Skip to content

README.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
339 lines (248 loc) · 13.5 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

339 lines (248 loc) · 13.5 KB

Running Mist with Historical Geth Versions

This guide documents compatibility between Mist/Ethereum Wallet and historical Geth versions for the Ethereum Time Machine project.

Overview

Mist (and Ethereum Wallet) connects to Geth via IPC. The IPC protocol evolved over time, so version matching is critical. Using a Mist version that's too new for your Geth will result in IPC response format mismatches and crashes.

Confirmed Working Combinations

Geth Version Mist/Wallet Version Status
1.1.0 (Aug 2015) 0.2.6 (Sep 2015) Confirmed working
1.3.6 (Apr 2016) 0.7.4 (May 2016) Confirmed working
1.3.x (Early 2016) 0.3.7 - 0.3.8 Expected to work
1.4.x (Mid 2016) 0.7.x - 0.8.0 Expected to work

Database Migration

Geth supports upgrading chaindata between versions:

  • 1.1.0 → 1.3.6: Works. Shows "found old database" and performs lengthy upgrade.
  • Copy the data directory to a new folder before running newer Geth to preserve original.

Complete Mist/Ethereum Wallet Release Table

All releases include both macOS and Windows 64-bit binaries.

Version Date macOS Binary Windows Binary Bundled Node Notes
0.2.6 Sep 16, 2015 Yes Yes ~1.1.x (estimated) First public release, Ethereum Wallet only
0.3.1 Oct 13, 2015 Yes Yes Unknown
0.3.2 Oct 17, 2015 Yes Yes Unknown
0.3.4 Oct 30, 2015 Yes Yes Unknown
0.3.5 Nov 2, 2015 Yes Yes geth 1.3.1 First confirmed geth version
0.3.6 Nov 13, 2015 Yes Yes geth 1.2.2
0.3.7 Dec 3, 2015 Yes Yes Unknown
0.3.8 Jan 11, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.3.3 Last pre-Homestead release
0.4.0 Feb 9, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.5.0 Mar 1, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.3.5 First Homestead-ready release
0.5.1 Mar 14, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.3.5 Homestead mainnet launch version
0.5.2 Mar 21, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.3.6
0.6.0 Apr 7, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.6.1 Apr 12, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.6.2 Apr 14, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.3.6
0.7.0 Apr 26, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.7.1 Apr 28, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.7.2 May 4, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.3
0.7.3 May 13, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.7.4 May 26, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.5 First geth 1.4.x release
0.7.5 Jun 3, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.5
0.7.6 Jun 17, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.6 Last pre-DAO release
0.8.0 Jul 8, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.8 First Mist Browser (pre-DAO fork)
0.8.1 Jul 17, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.10 DAO fork support
0.8.2 Aug 5, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.11
0.8.3 Sep 28, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.12
0.8.4 Oct 14, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.18
0.8.5 Oct 21, 2016 Yes Yes Unknown
0.8.6 Oct 25, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.4.18
0.8.7 Nov 14, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.5.2 First geth 1.5.x
0.8.8 Dec 2, 2016 Yes Yes geth 1.5.4
0.8.9 Jan 13, 2017 Yes Yes geth 1.5.6
0.8.10 Apr 25, 2017 Yes Yes geth 1.6.1 First geth 1.6.x
0.9.0 Aug 22, 2017 Yes Yes geth 1.6.7 Byzantium-ready
0.9.1 Oct 2, 2017 Yes Yes geth 1.7.1 First geth 1.7.x
0.9.2 Oct 17, 2017 Yes Yes geth 1.7.2
0.9.3 Jan 25, 2018 Yes Yes geth 1.7.3
0.10.0 May 2, 2018 Yes Yes geth 1.8.6 First geth 1.8.x
0.11.0 Sep 26, 2018 Yes Yes geth 1.8.16
0.11.1 Mar 27, 2019 Yes Yes geth 1.8.23 Final release

