Hey everyone,
So, I set up Bitcoin Armory and Bitcoin Core on my PC, created a wallet in Armory, picked a passphrase, and chose to do a printable paper backup. I hit the "Create Paper Backup" button and wrote down the root key.
Then, I tried to transfer some Bitcoin from my Exodus wallet. I opened Armory, clicked "Receive Bitcoin," copied the address, and sent the funds from Exodus. But then Armory crashed... like, every time I try to open it, it just dies on me.
You should be good with that backup, but if you messed up writing the root key, who knows? Did you print it or just jot it down?
For future reference, I always verify my backups by checking if they generate the same address. Not super helpful now for you, but might save you some headaches later.
What kind of backup did you make?
Was it "Secure Print" or just "Unencrypted"?
If it’s the Secure Print, you need to restore it with the right code. If not, and you wrote it down wrong, you could end up with a whole different wallet. Also, just deleting Armory won’t erase your wallets. When you reinstall, it should pick up right where you left off.
I just wrote the key on paper, didn’t print it...
Yeah, I thought making a new wallet gave me one address. Didn’t know I could generate more.
I see there’s an option in Armory to import or sweep private keys. Is that how I recover a wallet? I don’t have the private key from where my Bitcoins were sent, though. Just need the key I wrote to import the wallet anywhere. No Secure Print used, so I’m probably done for.
Looks like you’re stuck with just the Unencrypted option based on that root key you wrote. If your key’s off by even one character, you’ll get a totally different Wallet ID, which is not good.
This is why that Single Sheet backup is supposed to include everything, like instructions and the Wallet ID for checking during restore.
Honestly, if the info is correct, just stop using that drive immediately. It might be worth hitting up a data recovery service nearby.