Available balance show 0.0 after trades

I have a negligible open offer and incoming 0.13 BTC which is not yet in the history. I have looked at past experiences of such cases and only few have worked. The dilemma is this: the old wallet has been replaced with faulty one which is no more password protected (in which file are passwords saved, since password is used to generate some keys, I think?). I can’t use cntrl + e or cntrl + j on it (will not get correct balance or private keys). To restore wallet with seed words, the original data base is needed, but it is either completely deleted (to reinstall) or corrupted. Perhaps, I could get correct private keys by seeds restore, then sweep the addresses for coins into a wallet but that means to destroy Bisq wallet and stop using it or start with a new one with lost history and a few transactions (i don’t really want to do that). Could there be another way to get the originally backedup keys back into the wallet to restore it? I may need to study the code to see how the wallet is started (from which ProtoBuffer file), assuming the theory that it is now reading from the wrong file.

If I were a developer, I would jump on this case, which is basically testing the robustness of Bisq. I have come to see Bisq as pretty secure from external malice, but security should include safety from self-inflicted operational harm. On started Bisq, the code to search for keys(pairs) could be improved to be fail-proof. Right now it probably searches for the first file with a certain name (without testing the originality of that file, e.g. test if file was created on date of creation of wallet) and if search doesn’t find the file, it probably creates a new wallet … Another curiosity is that the AppData updates propagate into a backup copy of the installation data which I made in a private file (there’s linking of views? that’s why the new wallet can see history of original wallet?). So when I deleted AppData to reinstall, the new AppData probably got updated with missing files from the private backup file. If that is the case, I didn’t know and saved a text logfile I viewed with my own name in the private backup, thus disrupting the mutual view of copied folders further. If so, a warning could be given to users not to change anything in even a copy of the AppData… In short, I believe the Bisq file management code can still be optimized to minimize dislodging of databases…

Help and good news!?

I deleted the corrupted backup folders and replaced 4 folders in AppData’s btc_mainnet (db, keys, tor, wallet) with the original backedup ones at 1st installation. Then I reinstalled Bisq, which didn’t prompt me for a password. After syncing, it shows me a little more than half the balance in only one wallet (trading one), other wallets are not there. What can I do to get the funds in other addresses. I plan to empty the wallet to external and then restore wallet from seed word…

There is a problem with restoring from seeds (uncompleted trades). When my old wallet was replaced by a new one, I probably got new onions and those trades can’t find me now. How can I get original onion address and other multisig BTC addresses used recently in trades? Or I should sweep with the keys into Electrum? I am thinking to extract not corrupted files (saved before 3/15, last-but-5 files) into corresponding folder of restored wallet…

I am not sure what is going on. Quite a complex problem you have here.
Using Electrum to restore with your seed words is the first thing I would do in your situation and recover whatever bitcoins I can first.
Then if you are missing some funds, you can look into the problem some more. To determine what happened to those bitcoins.

Thanks, Alexij, for being available always to those in trouble. Bisq warns that I can’t restore wallet using seeds with open trades without losing them (not exact), so how can a different wallet be able to do it? (Yes, it can & new wallet won’t corrupt its backups). I used a different method (replacing bad db files with old ones) to see most of the balance and recover what was in the main BTC address. I now want to add backup files of OpenOffers and pendingTrades to wallet db to see what happens. Last resort is Electrum. Tell the developers to put warnings into Bisq for file management (warn when immutable files are being edited/moved/deleted or read by wallet or just lock them down).

:slight_smile:

Ok, so quick recap here. You recovered most of your bitcoins that were in your wallet, correct?
Now you are worried about bitcoins that are reserved for some of your other trades?
Did those trades start or are they only there as open offers?

I would advise Electrum as first resort in your case :smiley: It can’t hurt. Bisq might see some of your bitcoins as reserved for a trade that never started, but only exist as an offer. In that case your bitcoins never left your wallet, Bisq just might not be showing it.

I am suggesting Electrum because your Bisq installation seems to not be working properly for whatever reason. It might be too complex to try to fix it, so just taking all the private keys (or seed words that will generate those keys) and putting it in an external wallet will give you as much of access to your bitcoins as Bisq ever could, the problem is only that Electrum can’t finish your trade, which in your case might have never began or might have already failed as the max period elapsed.

Correct!! Those other trades should have concluded by now, except 1 open offer. Though I couldn’t see them, I have withdrawn them using the emergency wallet tool!!! Hurray!!!

The important thing is to restore the wallet to read the original keys, which I did using backup data at installation. So, if one suddenly gets a new Bisq wallet with wrong or no balances, it is safe to restore the old wallet from the new one using the original seed words without the need to use Electrum. The only problem is that it may have been due to a corrupted database which may continue with the restored wallet. That is why I preferred to just replace db with original backup. Once that is done (old private keys restored), ctrl + e shows the balances, which can then be withdrawn (remember to click ‘include mining fee’ button). I finally didn’t use Electrum because I thought it could be riskier (may not release locked-up openTrades) and more involving (identifying/copying/transfering private keys 1-by-1), etc… Thanks a million for the stoic patience and calmness of all of you reading!

I went a step further with experimenting. I used 4 good backup files to add to the Appdata’s db (AddressEntryList, openOffers, FailedTrades & pendingTrades, all saved up to date before problem day). It shows that I still have 0.01 BTC locked-up in a disputed trade (ID DZJjo, I didn’t put bank message), but I don’t know how to contact arbitrator 3b7cft5k4ae6a236 (Beams?). Or I should add to db disputeList file, which backed-up on the day the problem arose? (I did that and the dispute support showed, so I added a screenshot of the payment).

I think this is @keo

Maybe he can tell us what happened with the trade DZJjo
If it is still in arbitration, maybe he can help you out.

Yes, I arbitrated this and the dispute is closed. I see no problem with the payout. I suspect there is an inconsistency somewhere in the db or so, but I cannot help with this.

Keo