Auroracoin wallet.dat Recovery: Locate & Restore Keys
If you used the original Auroracoin Core wallet, everything that controls your coins was stored in one small file called wallet.dat. Finding that file on an old laptop, an external drive or a forgotten backup folder can mean finding your Auroracoin again. Your balance is still recorded on the blockchain. The wallet.dat file holds the private keys that let you spend it.
This guide shows you how to find the file, protect it, deal with a forgotten password and move the coins into a modern wallet safely.
Step zero: protect the file before you do anything
The most important step comes before any recovery attempt. Do not open the file in a wallet program yet. Do not rename it, edit it or upload it anywhere.
From now on, only ever work with a copy. If a program damages the file during recovery, you still have the untouched original. Wallet files can be corrupted by a crash halfway through a write, and there is no undo button.
- Copy wallet.dat to a USB drive.
- Copy it again to a second, separate USB drive.
- Label both drives and store one somewhere away from your computer.
Where to find wallet.dat
The legacy Auroracoin Core program kept its files in a hidden data folder. The usual locations were:
Some people chose a custom data folder during installation, so also search your whole drive for the name wallet.dat. Check old backup drives, cloud folders you used years ago and any folder named Auroracoin, AUR or Wallet. If you find several copies, keep every one of them. An older copy may contain keys that a newer one does not, and the reverse is also possible.
Many older Bitcoin-based wallets also named their file wallet.dat. If you are not sure which coin a file belongs to, keep it safe and check it later rather than deleting it.
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Auroracoin\wallet.dat (type %APPDATA% into the File Explorer address bar to open the hidden folder)
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Auroracoin/wallet.dat (in Finder, choose Go, then Go to Folder)
- Linux: ~/.auroracoin/wallet.dat (the folder name starts with a dot, so show hidden files)
The password question
When you created your old wallet, you may have encrypted it with a password. If so, the file is useless without that password, and this is by design.
Nobody can reset it. Not the Auroracoin Foundation, not the Aurora Wallet developers, not miners and not any company. There is no master key and no support desk that can unlock it. Anyone claiming they can "crack" your wallet for a fee is almost certainly running a scam, and many of them simply steal the coins once they have your file.
What you can do is try to remember. Write down every password you used around the time you created the wallet, including small variations such as different capital letters, added numbers or old keyboard layouts. Try them one at a time on a copy of the file, offline.
Import or sweep: which one is safer?
Once you can open your old keys, there are two ways to get the coins into a modern wallet.
Importing adds the old keys to your new wallet. The coins stay at the old addresses, guarded by keys that have lived for years on an old computer. If that computer ever had malware, or the file was ever copied somewhere, those keys may not be private any more.
Sweeping sends the whole balance from the old keys to a new address in your new wallet, in one ordinary on-chain transaction. After a sweep, the old keys guard nothing. Your coins are protected only by your new 12 or 24-word recovery phrase.
We strongly recommend sweeping. Aurora Wallet is designed to include a guided option for moving legacy balances into your new wallet, so you do not need to handle raw keys yourself. Until that tool is confirmed, the simplest safe route is to open the copy of wallet.dat in the original Core wallet and send the balance to a fresh Aurora Wallet address.
Step by step: move your coins to Aurora Wallet
- Download Aurora Wallet from the official download page only, and check the file before you open it.
- Create a new wallet. Write the recovery phrase on paper, in order, and store it safely. Do not photograph it.
- Copy a receiving address from Aurora Wallet. It starts with the letter A.
- Open your wallet.dat copy in the legacy Auroracoin Core program, using a computer you trust, and let it sync. Enter your password when asked.
- Send the full balance to your new Aurora Wallet address. Double-check the first and last few characters of the address before confirming.
- Wait for confirmations. Aurora Wallet will show the incoming transaction. Wait until it is confirmed before closing the old wallet.
- Keep your old backups. Store the original wallet.dat safely. It is useful for your records and costs nothing to keep.
If the file seems damaged
If the old wallet refuses to open the file or reports corruption, stay calm. Work only on a copy. The legacy Core program had a command-line salvage option intended to rescue keys from a damaged file. Results vary, and it should only ever be tried on a duplicate. If salvage fails, put the copies away safely rather than sending the file to strangers. Recovery tools improve over time, and a preserved file can be tried again later.
Never upload your wallet.dat
Online "wallet converters", recovery websites and helpers on social media are the single most common way old wallets get emptied. A wallet.dat file is effectively your money. Treat it like cash in an envelope: keep it, copy it, but never hand it to someone you do not know.
Frequently asked questions
Start your recovery
Aurora Wallet is designed to give your recovered Auroracoin a modern home with a clear recovery phrase backup. Download it from the official page and follow the steps above.
Ready for a calmer Auroracoin wallet?
Get Aurora Wallet for Windows, macOS or Linux from the one official download page, and check the file before you install.
Download Aurora Wallet