downloading and importing bootstrap.dat and then conncting to the fast nodes, my database crashed a few times because I failed to see the problem was the canned version of bitcoind I used on Ubuntu 14.04. After I compiled bitcoind and bitcoin-qt from source myself the problem seemed to be over. But now I am stuck again because the fast nodes seemed to have locked out my IP for pulling too much data, or because of a "misbehaving node status" because I pulled the same blocks a few times. I don't know.
The only thing I do know is that I am stuck again on a frustratingly slow bitcoin network.
Then of course I thought that perhaps "misbehaving" node IP's were propagated over the network leaving my IP address essentially stranded for ever. Like I said, I don't know. But blocks are not loading.