Issues related with Syncing

[evertonfraga]

Updated in 2018-01-08

Notes about sync

"Stuck" on 100-200 blocks away from current highest block

When using the default Geth setting fast mode, it downloads blocks, headers and chain structure (or state entries). As of today, the latter sums up more than 70 million entries. Know what to expect: it can take several hours to download on a consumer machine. For quicker access to funds or balances, refer to the Light Client section.

"Mist has eaten my hard drive space"

Regular geth sync can take dozens of GB from your hard drive. In order to reclaim space, you can:

1. execute geth removedb
2. enable the light client (see below)

For information directly related to blockchain sync, refer to https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum

Light Client

Soon-to-be default, yet still experimental. It downloads block headers and pulls blocks on demand. The sync times are reduced by an order of magnitude while staying safe. And the required storage is a lot smaller.

How to activate?

Mist Wiki: https://github.com/ethereum/mist/wiki Gitter channel, where the community is, and can certainly help as well: https://gitter.im/ethereum/mist

[jamesray1]

@evertonfraga please put Mist first in the list of releases, then Ethereum Wallet. I think most people would prefer to try using Mist with the built in Ethereum wallet.

[evertonfraga]

That’s a nice heads up, but github doesn’t let me do that.

We’re planning to have a super friendly website, where we’ll be in control of things like this On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 at 21:01 James Ray notifications@github.com wrote:

@evertonfraga https://github.com/evertonfraga please put Mist first in the list of releases, then Ethereum Wallet. I think most people would prefer to try using Mist with the built in Ethereum wallet.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ethereum/mist/issues/3097#issuecomment-332995386, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAC4BA7F7go4-4W8xPUz5Pdplk9ZQ7zQks5snDNZgaJpZM4Pnv0s .

[jamesray1]

OK, sure.

[squibbler00]

As soon as I engage the light client, Mist stops working. It just says 'checking network...'

I believe the problem was fixed by closing Plex Media software; perhaps it was trying to use the same port or something... Anyhow, it works! After months of not being able to see my balance, what a relief!!

[3esmit]

Run go-ethereum separatedly with geth --vmodule=sync=6,downloader=6 to see whats happening with sync.

[crypt2kpr]

Hello, Not sure this is the right thread to post this question but Im not seeing my ETH in myetherwallet.com.

I saw some people recommending myetherwallet.com but I have having similar issues to others...I transferred small amounts of ETH from both Coinbase and ethermine.org and neither transfers show up in myetherwallet.com but both show on eitherscan.io. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why?

One weird thing I noticed was that when I sign into myetherwallet.com with my private key, the address shows differently than the address shown here (the address shown here is the original address I recorded when i created the wallet - not sure if myetherwallet generates multiple addresses?).

Etherscan.io screenshots below:

Thank you in advance!

[atreyyu]

Just checked "Sync with light client" and what happened: balance become 0. a new subfolder appeared: "lightchaindata" 2 Mb in size. the old "chaindata" still in place, 205 Gb in size. after a while it started to sync and the correct balance appeared. The folders "lightchaindata" and "chaindata" remained unchanged in size: 2 Mb and 205 Gb. Is it safe now to delete the chaindata" folder ? Can i safely send ether with my wallet in this "light" mode ? The purpose was to reduce the size on disk and keep the wallet operational. Using the official ethereum wallet, latest version 0.92 with geth 1.7.2

[evertonfraga]

@atreyyu the lightchaindata directory should be bigger than "2Mb" at the moment.

It is safe to delete chaindata, though.

[atreyyu]

@evertonfraga: the lightchaindata is around 200 Mb now. I've deleted the chaindata. Thank you !

[dfalzetti]

geth kept failing every 10 - 15 minutes so in windows i created a sync.cmd file with the following and that took care of it.

C: cd "C:\Users\Dan\AppData\Roaming\Ethereum Wallet\binaries\Geth\unpacked"

:loop

%@Try%

call "geth.exe" --fast --cache=512 --datadir="D:\Ethereum-Wallet-win32-0-9-3"

timeout 2

%@EndTry% :@Catch goto loop :@EndCatch

goto loop

[anthony-cros]

it can take several hours to download on a consumer machine

It's been 3 days for me, it's still stuck 179 blocks behind. Light client syncing works for me, but I rarely get peers. Any suggestions on the fast sync front?

[evertonfraga]

@anthony-cros it has to download over 70M state entries. Please start Geth from the command line in order to have a bird's eye on syncing progress.

