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Using Checkpoints to Sync Faster

Note: You can presently only use checkpoints with zentwallet; the command-line wallet.

Setup​

  • Proceed to https://github.com/ZentCashFoundation/checkpoints/
  • Right click one of the provided links and choose Save link as... to download checkpoints.csv.
  • Place checkpoints.csv in the same folder as your daemon(Zentd) and wallet(zentwallet).
  • You can get them both from here if you don't have them already.
  • Make sure you shut down any GUI wallets, or any other instances of Zentd.

Usage​

Windows​

  • First, open a command prompt in the same directory as Zentd.
  • This can easily be done by moving to the Zentd directory in Windows Explorer, then typing cmd in the search bar and hitting enter:
  • Finally, type Zentd.exe --load-checkpoints checkpoints.csv in the command prompt.

Linux, Mac​

  • First, open a command prompt in the same directory as Zentd.
  • You can use the cd command to change to this directory. For example, cd Downloads/ZentCash-v1.26.0
  • Alternatively, your file manager may provide the ability to open a terminal in your current directory. Navigate to the folder with Zentd in, and try right clicking, to see if you can open a terminal there:
  • Finally, type ./Zentd --load-checkpoints checkpoints.csv in the terminal.

Expected Output​

If you did the steps correctly, you should see something like this output.

2020-May-13 11:58:39.654478 INFO    Welcome to Zent v1.26.0.1310 ()
2020-May-13 11:58:39.654914 INFO    Module folder: Zentd
2020-May-13 11:58:39.655249 INFO    Loading Checkpoints for faster initial sync...
2020-May-13 11:58:40.854979 INFO    Loaded 435695 checkpoints from checkpoints.csv

  • Zentd will then start syncing from checkpoints.

  • If you are using zentwallet, then you can just wait for it to finish syncing, and open your wallet(leave the daemon open!).

  • If you are using a GUI wallet, let it finish syncing, close it down by typing exit in the window, then open your GUI wallet.

Common Errors​

Invalid checkpoint file format​

2020-May-13 12:10:08.325056 INFO    Loading Checkpoints for faster initial sync...
2020-May-13 12:10:08.339667 ERROR   Invalid checkpoint file format
2020-May-13 12:10:08.341758 ERROR   Exception: Failed to load checkpoints
  • If you see output like the above, the file you are opening is either not a .csv file, or hasn't been downloaded correctly.
  • Ensure you downloaded the file by right clicking, and choosing Save link as....
  • If you incorrectly chose the wrong file, you can accidentally download a html page instead.
  • When you open up the file, it should have lots of lines like this:
0,7c02559783a46e9401a1539cc90571f29b3f1cf231f5fea6b8fbbe09a16a4f29
1,869f7ee6fbf4a14334eb32e9b28849268301ae93bcd9538c57ac73f4cf3c1e7d
2,b551967e99b7916e566ea92ca249281b0dc6304aa0be3844625698f46282a323
  • If you absolutely can't get it working, you can make a new text file, copy all the content from here into it
  • Then save as checkpoints.csv (Select the filetype as All Files (*.*) in Windows)

Failed to load checkpoints​

2020-May-13 12:14:57.544286 INFO    Loading Checkpoints for faster initial sync...
2020-May-13 12:14:57.544569 ERROR   Could not load checkpoints file: checkpoints.csv
2020-May-13 12:14:57.544823 ERROR   Exception: Failed to load checkpoints
  • If you see output like the above, it means the file isn't present in the directory you are in.
  • Make sure you have placed the checkpoints.csv file in the same directory as Zentd.

Zentd.exe is not recognized / No such file or directory​

C:\Users\anon>Zentd.exe --load-checkpoints checkpoints.csv
'Zentd.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

bash: ./Zentd: No such file or directory

  • If you see output like one of the above, it means your terminal isn't in the same folder as the Zentd program.
  • You can type pwd (or dir on Windows) to see what folder you are currently in.
  • Try following the steps above to get into the right folder, then try again.
  • If you type ls(or dir on Windows), you should see the Zentd program, if you are in the correct folder:
[ZentCash-v1.26.0] ls
Zentd  Zent-service zentwallet miner wallet-api wallet-upgrader cryptotest

IO error​

2020-May-13 11:58:40.857058 INFO    Opening DB in /home/anon/.Zent/DB
2020-May-13 11:58:40.858174 ERROR   DB Error. DB can't be opened in /home/anon/.Zent/DB. Error: IO error: While lock file: /home/anon/.Zent/DB/LOCK: Resource temporarily unavailable
2020-May-13 11:58:40.873692 ERROR   Exception: IO error
  • If you see output like the above, something else has got the database open already.
  • Make sure you have closed down any other Zentd's, GUI wallets, and walletd.
  • Use a task manager to help you find any which might be running in the background, then try again.