<blockquote>
  <p>I've notices several wallets that are just the same thing with a
  different name, but so far the only thing i get to know is that they
  give an address</p>
</blockquote>

<p>They do much more than just giving you an address. They also download and store the <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_chain" rel="nofollow">Blockchain</a> which contains all transactions ever made. Those data are needed to check, if one of your addresses received a payment. Those data are also needed to send data to a different address.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>they all have an overview with the balance on the account at 0 coins, that's fine then a tag of sending and asking coins, I can also get to understand what that does even when is empty and the only thing i guess i have to find other addresses is person to person, now the crazy stuff that makes me wonder do i have to be a programmer to use these things?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You're right, you will get addresses from other persons or from the internet. You do not need to be a programmer. With a wallet it's like sending an e-mail, but instead of sending text, you send bitcoin. For sending bitcoin, you need to receive some first. That can be done by buying them in online trades or at an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_ATM" rel="nofollow">ATM</a>s. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>what is that thing (Out of Sync) next to the wallet in red letters? how do I fix that? How can I "Sync" what exactly? since when i install primecoin wallet for example, it starts downloading a bunch of crazy stuffs updating a bunch of weeks and after is finally done, it just tells me that the wallet is out of sync, and there's nothing i can do about it and i google</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As I said before, the crazy stuff which is downloaded is the blockchain. For Bitcoin it can take really long, because currently its size is about 20 GB. There are different types of wallet. The <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-nodes-need/" rel="nofollow">full node</a>, for example <a href="https://bitcoin.org/de/download" rel="nofollow">Bitcoin-Core</a>, which I guess is the one you downloaded, is mostly for the professional user. It contains the complete blockchain, and needs very long to sync.  An other type is the <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_verification" rel="nofollow">SPV</a> (Simplified Payment Verification) for example <a href="https://electrum.org/" rel="nofollow">Electrum</a>. This one dont need to download the complete blockchain, it will only download the headers, which save a lot of traffic and storage. Those are also available for smartphones and are often used by the average users. A third type is the web-wallet, like <a href="https://blockchain.info/de/wallet" rel="nofollow">blockchain.info</a> for those you wont need to download any data, you can access them through you browser.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>and people just mention but never explain a scary debug window with a
  console that i have no idea what it does or what should i do with
  that, and they only post code stuffs that if i copy paste won't work,
  at least not in all wallets and in those that accepted that code, does
  absolutely nothing that i can know of....</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is only for developers and those post a mostly related to the bitcoin-core wallet and its <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Original_Bitcoin_client/API_calls_list" rel="nofollow">JSON-RPC interface</a>. You don't need those for normal usage.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>is there a newbie guide on how to get to use a wallet? primecoin, dogecoin, rainbowcoin, aimcoin... they all look just the same, and people talk about mining some few coins just by keeping them open :S</p>
</blockquote>

<p>All those wallets have the same appearance and mostly the same functionality. There are some guides around. Coindesk offers a very good <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/information/" rel="nofollow">beginner guide</a> which contains many of your questions and explaining all the important stuff.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-18T13:10:30.310Z
2014-07-18T14:34:52.213Z
2014-07-18T14:34:52.213Z
Dennis Kriechel
<p>For all noobs and cryptocurrencies, is there anywhere a tutorial on how to use the wallet?</p>

<p>I've noticed several wallets that are just the same thing with a different name, but so far the only thing i get to know is that they give an address.</p>

<p>They all have an overview with the balance on the account at 0 coins, that's fine.
Then a tag of sending and asking coins, I can also get to understand what that does, even when it's empty and the only way to find other addresses is person to person. Now the crazy stuff that makes me wonder do i have to be a programmer to use these things?</p>

<p>What is that thing (Out of Sync) next to the wallet in red letters? How do I fix that? How can I "Sync" what exactly? Since when I install primecoin wallet for example, it starts downloading a bunch of crazy stuffs updating a bunch of weeks and after is finally done, it just tells me that the wallet is out of sync, and there's nothing i can do about it and I googled.</p>

<p>And people just mention but never explain a scary debug window with a console that i have no idea what it does or what should I do with that, and they only post code stuffs that if I copy paste won't work, at least not in all wallets and in those that accepted that code, it does absolutely nothing that I can know of....</p>

<p>Is there a newbie guide on how to get to use a wallet? primecoin, dogecoin, rainbowcoin, aimcoin... they all look just the same, and people talk about mining some few coins just by keeping them open.</p>

<p>Can someone help me? Please explain in baby steps I know nothing about scripts or pools or codes, or encryption, and is really frustrating me because I want to learn.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-18T14:18:56.367Z
This site works best when people ask specific questions.  "Please explain everything" is much too broad.  Can you focus down on a single specific question for now?
Nate Eldredge
<wallet>
debug window of wallets
guest
# debug window of wallets

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-07-18)

For all noobs and cryptocurrencies, is there anywhere a tutorial on how to use the wallet?

