<p>It just works fine with the modern versions of the software with no changes necessary. Sync will take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on your hardware and connection speed. Make more backups than you think are necessary. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T01:25:28.630Z
2020-03-14T01:25:28.630Z
Claris
<p>I heard about Bitcoin from the Security Now podcast back in 2011 and downloaded and started playing with the Windows client at the time from Bitcoin.org.  I think I updated the client a few times, but never really did anything with Bitcoin.  I did get a few partial Bitcoins from the old FreeBitcoins.appspot.com website and from others.  It looks like the last Bitcoin client I might have ran was v0.8.3 and my wallet is backed up from February 2012.</p>

<p>Can I somehow import this wallet (wallet.dat) into a current Windows client? I gather that the blockchain(s), etc. will need to sync up and it will take a lot of time.  I'm a newbie and haven't stayed involved in Bitcoin over the years.  So, I need a serious point in the right direction.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any/all help.</p>

<p>-0.NRG</p>

<wallet><wallet.dat>
How do I recover/use an old wallet from 2011/2012
0.NRG
# How do I recover/use an old wallet from 2011/2012

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-03-13)

I heard about Bitcoin from the Security Now podcast back in 2011 and downloaded and started playing with the Windows client at the time from Bitcoin.org. I think I updated the client a few times, but never really did anything with Bitcoin. I did get a few partial Bitcoins from the old FreeBitcoins.appspot.com website and from others. It looks like the last Bitcoin client I might have ran was v0.8.3 and my wallet is backed up from February 2012.

Can I somehow import this wallet (wallet.dat) into a current Windows client? I gather that the blockchain(s), etc. will need to sync up and it will take a lot of time. I'm a newbie and haven't stayed involved in Bitcoin over the years. So, I need a serious point in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any/all help.

-username_0

**Tags:** wallet, wallet.dat


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-03-14. Score: 3

It just works fine with the modern versions of the software with no changes necessary. Sync will take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on your hardware and connection speed. Make more backups than you think are necessary.


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