Unable to spend bitcoins in MultiBit

[ghost]

Raised by @steauacris89 in several places (in the multibit-hd issues db, bitcointalk and on reddit ) so cross posted here for clarity:

Multibit steel my money , in my balance apear real 303$ and in blockchain money are in a error adress called : 1FYMZEHnszCHKTBdFZ2DLrUuk3dGwYKQxh Please i want my money back , i dont have any fault . my adress is 1rzhWUU7LP9iyyeas4hT223kogqy6w67G , you can see that are 6 transaction and no one of this is confirmed by me . Please help me And i cant generate private key , multibit dont let me .

[ghost]

Hi steauacris89,

Sorry to hear that you are having problems with MultiBit. A few questions: Which version of MultiBit are you using ? Can you attach (or send to support@multibit.org if you prefer) screen shots of the 'Transactions' screen and the 'Request' screen.

Also if you can email me the multibit.log log file please. This is stored in the 'application data directory'/log - you can see where the application data directory is by looking in the 'Messages' window at start up

[ghost]

Also raised on reddit here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2t3vn0/i_cant_send_my_btc_a_triangle_apear_i_use_multibit/

[gary-rowe]

A previous investigation (see #403) found no bug in the code.

Further information from @steauacris89, including screenshots, are here: https://github.com/steauacris89/MULTIBIT-BUG-/issues/1.

[steauacris89]

And where are my money then? I havent spend this cash and i cant transfer them. Give me pls a solution.

[gary-rowe]

We will need more detailed logs from you if you are willing to provide them (please remove any personal information before posting since they will be public) in order to assist investigation.

From the screenshots that you posted (you may want to copy them here) shows a single receipt against the 1FYMZEHnszCHKTBdFZ2DLrUuk3dGwYKQxh of 0.000 000 01 (1 satoshi) which is well below the theshold for being transmitted over the network.

Can you verify that you have followed the usual wallet recovery procedures: Reset blockchain and verify private keys and that you are running version 0.5.18 (latest)?

[steauacris89]

I have reset multibit aprox 30 times in the last 3 days because when i tried to send apear a triangle in the transaction. I will give you all info you need but please refund my btc because i worked for them and when i install multibit i had trust in this wallet . Thx

[steauacris89]

And i use the last version of multibit

[steauacris89]

And i cant export private key. I press export and nothing happened

[gary-rowe]

What is the result of running the Tools | Check Private keys (see https://multibit.org/en/help/v0.5/help_checkPrivateKeys.html)?

May I ask that you post to this issue through GitHub rather than an email reply to reduce clutter? I'll go back over your previous posts and remove the non-essential information.

[steauacris89]

Yes. Srry i am at work now and i post from my e-mail . Same problem. I press check and no results. I need my btc back please, i have trust that you will refund me . I need to get home to send you log list and pictures. But tell me why i have this problem?

[gary-rowe]

Until we can see some logs it will be pure sepculation, but it appears that somehow the "zero" private key has manifested in your wallet and is being included in the send transaction. This will (rightly) be rejected as unspendable by the Bitcoin network.

It is extremely unlikely to have been generated internally so it would really help if you could go through in detail any import operations you may have done in the past and what version of MultiBit you were using when you did them.

So long as you retain sole control of the private keys in your wallet then the bitcoin won't be going anywhere and it becomes a matter of removing the zero private key from your wallet to prevent further transactions from including it. This will then free up the other bitcoin and you'll be back to normal - assuming that this speculation holds true.

Once you return from work, it would be helpful to provide screenshots of the export private key process (not the private keys themselves!) and the results of the private key check. Also check the Messages tab for any additional information that MultiBit is providing.

[steauacris89]

I will get home in 2 hours and i send to you logs and other proves of my transactions. My wallet is like a bank and if an error happened there the " bank" should resolve this problem and give my money back . thx

[steauacris89]

[steauacris89]

this is the message when i press check my private keys

[gary-rowe]

And export private keys/messages?

[steauacris89]

https://www.sendspace.com/file/sut0wr this is my log file link , have 65 mb

[steauacris89]

[steauacris89]

this is the message , and after 1 minute disapear .....

