pull down to refresh
61 sats \ 6 replies \ @MathiuJ 12 Feb 2023 \ on: Using a HDD instead of SSD for a node bitcoin
I am currently running my node using an old 2016-era laptop with a HDD. Like
@Eximpius and @Roll said, it takes longer to sync at first, but once it has downloaded/validated the chain, the difference is negligible. For reference, it took approximately five weeks for my old HDD laptop to sync up when I first started the node.
The whole idea of Bitcoin is to ensure that the masses don't have to spend a ton of money on specialized equipment to contribute to the network; decentralization mindset makes it so that folks with older, low-spec hardware can still help because of low bandwidth requirements and small block sizes. Even if you don't have an old CPU with enough space to download the entire blockchain, you can still run a pruned node and decide how much space you are will to to dedicate to storing part of the blockchain. Don't spend a lot of money on sexy new hardware if possible; run a node with what you have on hand.
Have you ever had to rescan the blockchain for balances -- for example: adding a xpub to help a friend troubleshoot a wallet? How much longer would it take to rescan 1 year or more of transactions?
reply
I typical don't do these types of things with my node; in your proposed situation I would tell my friend to use Blockonomics Address Tracker (https://www.blockonomics.co/blockonomics#/addresswatcher) or Cointracker (https://www.cointracker.io/) to see the transaction history of their extended public key, vice using the command line commands in Bitcoin Core to look it up on my personal node. I also use https://bitnodes.io/ to track the status of my node, ensuring that it is still visible to the network via incoming connections and thus contributing. But, in general, unless there is a reason for me to not trust what I am seeing on these websites, I just use these other sites for analytic data about the network and my wallets because they have an easier user interface.
reply
Spook !!! I would not recommend posting your XPUBs on a website. They can link you're IP address with all your addresses. At least use Tor. Even using Tor all your UTXOs will be linked together by the service and this data can be leaked.
reply
I agree with @zazon, What is the point of running a full node, if you're going to leak your xpubs in other wallet information to hosted services?
You might as well not even run the full node, and just use a SPV wallet like Electrum or Sparrow.
reply
I respect that maximizing privacy and/or anonymity in your transactions on the public Bitcoin ledger may be the primary overriding priority for you, @DemandUtopia, and @zazon while running a full node, but that is not the case for me. Thank you for your recommendations concerning extended public keys and unspent transaction outputs; I hope that my comments were of some value to you both as well concerning operation of a node using a HDD.
reply
Good news ! Still ok to sync with a 2TB HDD under 70usd.
reply