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Questions tagged [bootstrap.dat]

bootstrap.dat is a snapshot of the blockchain which can be used to bootstrap a new Bitcoin install.

In 2012, the Bitcoin blockchain was growing to 10+ gigabytes and downloading the entire chain from the p2p network was taking an excessive amount of time (multiple days) due to inefficiencies in the way nodes shared block data. In order make it easier to setup a full node, a snapshot of the blockchain data was distributed by Jeff Garzik as a file named bootstrap.dat using BitTorrent. Starting with version 0.8 bitcoind will load and validate initial blockchain data from any file named bootstrap.dat found in its data directory.

Today, this is actually slower than syncing normally. In Bitcoin Core version 0.10.0+ the p2p sync process was dramatically improved making it faster than using the bootstrap.dat file. This bootstrapping process is therefore obsolete and discouraged.

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Can I download the whole block chain from somewhere?

Every time I turn on the Bitcoin client it takes days to catch up with the block chain. Are there alternatives to getting it trickling through the peer-to-peer network? Can I just download it somewhere? Wouldn't this be ideal for distribution via…
Thilo
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How to use the "Bootstrap.dat" file with bitcoin-qt?

I have searched around, and nothing I find works for me. Downloaded the approx. 10 GB Bootstrap.dat file. Now stuck on trying to link it with Bitcoin-QT. Tried the following command in the console box in the bitcoin-qt app: bitcon-qt…
CalicoBrak
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What happened to the bootstrap.dat provided by bitcoin.org?

I could download a bootstrap.dat.torrent from bitcoin.org before, but it is no longer available. Does bitcoin.org still maintain it? Is there another source for downloading a bootstrap.dat? I am stuck with a 0.9.x version of BitcoinCore for testing…
ZhouQi
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Creating my own bootstrap.dat?

Since I have been tearing down and setting up bitcoin clients a lot for some experiments lately, I was wondering whether there is a simple way to speed up the synchronization with the network. One method that comes to mind is the bootstrap.dat file…
cdecker
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What exactly did `Bitcoin-Qt -rescan -reindex` do?

I spent a ton of time today trying to get Bitcoin-Qt to sync using the bootstrap.dat file and could not get it to work. I found an answer on this forum saying to use: /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/MacOS/Bitcoin-Qt -rescan -reindex Which…
Derek Kaknes
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Is there a newer Bitcoin blockchain download available?

The SourceForge project page for Bitcoin provides a blockchain download at http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/ but this file is old/dated. How and where can I download an up to date copy of the Bitcoin block chain?
Sydwell
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How to download blk.dat files from a specific block number?

I want to download blk.dat of a specific block number, How can I do this ? Note: I'm only interested in specific blocks, I only want to download blocks for example that are numbered between 100 and 200,etc...
ka lin
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Faking blockchain data in bitcoin-core

Let's say I found a tarball with blockchain data files which I load to my datadir and start my Bitcoin Core client, what sort of attacks am I vulnerable to? Could the files contain fake balances? If yes, what will happen if another peer requests a…
xabbix
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How come importing the bootstrap.dat to Bitcoin Core takes so long?

So I downloaded and installed BitCoin Core X64 v0.9.3 from https://bitcoin.org/en/download. I then downloaded the linked bootstrap.dat torrent and after it downloaded the bootstrap.dat, I moved it into the root of the Bitcoin program folder. I…
BCuser1233221
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Where to place Bitcoin bootstrap.dat

I'm sure this has been asked many times before, but I've recently gotten into the whole cryptocurrency thing starting with Dogecoin, and I now want to use Bitcoin as well. I am on Windows 7. I found out the hard way that downloading the blockchain…
Aric Leather
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Is it safe to delete bootstrap.dat.old?

Is it safe to delete bootstrap.dat.old? Because my bitcoin-qt is using the internet to synchronize right now ("Importing blocks from disk." stage has finished). But I still am not sure.
sterz
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How do I load wallet.dat on new PC and import everything into Electrum?

My primary PC died last month due to what I believe is a motherboard error. My EVGA board displays "FF". The fans, drives, everything powers up as usual. But I don't hear any beep, no POST, no BIOS, just nothing. Since then I've taken up residence…
RasterVector
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How to create a bootstrap.dat file?

I want to create a new bootstrap.dat file for a Dogecoin. How do this kind of files are created and how can I create one? What tools should I use? any answers/links/references are appreciated. I have searched here, but I haven't found any satisfying…
nobody
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How to use the bootstrap.dat in Mavericks?

So I'm trying to sync with the network in Bitcoin-Qt, but I just can't seem to make use of the bootstrap.dat file that I downloaded, which is annoying because it will be awfully slow to sync without it. There was no folder in Application Support…
user12454
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Is a bootstrap.dat virus possible?

Recently I learned that someone has injected an old virus signature into the bitcoin blockchain, though it does not run the chance of infecting the…
Mark
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