[JayCopal]

How does one sync with light client? There is no option on Mist to go to " developers>sync with light client(beta) "

[dfalzetti]

the main issue I had was that the version of geth that came with the ethereum wallet that I downloaded kept crashing. I downloaded the latest version and was able to sync in under 24 hours

[anthony-cros]

@evertonfraga , thanks, it's already what I do. Note that it's not always 179 blocks behind, it changes over time but remains in the hundreds

[anthony-cros]

UPDATE: finally got my geth synced (overnight) using the following:

• debian:9.3-slim base docker image (instead of ubuntu:16.04 earlier)
• ports 8545 and 30303 open
• geth options: --fast and --cache=1024 (I was using 512 earlier)

Not sure if it was just luck or if something in the above list made the difference, but hopefully that'll help someone else...

[VladimirAmiorkov]

This wallet is just broken, for this big of a project like Ethereum its a damn shame that its default wallet does not work ever. I ma stuck at "Node connected" splash screen and no matter what I try cannot get pass it.

[JuC0de]

Any ideas, after turning light client my wallet hangs. After I start the client it says "Ethereum node connected" and freezes, nothing happening. Tryed to rename chaindata folder didnt helped. Any ideas? Also same problem as VladimirAmiorkov.

[lnaie]

again: win10, i7 quad core, 16gb ram, nvidia gcard.

synced mist also with light client beta, accounts are still zero!

https://github.com/ethereum/mist/issues/3593

another thought. if, I start fresh, how do I import the existing accounts, i know passwords of in mist/ethereum wallet?

[ChristBKK]

any update on this?

[JuC0de]

Inae, I had same issue i turned normal client on and delete lightchain folder, took me some time to download whole chain but it starts normaly now and doesnt hangs on the splash screen. my wallet works also still 1000 blocks left to sync but i can see some of the ethereum in the wallet now. after fully sinced ill delete this crap wallet! no more!

[lnaie]

how do I import an existing account in mist/ethereum wallet, for which I know its password and I have its infamous UTC--yyy--xxx file?

[lnaie]

Here is what I've done.

Synced mist with default settings but in a custom data folder: "C:\Program Files\Mist\Mist.exe" --node-datadir="D:\Repository\Ethereum" It took almost 24h.

Then I've copy & pasted the UTC--yyy--xxx files in D:\Repository\Ethereum\keystore. It immediately recognized and calculated the accounts.

Thanks

[ChristBKK]

Hey Guys, for everyone having issues. I know this tip is not rational, but what worked for me (took 6 days) was starting geth --cache=1024 like 50 times. Including restarting the computer and so on. Also in the end I didn't start geth first, I started just Mist and let it do its job. I know not much of a help but I want to give you guys motivation back to try it again if you really need MIST (I do.)

[pingram3541]

And what about the crazy fees when using lite mode? Is that also on the list of things to be addressed?

[great999]

worst wallet ever! this garbage is beta

[evertonfraga]

@pingram3541 this is being addressed by Go-ethereum team, which provides Gas estimations.

[pingram3541]

@evertonfraga thx, so there should be somewhere we can put #3002 in front of them?

This is a very big issue forcing many to use My Ether Wallet and upload their json/keystor files which is not very secure but seems to be the only alternative to sending eth/tokens from an existing desktop wallet (without exorbitant fees).

[garethplayford]

I think I found why it doesnt sync. The situation is clear somehow ... but I have no clue how to fix it. node.log

[L23P]

Just popping by to say I've been trying to sync for over a week now, both light & standard versions unsuccessful.

Multiple reinstallations & even reinstalled windows twice. Getting desperate.

[jcklpe]

How long is the geth remove db command supposed to take? This thing is taking forever. It's like my CLI is frozen?

[evertonfraga]

@thedonquixotic geth removedb should take less than a minute.

[jcklpe]

@evertonfraga It was taking a long time for me so I just ended up deleting the chaindata files manually.

I tried the CLI commands with the additional flags that people have suggested and it helped a little but still getting stuck at about 4%.

[evertonfraga]

Hi @thedonquixotic Geth have just updated to 1.8.0, a major update.

Once you have the command line skills, please download it and run in the light mode. It works, and it's blazingly fast:

> geth removedb
> geth --syncmode light --cache 1024

There's an open PR that upgrades Geth to latest in Mist: https://github.com/ethereum/mist/pull/3688

[jcklpe]

@evertonfraga I've tried that, but I do need to try it with a new version of geth. I've got a problem though. I know this is kind of stupid.... but... I kind of forgot my password. I set this thing up months and months ago, and while I follow an algorithm for my internet passwords, I don't know what I did when I set up my account in the CLI. And since it was in the CLI, I don't have it saved anywhere on my LastPass password manager etc. So... not really sure what to do. It's currently logged in, but if I try to use myetherwallet.com etc to access my wallet by uploading my keystore, I don't have the password necessary to decrypt it.

