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Startup problems

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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  • #7673
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hello and thx for the good work. I am new to this and just installed a bitcoin node on my PC. Following your video, I would need some info about the configuration part.
    1. as I have the core installed on my own PC inhouse, I assume to put the Ip address from this same PC? (Daemon RPC API IP field on settings form, the part in your video 3:11)
    2. I tried a test run and copied the given data into the bitcoin conf file. But not with command prompt, I found a file on the drive where I installed the core. it seems I had the wrong file because after inserting, the core wouldn’t start up again, get stuck on some error message, “prune the last wallet could not be sync, or similar”, (sorry can not remember exactly and now it’s gone as I got told that the whole initial download is to do again.) Deleting the copied data in the used file did not bring back the core app. To eliminate one possible mistake, please tell me where I can find the bitcoin.conf file exactly, to be sure I put the data in the right file, or do I have to do it via command prompt. I work on windows, not on mac like your video.

    3. right now I started the initial download again and it will need around 2 days, do I have to wait for the new configuration until the download is finished or can I continue to “try”

    4. No worries, as soon I can get it to work I will order a premium because I need the exchange extension for a small exchange here in D.R. !!!!!….if the extension would give me something similar like localbitcoin.com, even if it just provides the basics, so that my users can post offers to sell and buy.

    5. If 4. is a yes, a question on my mind is, as the rates change every minute, how a user can hold an offer? is there a standard eligible % which adds or subtracts specific amounts from live coin rates?

    that’s it for now, thank you very much for helping

    #7676
    alexg
    Keymaster

    Hello and welcome,

    First of all, you can definitely install a Bitcoin node and the plugin on a Windows PC for testing purposes. If you wish to actually set up a website you will probably need to install everything on a hosted server (which would usually run Linux). It is theoretically possible to run your website from your Windows machine, but this is not recommended. You would need a static IP, a UPS, a good backup mechanism, configure firewalls yourself, etc. This is why I demonstrate installation on Linux (not Mac).

    1. If the wallet is on the same machine as the PHP server that runs WordPress, then you should use the local loopback address, 127.0.0.1.

    2. You do not necessarily need to use the shell to create the configuration file. You can use any means, as long as the file is in the right place. For example, you can save the file using Notepad at %APPDATA%\Bitcoin\bitcoin.conf. The shell variable %APPDATA% will point to the correct directory for storing application data for your current user. (See also https://support.pointlogic.com/faq/troubleshooting/accessing-the-appdata-folder)

    The location of the Bitcoin data directory (and hence of the bitcoin.conf file) is detailed in the bitcoin wiki: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin#Bitcoin.conf_Configuration_File

    I am not sure why the core wouldn’t start, but know that all error messages get written out to a log file, so you can check them later. The log file is in %APPDATA%\Bitcoin\debug.log. If you find the error message, you can google it or post it here.

    3. Even before the blockchain finishes syncing, you can try to setup the RPC settings. When the settings are correct, you will see a status of “Syncing” rather than “Responding” in the coin adapter status (“Wallets” -> “Adapters”). You would still need to wait for the sync to finish, before you can actually perform transactions.

    4. The Exchange extension is NOT like localbitcoins. Instead it is more like bittrex or poloniex, i.e. it allows you to create market pairs where users can enter market and limit orders in an order book. Limit orders can be thought of as offers to buy or sell. The whole trading process is online, it does not involve actually meeting locally, like localbitcoins does. Localbitcoin can be used globally and is well known and established, so in my opinion there is no point in you offering a similar service.

    5. The markets that you create with the Exchange extension have their own orderbook, and thus their own prices. This is also true of all major crypto exchanges. Prices sync between exchanges via user action, because when they do not, arbitrage opportunities arise between exchanges. Arbitrage traders will balance out any price differences, and they profit from users who place orders away from the current price. Thus users are incentivized to place orders around the actual price of the cryptocurrencies they trade. There is no liquidity “magically” imported from elsewhere: users need to place orders in your site for a market to exist and for price discovery to work. This is a full exchange where you have full control. You can also specify maker and taker fee percentages.

    If you simply need a frontend for other exchanges, use the ShapeShift extension instead.

    Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions. If you have questions about the Exchange, please post them at the support forum for the Exchange extension.

    with regards

    #7695
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hello Alex, thx so much for answering and sorry for the late view. I was waiting on my actual email for a response (which I did not use here, lol, of course, had to be so)
    My questions did mostly resolve themselves in the meantime, found everything out, except it does not work. Here is what I did and what happened.
    1. it is around the 6th time I installed the core. First, it was ready but the harddisk showed only around 10gb instead of 280 like announced at install. I got nervous and did it again, really fast hard disk goes up to 120Gb, so I thought everything fine, but got stuck on 2 years 30 weeks left sync with no movement, nothing helps, no reboot, so deinstall again and so on a couple of times until I found out that you can not interrupt the program (like it happens a lot here in D.R. because of power failure. So, this time I connect to a USP power backup, but again some try to get it running with my website.