[steauacris89]

send button permit transaction but when i send a triangle apear

[steauacris89]

look this is the triangle , this is a photo with a payment try but failed on 16.01.2015

[steauacris89]

This are all info you requested , please refund my btc , i worked for them and i am not a rich guy , this money means a lot to me .

[gary-rowe]

Can you verify if C:\Users\cristy\AppData\Roaming\MultiBit\multibit.key exists? (It may be hidden so be sure to enable hidden files and folders)

If it does, can you verify that it looks like the example given here: https://multibit.org/en/help/v0.5/help_exportingPrivateKeys.html

[steauacris89]

is not here , my folder option is show hidden files and the key is not here .

[steauacris89]

i think is more easy for you and me to view this problem with teamview or join !

[steauacris89]

Please take all you want , i give you all my wallet , all files , i need my btc back , this is my privacy and my money , i want them back !

[gary-rowe]

We're working towards that goal. TeamView etc is not an option (and I am currently unable to view your log files due to network issues) so let's continue as we are. Remember all information on this issue database is public.

I need to know why the export keys are failing. Can you attempt another export, to a freshly made directory) and note any messages appearing in the View | Messages tab? In particular I'm looking for anything that would indicate a "write error".

[steauacris89]

[steauacris89]

first is the message and after 1 min disapear second is the message box after i pressed the export button

[gary-rowe]

As I mentioned earlier I have a plan to get your wallet working again but it involves exporting your private keys which is currently not working. Since your balance is currently showing $303 those funds have not gone anywhere.

So can you have a look in the most recent log files looking for anything like IOException with a timestamp near your most recent export?

[steauacris89]

Please look is blockchain, my balance is 0. And are 6 transfers made to a fake adress You want to tell me that blockchain lie?

[steauacris89]

[gary-rowe]

In MultiBit your funds are spread across all your receiving addresses. Your wallet is showing you the spendable balance of all private keys under your control. From your screenshots this appears to be 1.429 BTC for that wallet.

No IOException and no exported private key file is strange. Can you manually search near the end of the most recent log for any message indicating an export failure?

[steauacris89]

This is an answer from a member of a forum

" See https://bitcointa.lk/threads/first-post-and-an-interesting-observation-about-ecdsa.148676/

First, 1FYMZEHnszCHKTBdFZ2DLrUuk3dGwYKQxh is an invalid address, and is the result of choosing a bad exponent (0) when generating the address. It is possible that you hit a bug in Multibit that caused change addresses to be generated in this way. That is speculation though.

Second, the coins that have been sent to 1FYMZEHnszCHKTBdFZ2DLrUuk3dGwYKQxh are stuck there. While it is actually possible for anyone to generate a mathematically "valid" signature for that address, the 0 exponent is not allowed, and that signature will be rejected by the network. So, there is no way to get your coins out of that address.

Edit: I would recommend contacting the developers of MultiBit directly. If you can prove that you own 1rzhWUU... and that the bad transactions were in fact generated by MultiBit they may be persuaded to compensate you. Also, if this is a bug in MultiBit it should be fixed ASAP "

[steauacris89]

I prove that this is my adress

[steauacris89]

I forget to say that yesterday i save all info in another folder then i uninstalated multibit and instal again and put wallet back. I try to search in old log but have 1 gb and take some time to open . Any news until i open this ? Thx

[gary-rowe]

I'm dealing with this issue on email to avoid excessive entries in the issues database. I've cleared many posts that are not relevant.

[steauacris89]

ok.

2015-01-21 22:47 GMT+02:00 Gary Rowe notifications@github.com:

I'm dealing with this issue on email to avoid excessive entries in the issues database. I've cleared many posts that are not relevant.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-70918233.

[gary-rowe]

After examining the logs provided by @steauacris89 earlier it is now clear that there is a damaged transaction in the wallet which is in turn preventing export of the private keys:

04:00:03.646 [AWT-EventQueue-0] DEBUG o.m.v.s.a.ExportPrivateKeysSubmitAction - Exporting private keys in background SwingWorker thread
04:00:03.658 [SwingWorker-pool-3-thread-5] ERROR org.multibit.file.PrivateKeysHandler - Could not parse tx output script: com.google.bitcoin.core.ScriptException: Script not in the standard scriptPubKey form
04:00:03.681 [AWT-EventQueue-0] ERROR o.m.v.s.a.ExportPrivateKeysSubmitAction - class java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1

This discovery raises this support issue to one where you'll need a trusted and experienced Java developer to unpick the wallet and manually retrieve the private keys through a debugger. This is a time consuming operation and I am not able to do this work at the present time.

