Back-up your wallet.dat !!
Every crypto wallet has two components to it. The data directory, and the actual wallet software. The wallet software, usually referred to as the "QT" to differentiate from the linux daemon version, paper wallet, light wallet, etc - will always look for the data directory. Inside that directory there are a bunch of "system files", including your wallet.dat.
Wallet.dat is a file, and you should treat it like any word or excel document. That file contains ALL your send/receive addresses and ALL your transaction. So, you can get that file into a pen and go half-way around the planet, download the latest version of the Potcoin-QT wallet, import your wallet.dat, sync to the network, and all your funds will be there exactly like at home.
First thing to do is password protect your wallet.dat, backup and rename it so you don't forget/mix-up with others or what it is!
Give it a nice long password you'll never forget, print it out and file it safe. If you forget the password, bye bye funds! Once you type the password twice, the program will shut down. Simply re-open it.
Next backup. Backup only necessary once for the first 100 addresses. So rule of thumb, back-up sensibly once in a while, and make multiple copies and store them in different devices like pen drives in a safe, back-up HDD in a cupboard etc.
I will not discuss paper-wallets here as that is a more advanced operation. But essentially they are an individual address (not entire wallet!) that never touches the internet, create some codes and print them out to paper, lock them in a safe, and "send funds to it". Remember that crypto-currencies live in the blockchain. You merely possess the keys to unlock them.
Each address has a public and private key. You give out the public key to anyone, but keep secret the private key. Your wallet.dat is a collection of addresses that stores all your public and private keys, with one master password to lock/unlock them all up.
Give it a friendly name and location and save.
Keep it safe.
Even if in the future you create new addresses and get funded, the wallet will know for the first 100 address. This is called the keypool. Nevermind this
But or reference, after the first 100 receive addresses generated, you need to make another backup. Chances are very low though. You can have infinite send addresses, but first backup is only good for 100 receive-addresses.
*Important Notice*
You can call your backup wallet whatever you like, and have multiple wallets on one computer. You can only uses one wallet at a time though. When importing back, it can only be called "wallet.dat" - otherwise the QT fill not find it and will create a blank one.
! Im off to the park with a toddler but as soon as nap time comes this thread is an immediate read!