If I install 18 will that require me to log back in? Because if so, then I basically have to give up on this I guess.

[evertonfraga]

@thedonquixotic I am not sure what does "log back in" mean, as there is no log in feature, just private keys decrypt. And that procedure is stateless and don't rely on having the same Geth version.

[evertonfraga]

@thedonquixotic meaning: you should update to 1.8.0 and try again :)

[jcklpe]

Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. I just meant that whatever the password was for geth that I was required to create when I first installed geth has been forgotten which means that I can not unlock my keystore in my mist wallet, which is why I'm trying to update the block chain locally so I can send the eth in that account to a new freshly created address. I'll let you know how it goes! Thank you!

On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 2:17 PM Ev notifications@github.com wrote:

@thedonquixotic https://github.com/thedonquixotic I am not sure what does "log back in" mean, as there is no log in feature, just private keys decrypt. And that procedure is stateless and don't rely on having the same Geth version.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ethereum/mist/issues/3097#issuecomment-366048654, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJA4zg7Nbg062F_Eyyvb7jswJ58EUcsEks5tVJDtgaJpZM4Pnv0s .

[Bogula]

I have the impression that currently blocks are generated faster than they can be synced, and this is really frustrating. My client is always 100s of blocks behind latest_block and never finishes syncing.

Yes I can light sync in 1o minutes, but this will not help me, as I have some solidity contracts ready, tested on a private blockchain and need obviously a fully synced node to deploy to the main BC.

I have to say, after months of learning blockchain programming and weeks of syncing BS, that effectively at >150% CPU usage nealy burned down my Mac, I am about to leave Ethereum as a development platform.

I tried NEO, which is even more complicated and was hoping for QTUM which has smart contracts still some month away, but I think if nobody can recommend any other BC system with smart contracts that really works, I am going to abandon development until this technology is ready for the real world.

I am a developer for over 20 years, and have to say that working with this was the most frustrating experience I had in software development. I know there are always are entry barriers into a new system, but this is really annoying and by design will not get better, if more people would adopt the system.

[great999]

I'm in the same situation and nobody care about us, they are lazy and care about money. I hope this ether joke will be crushed

[evertonfraga]

Hi all,

I bring some exciting improvements on this topic.

Light client

The go-ethereum team did an incredible job with Geth 1.8 release family. With the rollout of LES version 2, we now have a more reliable, and blazingly-fast Light Client.

Fast sync

With state pruning and I/O optimizations, even fast-syncing is possible again. Fixes around state entries download reporting (called "chain structure" in Mist) brings some relief to the people that got confused, thinking the sync has started over again (more info).

Read their release notes for more information:

• 1.8.0
• 1.8.1
• 1.8.2

Geth 1.8.2 is now available to every Mist/Wallet user, after the prompt.

Remote node integration

Soon it'll be able to instantly connect to a remote node while your local blockchain gets updated, with the help of INFURA infrastructure. You can take a look at the working branch here: https://github.com/ethereum/mist/tree/layered-nodes. This is on our priorities for Q1-2018, so tune in for updates.

[evertonfraga]

@Bogula

by design will not get better, if more people would adopt the system.

This is false. please take a look at Light Client (recently implemented), and Sharding (future plans).

[evertonfraga]

Please take a look at this excellent write-up about current sync state, by @karalabe: https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/issues/15001#issuecomment-370732526

[evertonfraga]

@Bogula

I have the impression that currently blocks are generated faster than they can be synced, and this is really frustrating. My client is always 100s of blocks behind latest_block and never finishes syncing.

please take a look at the link above for an explanation on this.

[great999]

ethereum = waist of time and money

[quasisamurai]

My geth is syncing about 35 days till start. Now i have about 158 million pulled states and it is not ended yet. :hankey: So I started it on 3 computers, and state is almost the same. Dunno how to get actual livenet.

[anthony-cros]

The light mode is working well for me, still using this setup. I haven't tried fast mode again lately though. NB: I use mist with the --rpc option pointing to my geth's .ipc.

[great999]

look for alternative because this is a way of wasting time

[adjiandov]

I am still having sync issues. I am using MacOS High Sierra 10.13.4 with Etherium Wallet using Geth 1.8.2 When I don't use lite mode I get stuck on the last 65 blocks. When I have lite enabled there are no peers to connect on that network, so I cannot know if it will sync.

[slugmandrew]

Same issue I think. Using Geth 1.8.7 on Win10. Have run geth removedb and then geth --syncmode=light. Let's see if that makes any difference.

It is SO annoying having to do this all over again. I am just trying to do a simple smart contract tutorial!

@Bogula Come try Stratis... they're announcing smart contracts in C# tomorrow (aplha). In my experience they are a really excellent team and their tech speaks for itself.