I am a non-tech novice and I managed to get Start9 running with Bitcoin Knots and the other associated modules, including a Lightning wallet.
An old MS Surface Pro laptop was washed and set up for this purpose and the datafiles were sent to a new 2Tb external SSD with a USB-C connection.
Eventually, with some assistance from this forum, the entire BTC blockchain was downloaded and the node was running well for several months.
I managed to get some Sats into the Lightning wallet but could not yet figure out how to get these Sats back into the original wallet.
When I came back from a long road trip, the system was not working. The external SSD did not respond and had to be sent to a data recovering service by my IT support. A password is required to retrieve these files. The Start9 password does not work and I have not noted down any other passwords, so I am at a loss.
I have not yet set up a backup system for the data files on the external SSD.
Any advice will be appreciated.
The best option may be to bite the bullet and start again with downloading the BTC blockchain on a new and better quality external SSD and to add a backup external SSD.
I will need advice on the backup system, as none of the videos that I had watched to get the system going had anything on a backup system.
Thank you in advance.
Matt
My recommendation would be to not use an “old” device for anything important, and to not use a USB drive while you’re add it. It’s fine for experimenting and learning, but as soon as your money is involved, you should take much more care.
The data recovery guys can definitely get access to the data if they’re asking for a password, and they’d just need to read the guide.
If they’ve been able to repair the drive enough to clone the raw encrypted data to a new drive, you’ll be able to simply transfer it to a new StartOS server setup. Having them decrypt and extract it, probably doesn’t benefit you.
Thank you very much for that, fellas. I was just experimenting and learning and the sage advice will be heeded.