Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: jaco7 on April 22, 2012, 06:25 pm
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Hello this is my first thread, I just learned this and thought it would be useful to share. This tutorial shows you how to run and use Bitcoin solely on a usb stick in windows. This will work in any folder as well it doesn't have to be on a usb stick. You can encrypt that folder and your Bitcoin wallet will be very secure.
What you will need-
1 - USB stick (At least 4GB because the app data directory is about 1.6GB and empty space is useful)
2 - Truecrypt installed on your computer
3 - Bitcoin installed on your computer
Tutorial
Step 1 - Encrypt your usb stick, I recommend using Truecrypt
Step 2 - Go to your usb stick in windows explorer and create a new folder, name the name folder "Bitcoin"
Step 3 - Inside your "Bitcoin" folder create 2 more folders, name them "App" and "Data"
Step 4 - Open notepad and paste the following code into it:
start %cd%\APP\bitcoin-qt.exe -server -datadir="%cd%\DATA"
EXIT
Step 5 - Save the file into the "Bitcoin" folder as "launch.bat" (make sure the "All files" option is selected in the save interface)
Step 6 - Go to the windows folder from my computer, make your way to "\Program files\Bitcoin" and copy the contents to the "App" folder (If you are using a 64bit computer the location is "\Program files(x86)\Bitcoin")
Step 7 - Return to the windows folder from my computer and now go to "\users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin" and copy the contents to the "Data" folder (If you do not see the AppData folder make sure you have the "show hidden folders option" turned on in control panel)
Step 8 - Double click "launch.bat" to start bitcoin
Note: If you get an error when you run "launch.bat" that says it cannot find the file "bitcoin-qt.exe" replace the text in the file with this:
start %cd%\APP\bitcoin.exe -server -datadir="%cd%\DATA"
EXIT
Hope this comes in handy for someone, here is the original tutorial which I edited only slightly and hopefully made it easier:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=6d01f1dba0740f9235d4da3e7ace594b&topic=4868.msg71216#msg71216
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Thank you! I was wondering how to do this but never had time to figure it out :)
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Nice work Jaco, +1 Karma for a clear and easy to use guide on how to keep your BTC wallet safe. Can I suggest that people also encrypt their wallet, even if it is on a USB stick in case you want to make a backup. Only the Wallet.dat file needs to be saved in order to restore your funds.
V.
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Hi Jaco, welcome to the forums!
Great post with a easy to use guide, nice work :)