Situations · The discarded computer
I had crypto on a PC I threw away years ago: is there anything left?
If the computer no longer exists, nothing is recovered from that computer: there is no server, no remote copy and nothing to claim. But the computer was rarely the only place, and that is where the cases that do end well turn up.
The four places people forget
- External hard drives and USB sticks. Many people made a copy «just in case» and left it in a drawer. Check every one you own, even the ones you think are empty.
- Emails you sent yourself. Search for words like wallet, backup or the name of the program you used. Small attachments go unnoticed for years.
- Cloud folders. If you synced your documents folder or desktop, a copy of the wallet may have been sitting up there ever since.
- Paper. If you ever wrote something down, that paper may be in a notebook, a document folder or at your parents’ house.
Before getting excited: check there was anything
Many people remember «mining a bit» or «buying some» and it turns out it was spent, lost on an exchange that shut down, or amounts that are still small today. If you remember an address, or find one in an old email, look it up on a block explorer: in thirty seconds you will know whether there is anything worth fighting for. See how to check if your funds are still there.
If someone else has the computer
If you sold it, gave it away or took it to a recycling point, forget it: you won’t get it back, and if someone found the wallet there is no practical way to know or to claim it. If you gave it to a relative or a friend and it is still at someone’s house, that is your best lead of all.