<p>What I would do in this case (the easiest approach):</p>
<ul>
<li>Copy <code>wallet.dat</code> to a new directory called <code>Bitcoin</code> in <code>%appdata%</code></li>
<li>Run latest Bitcoin core</li>
<li>Open the console and do</li>
<li><code>dumpwallet C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\wallet.txt</code></li>
<li>Quit Core and delete your new Bitcoin directory. (Don't forget to delete it, it might become larger than <code>100 MB</code>, to save space)</li>
<li>Save my <a href="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/DesWurstes/ce0e1727a53e4b1f6e808e2ef5801ece/raw/dda4eb0ac56ca72d36b5d7364e722bda096b3d1f/dumpwallet.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">script</a> with Ctrl + S and name it <code>dumpwallet.html</code>. Open it in your browser. Copy the wallet.txt output here so that only the private keys are listed.</li>
<li>Import wallet to Electrum: &quot;New wallet &gt; Import private keys &gt; Copy from the webpage output&quot;</li>
</ul>
<p>Then you can see your balance or spend from it.</p>
<p>The tedious approach is to use <code>db_dump</code> of <code>db-util</code> to dump all the transactions and calculate the final balance by yourself. I would not bother doing it this way.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:59:14.733Z
Thank you. The old computer is extremely slow. Can I move these files to a new computer and do this, or is there something tied to that machine?
user4446237
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T17:00:01.147Z
Yes, you just need to copy `wallet.dat` to new folder named `Bitcoin` in `%appdata%` on your new computer. Then when you launch Core, it'll show `0 BTC` however that doesn't mean anything, so just follow the steps above then. I can also write in more details on "import wallet to electrum" once you come to that step
MCCCS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T17:59:40.170Z
Thanks. Was able to follow these steps. Looks like the best block at time of backup was mined on 2010-03-21, and there are 1000 lines in here. One with label= and the rest with reserve=1. If I did this correctly, I'm looking in Electrum and they indeed all have a balance of 0 and Tx of 0.
user4446237
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T18:11:39.870Z
`reserve` means unused, so yes.
MCCCS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-19T16:18:41.617Z
Thanks. When I run Bitcoin core, will it ask for a passcode? Because I don't have it.
user114196
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T09:02:28.083Z
@user114196 If the wallet.dat has one, yes.
MCCCS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:44:22.220Z
2021-02-22T16:07:27.020Z
2021-02-22T16:07:27.020Z
MCCCS
<p>I took an old laptop out of storage today because I recalled trying to mine BTC years ago. I remember giving up quickly because, whatever the UI was, it showed that I had mined 0. I'd like to confirm that.</p>
<p>Is there anything in any of these files that would confirm that there's 0 BTC in these? debug.log seems to be the only plaintext file.</p>
<p>Date modified on these files are in the range of 05/2011 ~ 06/2011</p>
<pre><code>/user/AppData/Roaming/Bitcoin
-database/    (9MB)
-.lock        (0KB)
-__db.001    
-__db.002    
-__db.003    
-__db.004    
-__db.005    
-__db.006    
-addr.dat    (18MB)
-blk0001.dat (279MB)
-blkindex.dat(133MB)
-db.log      (0KB)
-debug.log   (3MB)
-wallet.dat  (104KB)
</code></pre>

<wallet>
Is there something in a debug.log from 2011 that would tell me if there are BTC in an old wallet.dat?
user4446237
# Is there something in a debug.log from 2011 that would tell me if there are BTC in an old wallet.dat?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-10)

I took an old laptop out of storage today because I recalled trying to mine BTC years ago. I remember giving up quickly because, whatever the UI was, it showed that I had mined 0. I'd like to confirm that.

Is there anything in any of these files that would confirm that there's 0 BTC in these? debug.log seems to be the only plaintext file.

Date modified on these files are in the range of 05/2011 ~ 06/2011

```
/user/AppData/Roaming/Bitcoin
-database/    (9MB)
-.lock        (0KB)
-__db.001    
-__db.002    
-__db.003    
-__db.004    
-__db.005    
-__db.006    
-addr.dat    (18MB)
-blk0001.dat (279MB)
-blkindex.dat(133MB)
-db.log      (0KB)
-debug.log   (3MB)
-wallet.dat  (104KB)

```

**Tags:** wallet


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-01-10. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

What I would do in this case (the easiest approach):

* Copy `wallet.dat` to a new directory called `Bitcoin` in `%appdata%`
* Run latest Bitcoin core
* Open the console and do
* `dumpwallet C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\wallet.txt`
* Quit Core and delete your new Bitcoin directory. (Don't forget to delete it, it might become larger than `100 MB`, to save space)
* Save my [script](https://gist.githubusercontent.com/DesWurstes/ce0e1727a53e4b1f6e808e2ef5801ece/raw/dda4eb0ac56ca72d36b5d7364e722bda096b3d1f/dumpwallet.html) with Ctrl + S and name it `dumpwallet.html`. Open it in your browser. Copy the wallet.txt output here so that only the private keys are listed.
* Import wallet to Electrum: "New wallet > Import private keys > Copy from the webpage output"

Then you can see your balance or spend from it.

The tedious approach is to use `db_dump` of `db-util` to dump all the transactions and calculate the final balance by yourself. I would not bother doing it this way.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you. The old computer is extremely slow. Can I move these files to a new computer and do this, or is there something tied to that machine?  
> **username_1**: Yes, you just need to copy `wallet.dat` to new folder named `Bitcoin` in `%appdata%` on your new computer. Then when you launch Core, it'll show `0 BTC` however that doesn't mean anything, so just follow the steps above then. I can also write in more details on "import wallet to electrum" once you come to that step  
> **username_0**: Thanks. Was able to follow these steps. Looks like the best block at time of backup was mined on 2010-03-21, and there are 1000 lines in here. One with label= and the rest with reserve=1. If I did this correctly, I'm looking in Electrum and they indeed all have a balance of 0 and Tx of 0.  
> **username_1**: `reserve` means unused, so yes.  
> **username_2**: Thanks. When I run Bitcoin core, will it ask for a passcode? Because I don't have it.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 If the wallet.dat has one, yes.  

---