The process you will need to go through to take this to the next step is as follows:

1) Provide the trusted developer with a copy of your wallet and wallet password. If you have to send it to them make sure you zip the entire MultiBit directory (under \Roaming) and use GPG to encrypt it with your developer's public key.

2) The developer should clone the MultiBit source code from this repository and run the master branch in debug mode from their IDE.

3) The developer should then attempt to export private keys and set breakpoints in PrivateKeysHandler as a good starting point for discovering the underlying problem and gaining access to the wallet containing the private keys

4) Assuming the private keys can be extracted they should be imported into a wallet of your choosing and then the funds held there swept to a fresh receiving address. The original private keys should then be archived in case future payments are made to them requiring further sweeping.

Finally, it remains unclear how the "zero" private key found its way into the wallet. Is there anything that you can recall which may shed light on how this happened? Perhaps a recent key import that went wrong or some experimentation with a wallet tool?

[steauacris89]

I dont have aperson to talk too. The problem is with multibit so why i need to spend money on a experienced Java developer ? I need my btc back because is not my fault that multibit have a error in the code . Please help me take back my btc because is a multibit problem not one created by me. Multibit is like a bank acc , if money diseapear someone must be responsable for this and give money back.

2015-01-22 0:09 GMT+02:00 Gary Rowe notifications@github.com:

After examining the logs provided by @steauacris89 https://github.com/steauacris89 earlier it is now clear that there is a damaged transaction in the wallet which is in turn preventing export of the private keys:

04:00:03.646 [AWT-EventQueue-0] DEBUG o.m.v.s.a.ExportPrivateKeysSubmitAction - Exporting private keys in background SwingWorker thread 04:00:03.658 [SwingWorker-pool-3-thread-5] ERROR org.multibit.file.PrivateKeysHandler - Could not parse tx output script: com.google.bitcoin.core.ScriptException: Script not in the standard scriptPubKey form 04:00:03.681 [AWT-EventQueue-0] ERROR o.m.v.s.a.ExportPrivateKeysSubmitAction - class java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1

This discovery raises this support issue to one where you'll need a trusted and experienced Java developer to unpick the wallet and manually retrieve the private keys through a debugger. This is a time consuming operation and I am not able to do this work at the present time.

The process you will need to go through to take this to the next step is as follows:

1) Provide the trusted developer with a copy of your wallet and wallet password. If you have to send it to them make sure you zip the entire MultiBit directory (under \Roaming) and use GPG to encrypt it with your developer's public key.

2) The developer should clone the MultiBit source code from this repository and run the master branch in debug mode from their IDE.

3) The developer should then attempt to export private keys and set breakpoints in PrivateKeysHandler as a good starting point for discovering the underlying problem and gaining access to the wallet containing the private keys

4) Assuming the private keys can be extracted they should be imported into a wallet of your choosing and then the funds held there swept to a fresh receiving address. The original private keys should then be archived in case future payments are made to them requiring further sweeping.

Finally, it remains unclear how the "zero" private key found its way into the wallet. Is there anything that you can recall which may shed light on how this happened? Perhaps a recent key import that went wrong or some experimentation with a wallet tool?

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-70931993.

[steauacris89]

My wallet havent any imported key and i dont play with no wallet tool when i talk about money. My money disapear so i want them back.

[steauacris89]

I dont need " i am sorry " or " this is a unlike problem " , i need a concret solution , i need to pay for a multibit error , and i have to wait for my btc until a java developer " a trusted one " resolve my problem. I dont have a trusted developer and i need my btc back . Is your problem how you find a solution , if i have to , i will go to police because this are money , and with money i dont play . I wait another solution

[mikemarmar]

Cris,

Multibit is an open source project, and the developers work on it as a service to the community. As such, in using this free software, you are assuming the risk that it will not work as advertised. The onus is on you to review the source code and confirm that it is up to your standards. Please stop threatening Gary and the rest of the developers. They are helping you track down this issue simply because they want to, not out of any obligation. The developers of multibit absolutely did not steal your money, and threatening legal action will not help you get it back.