    2. At this moment I am stuck at copy text from your plugin to bitcoin.conf in AppData- roaming -bitcoin. I can save the file, on start daemon, the line shows as read without error and commands prompt starts to print out 1000s of lines to sync. (this time I did not start the windows interface only the command prompt)
    on refresh website then, the error message does not disappear. I don’t know, but I found a difference in your video and my site text to copy. in the video you mention rpcuser and rpcpassword, while on the website it says rpcauth=admin:aaacccd00ssblablabla…etc, I tried both ways, split like in your video related to what I filled out on settings onsite with rpcuser and rpcpassword, as also the same way as it shows on settings page. both ways no success until now. I attached what I can see, maybe you can tell me the mistake I did.
    3. Something I don’t understand and maybe that’s the problem, is that I have to put in the IP of the daemon, which is the IP from the pc I installed the bitcoin core and running right now. But on the conf text to copy, that IP does not show up. How does the website know this address? Or better, that IP is a typical home network IP not the public ID which I never got asked for.
    4. Regarding exchange extension, I still have the old version from my first membership here, as soon as I get it running, I play around and let you know. Mostly the reason for the need is, that we purchased some ASIC miners and I want to sell some of the production here in D.R. just for a special group of friends, and for my partner in England, so more easy to interchange with our own wallets with the lowest cost.
    If you could find me a solution would be very much appreciated and again thank you very much for helping
    (I xxxed some sensible data on the screenshot)

    #7706
    alexg
    Keymaster

    Hello,

    1. It is not true that you cannot sync a blockchain if the process is interrupted. Actually you can stop the process at any time and continue later, even if there is a power failure. If syncing is stuck, then you should get help from people who provide support for bitcoin core, such as the channels listed here: https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/help I would also recommend that you study your log file.

    2. The image was probably too high resolution and was not posted (says “File exceeds allowed file size.”, so I cannot see it.) You can either use rpcuser and rpcpass OR rpcauth to define the username and password that your wallet should accept over RPC connections. Then, enter the same password in the coin adapter’s RPC settings. Then, go to the coin adapters screen and see what error message you get under “Status”. If yuu let me know what error message you see in that screen I can help you.

    3. The plugin needs to connect to the wallet, not the other way around. So the plugin’s coin adapter needs to know the IP of your wallet. In your wallet’s conf file, you need to specify the IP of the WordPress machine, so that the wallet can expect these connections and allow them. When the plugin recommends your conf file entries, it tries to guess the IP of your WordPress machine. This guess may be wrong, so enter the actual IP of your WordPress web server instead. If it is a home IP then obviously the web server will not be able to communicate with your wallet. (Unless if you have the skill to configure your router using NAT.) This is something that I cannot help you with. In general, even if you decide to run your wallet on a VPS, you need to think about HOW your WordPress maching is going to start a TCP connection to your wallet. This means that you need to think about routing and any firewalls that are in the middle.

    4. I am not certain if the extension is what you need for your use case. This plugin is not built for selling tokens or mining contracts. If what you need is an exchange, then the Exchange extension is for you. You could mine coins, deposit them to a user on your site, then place sell orders at various prices, and others can login and buy your coins with Bitcoin. Additionally, you can have markets where it is only possible to buy or only to sell, so perhaps you could use this feature. But first you need to connect to a wallet.

    In general I believe that it is possible to run your wallet at home IF you know what you are doing very well, that includes setting up networking. For most people it’s best if they install a full node on a VPS.

    Hope this helps.

    with regards

    #7721
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I forgot, I did not “xx” out something as I will change everything as soon as I can get it to work. Thx

    #7732
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Ok, seems there was a problem, I only see the PS note I wrote to my last answer. My whole main message is gone, do not know what I did this time, lol, so in short words again, I think I found a possible problem, your plugin writes the 8332 port in the copy/paste. But daemon writes always 8333. So I checked and tried if the core itself has access to one of this port, both are blocked, I have to wait for the owner of the internet to open the ports and will let you know here, could be nice info for others who have the same problem. As my router does not have these ports open by default, sure others too. Maybe short info about the difference between the port numbers mentioned above. Thanks for letting me bother. Nice day to everybody

    #7736
    alexg
    Keymaster

    Hello,

    The following is generic bitcoind info (not specific to this plugin):

    8332 is the default Bitcoin port for the RPC API, and 8333 is the default P2P post. For the purposes of communicating with WordPress, we are interested in the RPC port, i.e. 8332. Port 8333 should be open to let the wallet communicate with other wallets. Incoming connections to your wallet should be allowed on these ports, and that means that any firewalls that are in place should be open to the internet. You can use this tool to check: https://www.canyouseeme.org/

    You mentioned a router. If you are on a home network, you will need to enable NAT on your router. i.e.: You need to add a rule that says that incoming TCP connections to 8332 or 8333 will be redirected to the 8332 or 8333 ports of your machine on your local network. Your machine on your local network will have a local IP that will most likely begin with 192. Your ISP cannot do this, only the person who is managing the router can. How you do this will depend on the exact router model and will be explained in the router’s manual.

    Please understand that what you are doing is non-standard. I did not include any of the above information in the guide, because most people who install a full node will either already know networking, or would not be installing the wallet behind a local network; the usual setup is with an internet-facing server. I might create another guide on how to setup a full node on a local private network.

    In any case, what you are trying to do is doable. Check your port first, to see that it is open from the machine that runs WordPress. Once this is done, then you can configure the coin adapter.

    with regards

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