I've noticed several wallets that are just the same thing with a different name, but so far the only thing i get to know is that they give an address.

They all have an overview with the balance on the account at 0 coins, that's fine.
Then a tag of sending and asking coins, I can also get to understand what that does, even when it's empty and the only way to find other addresses is person to person. Now the crazy stuff that makes me wonder do i have to be a programmer to use these things?

What is that thing (Out of Sync) next to the wallet in red letters? How do I fix that? How can I "Sync" what exactly? Since when I install primecoin wallet for example, it starts downloading a bunch of crazy stuffs updating a bunch of weeks and after is finally done, it just tells me that the wallet is out of sync, and there's nothing i can do about it and I googled.

And people just mention but never explain a scary debug window with a console that i have no idea what it does or what should I do with that, and they only post code stuffs that if I copy paste won't work, at least not in all wallets and in those that accepted that code, it does absolutely nothing that I can know of....

Is there a newbie guide on how to get to use a wallet? primecoin, dogecoin, rainbowcoin, aimcoin... they all look just the same, and people talk about mining some few coins just by keeping them open.

Can someone help me? Please explain in baby steps I know nothing about scripts or pools or codes, or encryption, and is really frustrating me because I want to learn.

**Tags:** wallet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This site works best when people ask specific questions.  "Please explain everything" is much too broad.  Can you focus down on a single specific question for now?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-07-18. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> I've notices several wallets that are just the same thing with a
> different name, but so far the only thing i get to know is that they
> give an address

They do much more than just giving you an address. They also download and store the [Blockchain](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_chain) which contains all transactions ever made. Those data are needed to check, if one of your addresses received a payment. Those data are also needed to send data to a different address.

> they all have an overview with the balance on the account at 0 coins, that's fine then a tag of sending and asking coins, I can also get to understand what that does even when is empty and the only thing i guess i have to find other addresses is person to person, now the crazy stuff that makes me wonder do i have to be a programmer to use these things?

You're right, you will get addresses from other persons or from the internet. You do not need to be a programmer. With a wallet it's like sending an e-mail, but instead of sending text, you send bitcoin. For sending bitcoin, you need to receive some first. That can be done by buying them in online trades or at an [ATM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_ATM)s.

> what is that thing (Out of Sync) next to the wallet in red letters? how do I fix that? How can I "Sync" what exactly? since when i install primecoin wallet for example, it starts downloading a bunch of crazy stuffs updating a bunch of weeks and after is finally done, it just tells me that the wallet is out of sync, and there's nothing i can do about it and i google

As I said before, the crazy stuff which is downloaded is the blockchain. For Bitcoin it can take really long, because currently its size is about 20 GB. There are different types of wallet. The [full node](http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-nodes-need/), for example [Bitcoin-Core](https://bitcoin.org/de/download), which I guess is the one you downloaded, is mostly for the professional user. It contains the complete blockchain, and needs very long to sync. An other type is the [SPV](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_verification) (Simplified Payment Verification) for example [Electrum](https://electrum.org/). This one dont need to download the complete blockchain, it will only download the headers, which save a lot of traffic and storage. Those are also available for smartphones and are often used by the average users. A third type is the web-wallet, like [blockchain.info](https://blockchain.info/de/wallet) for those you wont need to download any data, you can access them through you browser.

> and people just mention but never explain a scary debug window with a
> console that i have no idea what it does or what should i do with
> that, and they only post code stuffs that if i copy paste won't work,
> at least not in all wallets and in those that accepted that code, does
> absolutely nothing that i can know of....

This is only for developers and those post a mostly related to the bitcoin-core wallet and its [JSON-RPC interface](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Original_Bitcoin_client/API_calls_list). You don't need those for normal usage.

> is there a newbie guide on how to get to use a wallet? primecoin, dogecoin, rainbowcoin, aimcoin... they all look just the same, and people talk about mining some few coins just by keeping them open :S

All those wallets have the same appearance and mostly the same functionality. There are some guides around. Coindesk offers a very good [beginner guide](http://www.coindesk.com/information/) which contains many of your questions and explaining all the important stuff.


---