Read the MIT License (under which Multibit is released) for more info http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php

[steauacris89]

Ok . Sorry for yesterday because i was very nervous , i am awake from about 48 h because i need to find a way to take back my btc. I try to talk with a java developer but i need to know if it can resolve this problem because i need to pay him for work and i dont want to lose more money . Id 100% sure that if a java developer make this stept , i take back my btc ? Thx

2015-01-22 19:08 GMT+02:00 mikemarmar notifications@github.com:

Cris,

Multibit is an open source project, and the developers work on it as a service to the community. As such, in using this free software, you are assuming the risk that it will not work as advertised. The onus is on you to review the source code and confirm that it is up to your standards. Please stop threatening Gary and the rest of the developers. They are helping you track down this issue simply because they want to, not out of any obligation. The developers of multibit absolutely did not steal your money, and threatening legal action will not help you get it back.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-71056695.

[steauacris89]

I give 100$btc from my wallet to a java developer who can resolve that . I think money are the problem and i give this money to anyone can solve this problem. Please contact me .

2015-01-22 19:25 GMT+02:00 cristi nenc cristinenc88@gmail.com:

Ok . Sorry for yesterday because i was very nervous , i am awake from about 48 h because i need to find a way to take back my btc. I try to talk with a java developer but i need to know if it can resolve this problem because i need to pay him for work and i dont want to lose more money . Id 100% sure that if a java developer make this stept , i take back my btc ? Thx

2015-01-22 19:08 GMT+02:00 mikemarmar notifications@github.com:

Cris,

Multibit is an open source project, and the developers work on it as a service to the community. As such, in using this free software, you are assuming the risk that it will not work as advertised. The onus is on you to review the source code and confirm that it is up to your standards. Please stop threatening Gary and the rest of the developers. They are helping you track down this issue simply because they want to, not out of any obligation. The developers of multibit absolutely did not steal your money, and threatening legal action will not help you get it back.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-71056695.

[steauacris89]

Ok . So no answer for my problem just a formal one. My conclusion is that i will post on every btc forum and site about this problem and about Multibit . I will tell everybody the real problem of Multibit and the reason they should not use this program. I promise you that i will make a negative image and trust me i will do this . I am sorry but i will not pay for YOUR error .

2015-01-22 19:30 GMT+02:00 cristi nenc cristinenc88@gmail.com:

I give 100$btc from my wallet to a java developer who can resolve that . I think money are the problem and i give this money to anyone can solve this problem. Please contact me .

2015-01-22 19:25 GMT+02:00 cristi nenc cristinenc88@gmail.com:

Ok . Sorry for yesterday because i was very nervous , i am awake from about 48 h because i need to find a way to take back my btc. I try to talk with a java developer but i need to know if it can resolve this problem because i need to pay him for work and i dont want to lose more money . Id 100% sure that if a java developer make this stept , i take back my btc ? Thx

2015-01-22 19:08 GMT+02:00 mikemarmar notifications@github.com:

Cris,

Multibit is an open source project, and the developers work on it as a service to the community. As such, in using this free software, you are assuming the risk that it will not work as advertised. The onus is on you to review the source code and confirm that it is up to your standards. Please stop threatening Gary and the rest of the developers. They are helping you track down this issue simply because they want to, not out of any obligation. The developers of multibit absolutely did not steal your money, and threatening legal action will not help you get it back.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-71056695.

[steauacris89]

I get a conclusion and i am a part of the community so i have a word to say. My laptop is new , Btc wallet Multibit is installed from 3 mouth . I used Multibit before and hasnt any problem. If Multibit owner is thinking at the community, i am a person in this community . The only solution in this problem after i talked with a Java Developer is somebody to give me this funds ( donate me or give me, because i found a error in the code ) this thing must be apreciate by owners of Multibit and not let to grow and continue. So this is the only solution because community have a word in this btc world and i am a member of it. Please read my msg and give me an answer. thx

[steauacris89]

I want Multibit owner to give back btc to all members who have problems . are 850 $ i this fake error and all of this are money from multibit members. I want him to answer me and give a solution .

