Install latest Monero GUI before fixing corrupted blockchain

Question

My computer did an automatic reset the other night, after which the daemon failed to restart. After trying a few recommendations found here I am still unable to restart the daemon and looking at the log files I highly suspect a corrupted blockchain. Since a full download/sync is needed, I figured I'd wait until the new GUI (v0.12.0.0) was released, however now I am not sure of the order of steps to take to make the transition easiest. My current GUI is v0.11.0.0 "Helium Hydra".

If I install the new GUI before deleting my likely corrupted blockchain, will this cause any problems when the new GUI tries to fetch my current wallet information? On the other hand, if I install the GUI after deleting the corrupted blockchain, but before re-downloading/syncing it, will this cause any problems when the GUI tries to fetch my current wallet information? By wallet information I mean "login" information, not balance (I suspect it won't get the balance because the blockchain is corrupted). Basically I don't want to have to restore the wallet from the seed, and want to make the blockchain re-sync as painless as possible.

Answer 1

The daemon and the wallet run independently of one another. The daemon is in charge of the blockchain, and it'll look up information for a wallet. The wallet doesn't have a copy of the blockchain. It manages your keys and transaction history.

With that said, it doesn't matter when you delete the blockchain. It will be semi-painful, since the IBD (initial block download) will take up to a couple days or more. Once you're caught up, though, you'll be fine.

In other words, the deleting of the blockchain doesn't affect your wallet. In fact, the GUI has a new feature called "Bootstrap daemon" which means you can connect to a remote node, while your daemon syncs in the background.