I have been gradually buying BTS and really want Bitshares to prosper. I also realize that the developers work very hard for very little and I am hesitant to complain. However I am really frustrated by the Windows client installation procedure, and I doubt I am the only one, and I can’t help but think these problems are having a big negative effect on Bitshares adoption. I cringe whenever there is a mandatory upgrade because I know it won’t go smoothly and will inevitably result in me having to download the blockchain yet again thus taking up a lot of time and using up about 30% of my monthly download allowance (I have a satellite connection with monthly download limits). There really needs to be an easy-to-find set of installation instructions with trouble-shooting procedures if something goes wrong.
Here are a few things I have experienced:
When I start the client I get a window that says “Starting Bitshares” but nothing happens even if I wait for a half hour.
I have tried deleting config.json and letting the system recreate it. This has never helped.
I get a Critical Error Message Window: An error occurred while trying to start. Please try restarting the application. This, of course, never helps.
Sometimes it will tell me that my database needs to be re-set. This never seems to help either.
Also, I don’t understand what the “Check for Updates” option. It always says No updates are available, but when the synchronization gets stuck, it’s usually because an upgrade is required, and it turns out that there is an upgrade available.
What I usually end up doing is to:
1) Make a backup copy of C:\Users\MyName\AppData\Roaming\Bitshares
2) Delete the whole C:\Users\MyName\AppData\Roaming\Bitshares folder
3) Start Bitshares client and then close it when it asks me to create a new wallet
4) Copy the wallets subfolder back into: C:\Users\MyName\AppData\Roaming\Bitshares folder
5) Start the client again and wait for it to sync up the blockchain again
6) Make sure that my bitshares balance is the same as it was before the upgrade