[ghost]

Hello steauacris89,

I see you are crossposting widely across the MultiBit support issues. Can I please ask you to reconsider the style of posting you are using with this issue ?

You are not making it easy for us to help you.

You raised your initial issue on Wednesday all over the place (which makes it very difficult to track) and I crossposted it to here. MultBit is open source, MIT licence. You have no formal support contract with us but nonetheless by Wednesday evening Gary - the same day - had formulated a 'plan of attack' for recovering your bitcoins if this is at all possible.

I know as I spoke to him Wed night that he did this instead of a quiet night in.

Generally we find support issues are more succesful when questions and answers are measured and stick to the facts. We ask a question because we want to know the answer. We appreciate you are anxious about your wallet but we would prefer if if you used this style of posting.

For instance, if Gary has just spent his evening, in his free time, to help you we would like you to reciprocate with something like: "Thanks Gary. I appreciate you are busy, but would you or Jim be able to look into this further and when?' Please consider adapting your style of posting to something more 'business neutral' as it will help this issue progress.

Currently you have posted on reddit that you are running a bounty for a Java dev to look at this issue. This is a great idea - we believe in decentralisation and decentralising support would be very useful for all parties. I have noticed that generally the open source community is busiest at the weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) so you'll want to run this bounty until at least Monday to see if anyone picks it up. We respect that you want to use a bounty - please post on this issue if you get a successful resolution (and who you used as we may use them in the future).

If, for any reason, your bounty approach does not work then post on this issue next week and we can look at things further.

Regards,

Jim

[steauacris89]

Thx for answer First i want you to know that i am a good person until i lost something without my fault. If your friend Gary really check the adress he will see that this btc are lost. No one can take back from this adress , i talked with many developers and its imposible. I will not thanx anyone for a bad solution and i will not make this thing when i lost money. I lost 300 $ and you want me to thx him ???? So , i made a conclusion, from donation funds that are used for nothing i see , pay back money for this multibit error to all members who lost btc in this adress because of Multibit error. I will stop posting everywhere if a Multibit owner make this thing.

Thx for answer .

2015-01-23 20:35 GMT+02:00 Bitcoin Solutions Ltd notifications@github.com:

Hello steauacris89,

I see you are crossposting widely across the MultiBit support issues. Can I please ask you to reconsider the style of posting you are using with this issue ?

You are not making it easy for us to help you.

You raised your initial issue on Wednesday all over the place (which makes it very difficult to track) and I crossposted it to here. MultBit is open source, MIT licence. You have no formal support contract with us but nonetheless by Wednesday evening Gary - the same day - had formulated a 'plan of attack' for recovering your bitcoins if this is at all possible.

I know as I spoke to him Wed night that he did this instead of a quiet night in with his wife and children.

Generally we find support issues are more succesful when questions and answers are measured and stick to the facts. We ask a question because we want to know the answer. We appreciate you are anxious about your wallet but we would prefer if if you used this style of posting.

For instance, if Gary has just spent his evening, in his free time, to help you we would like you to reciprocate with something like: "Thanks Gary. I appreciate you are busy, but would you or Jim be able to look into this further and when?' Please consider adapting your style of posting to something more 'business neutral' as it will help this issue progress.

Currently you have posted on reddit that you are running a bounty for a Java dev to look at this issue. This is a great idea - we believe in decentralisation and decentralising support would be very useful for all parties. I have noticed that generally the open source community is busiest at the weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) so you'll want to run this bounty until at least Monday to see if anyone picks it up. We respect that you want to use a bounty - please post on this issue if you get a successful resolution (and who you used as we may use them in the future).

If, for any reason, your bounty approach does not work then post on this issue next week and we can look at things further.

Regards,

Jim

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/jim618/multibit/issues/661#issuecomment-71241080.

[steauacris89]

I've talked with many people on: reddit , bitcointalk.org and here and i get the same answer " BTC are lost forever " . I dont made anything wrong , i've just use Multibit for transfer and nothing more . My only conclusion and i hope Multibit owners will agree with me is to compansate me for this "code error" and i will remove my negativ posts on reddit , bitcointalk.org and here . I hope we will agree with this and i hope this things will not appear in the future for other users . Have a nice day.