Full Node Wallet

So you're having problems with Full Node (ZelCore or ZELmate/Swing)...

What is a full node wallet?

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A full node wallet uses a complete copy of the blockchain and a wallet file that holds the public/private key pairings to enable holding and transacting assets. It requires a lot of files and folders set up properly to function, but full node offers a lot of functionality that cannot be done with light addresses, and a working full node wallet is required for ZelNodes

Full node wallet is different than light/Portfolio wallet when you first log into ZelCore. The addresses between full node and light are not shared. You will need to Tx your collateral to your full node addresses.

Full Node requires:

• Either ZelCore or ZELmate/Swing wallet
• A fully downloaded and synced copy of the entire ZelCash chain (done automatically by the wallet).
• A properly configured zelcash.conf file to tell the wallet how to access the chain, p2p nodes, run the wallet and ZelNode, etc.

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Problems users are having:

* Stuck on "Connecting..." screen
* Not getting any peers and not syncing the chain
* ECONNREFUSED XXX errors
* "Fatal" warnings about contacting the Zel Team and closing the wallet
* Or any other problems causing you to not launch full node and begin syncing

For 99% of users, there are two main reasons that problems occur:

1. You had a previous full node setup on your system that:

   • is pointed at an old ZelCash chain (before the latest network upgrade)
   • one or more files/folders in your data directory (\AppData\Roaming\Zelcash) is corrupted with old data or you closed full node with a file being written to and it didnt close properly
   • the zelcash.conf file is improperly configured

2. You are setting up a full node for the first time and the configuration is not set up properly

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How to fix almost any problem with full node wallet

We are going to delete all corrupt data and start from scratch while retaining any previous addresses and ZelCash you had in an old full node wallet.

If you can open your full node wallet, dump the private keys to a text file and save in a secure location. Also back up your wallet.dat to a secure location (Google about "Cold Wallet USB" for best practices).

1. Completely shut down your full node wallet (ZelCore or ZELmate). Force close if you are stuck and can't close.
2. Find your data directory:
   Windows: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Zelcash\
   MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/zelcash/
   Linux: ~/.zelcash/
3. DO NOT DELETE ANY OF THE WALLET FILES OR ZELCASH.CONF FILES. Delete other files and folders to clear out any possible corruption.
   For example, in this picture, keep the wallet.dat, wallet.datXXXBACKUP, zelnode.conf, and zelcash.conf files, delete the rest
   
4. Use the bootstrap to drastically speed up the time to sync the new chain data copy:

• Download the bootstrap zip file (txindex is enabled for this bootstrap) Bootstrap w/ txindex Download
• Unzip the bootstrap. There will be two folders, blocks and chainstate.
• Navigate to your \Zelcash\ data directory
  • Windows: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Zelcash
  • MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/zelcash
  • Linux: ~/.zelcash/
• Copy the bootstrap folders and paste into your \Zelcash\ data directory. Overwrite the current blocks and chainstate folders if necessary.

5. Open your zelcash.conf file in the directory above, delete all the contents and paste in the below info.

• Make sure you have the same parameters as below. Change the rpcpassword to any password you want without the [ ]'s

rpcuser=username
rpcpassword=[RANDOMPASSWORD]
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
server=1
daemon=1
txindex=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=256
addnode=explorer.zel.cash
addnode=explorer.zel.zelcore.io

• Save and close the zelcash.conf file.

6. Launch the full node wallet (ZelCore or ZELmate/swing).
7. The bootstrap will automatically bring you to > Block 270,000, and will connect and sync the remaining blocks.
8. Wait until the wallet is completely synced. The % synced will go up and down as the heights and headers are synced.
   • Check the synced "height" of your wallet against the height on the ZelCash block explorer
   • When full node is fully synced, you will see any previous balance if there was ZelCash in your wallet.dat file.
   • You can now create a new Transparent address to hold your ZelNode collateral.

Notes:

• If you are 100% synced to the correct chain and do not see an address/balance you thought would be there, then your wallet.dat does not hold the address. You will need to check your backups to find the right wallet file.
• You can see what addresses are associated with a wallet.dat using the Web Wallet