<p>You need to copy your <code>wallet.dat</code> from your old computer to your new computer and replace the file. Otherwise you could take a look on Electrum, it is a light wallet (so you do not need to sync the whole blockchain) and you can import your wallet.dat also there. In your wallet.dat all adresses and private keys are stored so you only need to backup this file.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T20:17:48.877Z
2018-07-13T20:17:48.877Z
Emil Engler
<p>This method is used by Bitcoin Core (and few others) and comprises of backing up a wallet.dat file. It's a file that holds keys to spend outputs, addresses, transaction information, and other metadata such as contacts.</p>

<p>It has a different location based on an operating system.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Windows: %APPDATA%\Bitcoin<br>
   Linux: ~/.bitcoin/ </p>
  
  <p>Mac OS X: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>For backup</strong> Locate wallet.dat and copy it to another device only you have an access to. It may be a USB drive, CD, another computer or your private home cloud storage.</p>

<p>You may also copy it to a cloud storage such as Mega or Dropbox but make sure it's encrypted.</p>

<p><strong>To restore</strong> the backup, simply copy your backed up wallet.dat over an existing one in the bitcoin data location.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T21:08:02.163Z
2018-07-13T21:08:02.163Z
Zombie
<p>In my old computer some addresses have bitcoin and it is showing on blockchain.</p>

<p>When i am trying to get balance of the same addresses in my new computer where i have synced bitcoin full node ,I surprised addresses showing zero balance.</p>

<p>I am very confused, <strong>how can i backup bitcoin wallet</strong> from old computer to another</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T12:47:32.217Z
Have you synced your new node with old wallet.dat already copied to this node ?
Or have you synced node, and later copied your wallet.dat ?
MartinSolie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-14T18:59:43.750Z
i just synced , have't copied wallet.dat .......
Ishwar Chandra Tiwari
<bitcoin-core><wallet><bitcoind><wallet.dat><backup>
How to migrate bitcoin node from one computer to another
Ishwar Chandra Tiwari
# How to migrate bitcoin node from one computer to another

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-13)

In my old computer some addresses have bitcoin and it is showing on blockchain.

When i am trying to get balance of the same addresses in my new computer where i have synced bitcoin full node ,I surprised addresses showing zero balance.

I am very confused, **how can i backup bitcoin wallet** from old computer to another

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, wallet, bitcoind, wallet.dat, backup

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Have you synced your new node with old wallet.dat already copied to this node ? Or have you synced node, and later copied your wallet.dat ?  
> **username_0**: i just synced , have't copied wallet.dat .......  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-13. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

This method is used by Bitcoin Core (and few others) and comprises of backing up a wallet.dat file. It's a file that holds keys to spend outputs, addresses, transaction information, and other metadata such as contacts.

It has a different location based on an operating system.

> Windows: %APPDATA%\Bitcoin  
> Linux: ~/.bitcoin/
>
> Mac OS X: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

**For backup** Locate wallet.dat and copy it to another device only you have an access to. It may be a USB drive, CD, another computer or your private home cloud storage.

You may also copy it to a cloud storage such as Mega or Dropbox but make sure it's encrypted.

**To restore** the backup, simply copy your backed up wallet.dat over an existing one in the bitcoin data location.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-13. Score: 2

You need to copy your `wallet.dat` from your old computer to your new computer and replace the file. Otherwise you could take a look on Electrum, it is a light wallet (so you do not need to sync the whole blockchain) and you can import your wallet.dat also there. In your wallet.dat all adresses and private keys are stored so you only need to backup this file.


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