Ethereum Hard Forks and Minimum Geth Versions

Fork Block Date Minimum Geth
Frontier 0 Jul 30, 2015 v1.0.0
Frontier Thawing 200,000 Sep 7, 2015 v1.0.0
Homestead 1,150,000 Mar 14, 2016 v1.3.5
DAO Fork 1,920,000 Jul 20, 2016 v1.4.10
Tangerine Whistle 2,463,000 Oct 18, 2016 v1.4.18
Spurious Dragon 2,675,000 Nov 22, 2016 v1.5.0
Byzantium 4,370,000 Oct 16, 2017 v1.7.0

Important: An old geth version cannot sync past a hard fork it doesn't support. It will stop at the fork block.

macOS Compatibility

Go Runtime Issues

Old geth binaries (v1.3.x, v1.4.x) were compiled with Go 1.5/1.6 which has memory allocator issues on macOS 10.13+ (High Sierra and later). This causes crashes with errors like:

runtime: MSpanList_Insert

Recommended macOS Versions for Old Geth

macOS Version Codename Release Date Old Geth Compatibility Mist Compatibility
10.6 Snow Leopard Aug 2009 Unknown - very old None
10.7 Lion Jul 2011 Best bet for geth 1.3.x None - Mist requires 10.8+
10.8 Mountain Lion Jul 2012 Good candidate 0.2.6, 0.3.6, 0.3.7
10.9 Mavericks Oct 2013 Good candidate All versions
10.10 Yosemite Oct 2014 Good candidate All versions
10.11 El Capitan Sep 2015 Good candidate All versions
10.12 Sierra Sep 2016 Sweet spot - usable browsers, likely works All versions
10.13 High Sierra Sep 2017 Go runtime issues begin All versions

Note: Mist/Ethereum Wallet requires at least macOS 10.8 (Mountain Lion). Users on Lion (10.7) must use geth console instead.

macOS Internet Recovery

  • Cmd+Option+R: Installs latest compatible macOS (usually too new)
  • Cmd+Shift+Option+R: Installs original macOS the Mac shipped with

To downgrade from a newer version, you must erase the disk first.

macOS Installer Downloads

For installing macOS 10.12 Sierra (recommended for old geth), download the installer from Apple:

The DMG is ~5GB. For FAT32 USB drives (4GB limit), split with:

split -b 3G InstallOS.dmg InstallOS.dmg.part.

Reassemble on the Mac with:

cat InstallOS.dmg.part.* > InstallOS.dmg

Browser/TLS Issues on Old macOS

Safari and other browsers on macOS 10.7-10.9 cannot access most modern HTTPS websites due to TLS 1.2/certificate issues. However:

  • Ethereum's devp2p protocol (port 30303) uses RLPx encryption, not TLS
  • Geth networking should work even if browsers don't
  • Use USB drives or SSH/SCP for file transfers

File Transfer to Old Macs

Since old macOS versions can't browse modern websites:

Method Protocol Notes
USB Drive FAT32 Universal, format with: mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sdX1
SSH/SCP SSH Works if SSH enabled on old Mac
SMB Share SMB May work with SMB1 on old macOS
AFP Share AFP Native Apple protocol, best compatibility

Version Timeline

Geth Releases (2015-2016)

Version Date Era
v1.0.0 Jul 30, 2015 Frontier launch
v1.1.0 Aug 25, 2015 Frontier
v1.1.3 Sep 10, 2015 Frontier
1.2.1 Oct 1, 2015 Frontier
1.3.3 Jan 2016 Frontier/Homestead
1.3.5 Mar 2016 Homestead
1.3.6 Apr 1, 2016 Homestead

Win64 Binary Downloads

Frontier Era (Geth 1.1.0)

Version Filename Size Link
0.2.6 Ethereum-Wallet-win32-x64-0-2-6.zip 67 MB Download
0.3.6 Mist-win64-0-3-6.zip 86 MB Download
0.3.7 Ethereum-Wallet-win64-0-3-7.zip 91 MB Download

Homestead Era (Geth 1.3.6)

Version Filename Size Link
0.7.4 Ethereum-Wallet-win64-0-7-4.zip 70 MB Download
0.7.5 Ethereum-Wallet-win64-0-7-5.zip 102 MB Download
0.7.6 Ethereum-Wallet-win64-0-7-6.zip 106 MB Download
0.8.0 Ethereum-Wallet-win64-0-8-0.zip 103 MB Download

macOS Binary Downloads

Frontier Era (Geth 1.1.0)

Version Filename Size Min macOS Link
0.2.6 Ethereum-Wallet-darwin-x64-0-2-6.zip 53 MB 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Download
0.3.6 Mist-macosx-0-3-6.zip 87 MB 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Download
0.3.7 Ethereum-Wallet-macosx-0-3-7.zip 92 MB 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Download

Homestead Era (Geth 1.3.6)

Version Filename Size Min macOS Link
0.7.4 Ethereum-Wallet-macosx-0-7-4.zip 79 MB 10.9 (Mavericks) Download
0.7.5 Ethereum-Wallet-macosx-0-7-5.zip 69 MB 10.9 (Mavericks) Download
0.7.6 Ethereum-Wallet-macosx-0-7-6.zip 73 MB 10.9 (Mavericks) Download
0.8.0 Ethereum-Wallet-macosx-0-8-0.zip 69 MB 10.9 (Mavericks) Download

Geth Win64 Binaries

Version Filename Link
v1.1.0 Geth-Win64-20150825140940-1.1.0-fd512fa.zip Download
v1.3.3 Geth-Win64-20160105141035-1.3.3-c541b38.zip Download
v1.3.5 Geth-Win64-20160303142914-1.3.5-34b622a.zip Download
v1.3.6 Geth-Win64-20160401105807-1.3.6-9e323d6.zip Download

IPC Connection Behavior

When Mist starts:

  1. Looks for geth.ipc at the default location
  2. If found → connects to running Geth
  3. If not found → starts bundled Geth

Windows IPC Path

\\.\pipe\geth.ipc

Default data directory:

%APPDATA%\Ethereum\

Force Mist to Use External Geth

Ethereum-Wallet.exe --rpc \\.\pipe\geth.ipc

Common Errors

"Cannot read property 'hash' of undefined"

Cause: Mist version too new for your Geth. The IPC response format changed.

Solution: Use an older Mist version closer to your Geth release date.

"Cannot read property 'error' of undefined"

Cause: Same as above - IPC protocol mismatch.

Solution: Try an even older Mist version.

Mist starts syncing from block 0

Cause: Mist couldn't find your running Geth and started its own bundled version.

Solution:

  1. Ensure Geth is running before starting Mist
  2. Use --rpc flag to specify IPC path
  3. Check that IPC is enabled in your Geth

Memory Considerations (4GB RAM Systems)

Component RAM Usage
Geth 1.1.0 (synced, idle) ~500-800 MB
Mist 0.2.6 ~400-600 MB
Total ~1-1.5 GB

Tips:

  • Close other applications when running Mist
  • Earlier Mist versions use less RAM
  • Run Geth externally (don't let Mist spawn its own)

Fallback: Geth Console

If no Mist version works, use Geth's JavaScript console:

geth attach

Common Console Commands

// List accounts
eth.accounts

// Create new account
personal.newAccount()

// Check balance (in ether)
web3.fromWei(eth.getBalance(eth.accounts[0]), "ether")

// Unlock account (required before sending)
personal.unlockAccount(eth.accounts[0], "password", 300)

// Send transaction
eth.sendTransaction({
  from: eth.accounts[0],
  to: "0xRecipientAddress",
  value: web3.toWei(1, "ether")
})

// Check transaction
eth.getTransaction("0xTxHash")

// Current block number
eth.blockNumber

// Sync status
eth.syncing

Tested Hardware

  • 2010 ThinkPads with Win64, 4GB RAM
  • Geth 1.1.0 + Mist 0.2.6: Working (Frontier)
  • Geth 1.3.6 + Mist 0.7.4: Working (Homestead)

Recommendations for Historical Research

To Run Frontier-Era Ethereum (Aug-Oct 2015)

  • Use Mist 0.2.6 or 0.3.5 with geth 1.1.x
  • macOS 10.7-10.12 recommended

To Run Homestead-Era Ethereum (Mar-Jul 2016)

  • Use Mist 0.5.0-0.7.6 with geth 1.3.5-1.4.6
  • macOS 10.11-10.12 recommended

To Run Post-DAO Fork Ethereum (Jul 2016+)

  • Use Mist 0.8.1+ with geth 1.4.10+
  • macOS 10.12 may still work

References