Installation Instructions for Kobo-1, Release 1.8.1

taming · 12-14-2010, 05:45 PM

Installation of 1.8.1 Original Kobo

I am updating this as things come up. Please read the whole (very long) post before you begin.

This update is only for the original Kobo--not the WiFi version.

On December 21, Kobo released 1.8.2 which addresses the problems people were having with Adobe DRM books. Please see JC Kobo's post for more information. Note that he recommends this update to anyone who is having related issues with 1.8.1. If all your problems are resolved, you can pass on this one, if you wish.

As far as I can tell, people who have 1.8 or 1.8.1 or 1.8.2 or 1.8.3 working properly need not do any new updates (in the 1.8.X series) if the reader is working well. Each of those incremental updates past 1.8.0 were created, to address difficulties people were having with the 1.8.0 update (and beyond). The features and function are the same for all of them.

The 1.8.3 release addresses an issue where KXML books were having repeating pages (this was the only change made from 1.8.2).

It works best if you to do a factory reset (in settings--advanced) before doing the update. If you pass on this, and have strange things happening, try a factory reset at that point.

If you have sideloaded books (books not added through sync with the desktop reader), things go more smoothly if you remove them if they are still on your reader after the factory reset.

The 0.7.34 Calibre version is Kobo 1.8.1 friendly. If you ran 1.8.1 with earlier versions, you may have a corrupted data base. There are other reasons, of course that folks sometimes have a corrupted Db.

If you do have a corrupted Db, then instructions for replacing it can be found here. . Please note: when you are installing a new database, in 1.8 you will replace 3 things: the entire images directory, kepub directory, and database. this is different than 1.4 which did not have a kepub directory. Your preloaded books will have dictionary support after you replace these files.

One MR user stated that after she did the update she replaced the db and re-synced. All of her Calibre loaded books were still there and she didn't have to re-authorize ADE at all. Since my reader is fine, I can't repeat this to confirm.

When you have done a factory reset you will have to reauthorize your Kobo reader with Adobe Digital Editions (if you load ePUB files).If you run out of authorizations in ADE, go to this page in Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions/. Look to your left, you will see "submit a web case". Make a request to have your authorizations reset. They seem to do this fairly quickly. The reader will appear to work without an authorization and not need a de-authorization and then a re-authorization, but it does. Instructions are in the WiKi for doing this.

Some Windows user may have to try the update twice. On some machines, the finding new hardware script interrupts the update. It looks like the script then completes, so the 2nd attempt at the update goes through just fine.

There is a small group of people that have downloaded the 1.8 firmware. Those people will have to do press Control+Shift+U (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+U (MAC) when the desktop application opens to get upgrades.

Anyone who has the 1.8 desktop will get the upgrade prompt if they plug in a 1.0 or 1.4 Kobo Reader.

Any Kobo Wi Fi users will get the new Desktop at the same rate as original Kobo users. They'll get the new Desktop features but there won't be any change to their Kobo Wi Fi's.

I asked Kobo staff about partners like Borders AU and they said: "We will be updating those partners soon. Right now the only people who are getting the 1.8 upgrades are those that see pink and teal in their desktop apps."

An unofficial Linux desktop application is now available. It is in the ongoing Linux thread here. Note: Kobo does not officially support Linux and this update is for Ubuntu.

The dictionary works on kepub files only. Books that are on your reader in the old kobo format will not have dictionary support. That means if you are doing an update from 1.0 or 1.4, any of the books that were on your reader before the update and stayed on the reader after it was done will NOT have dictionary support as they continue to be on in the old kobo format.

If Calibre sideloaded books stay in "I'm Reading", remember that you can change their status from the Calibre application. With the kobo plugged in and detected, go into "show books in main memory of the device" or "show books in storage slot a", depending on where the books are, and set the flag for "collections" to blank if they are showing up as "Im_reading". Setting the status as "Read" also works.

sabredog · 12-14-2010, 06:50 PM

Thanks Taming

This is good news!

Greenmantle · 12-14-2010, 06:50 PM

Any news on the SD card image?

taming · 12-14-2010, 06:55 PM

Greenmantle--I can't speak for kobo, but personally, I would be a bit surprised if they routinely make an SD card image available to folks if the update though the application goes well. In any case, I would not count on getting one in OZ before the partners there are actually offering the update.

All along Kobo has been saying that this update would be much easier than the last one, and it looks as if it is true, so far.

digital_steve · 12-14-2010, 07:42 PM

Good to hear they're going to support Linux a bit

taming · 12-14-2010, 07:52 PM

Part of the problem has been that there are so many distros out there. That could make it really hard on customer support (which, as we know, is pretty much overwhelmed as it is). Kobo staff talked about perhaps having more official support for Ubuntu down the road. At this point, it is an idea, not a plan.

Pookeysgirl · 12-14-2010, 08:07 PM

Am I missing something or what am I doing wrong? I just tried to update my reader. I got to step 5 and plugged it in and went through the windows* "Found New Hardware" wizard, at the end the wizard said that it couldn't find any software for this and asked if I wanted to keep my original software. I clicked yes and it took me back to the Kobo update page which said it was unable to detect my reader.

I called Kobo and spoke to a rep who had no idea what I was talking about. When I tried to explain what happened she rudely cut me off mid-sentence and told me to unplug my reader and do a factory reset (at the beginning of this conversation I specifically told her that I had the original Kobo, not the Wi-Fi version). I did the reset and she told me that she was just told by a manager that there isn't an update for this reader yet. She told me I need to put my reader back to v 1.7 or something like that. I told her again that I don't have the wi-fi version, I have the original Kobo on v 1.4 and asked her if I should try to update again. Again she tells me (quite rudely) that there is no update for this reader yet.

What do I do? Should I re-attempt the upgrade or wait? My Kobo seems to be working just fine still on v 1.4 so I'm pretty sure whatever problem I had during the update didn't do any damage.

*The exact wording on the windows setup wizard was "Cannot continue hardware update wizard. Wizard could not find a better match for your hardware than the software you currently have installed"

plaid · 12-14-2010, 08:20 PM

ok, I'm doing the update from 1.8 to the newer 1.8. It's interesting that the instructions on this one seem to use the older procedure from the 1.4 update. When I did the 1.8 update yesterday I only needed to push the menu and power buttons to get to update mode, but on today's version the instructions were to use the menu, center pad, and power button, and to have a paperclip ready. Looks so far like I won't need the paperclip.

Pookeysgirl · 12-14-2010, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plaid

ok, I'm doing the update from 1.8 to the newer 1.8. It's interesting that the instructions on this one seem to use the older procedure from the 1.4 update. When I did the 1.8 update yesterday I only needed to push the menu and power buttons to get to update mode, but on today's version the instructions were to use the menu, center pad, and power button, and to have a paperclip ready. Looks so far like I won't need the paperclip.

That's wierd, it says for me to press the menu + power buttons to get into upgrade mode. Could I be trying to update on the first release instead of the newer release?

plaid · 12-14-2010, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

Am I missing something or what am I doing wrong? I just tried to update my reader. I got to step 5 and plugged it in and went through the windows "Found New Hardware" wizard, at the end the wizard said that it couldn't find any software for this and asked if I wanted to keep my original software. I clicked yes and it took me back to the Kobo update page which said it was unable to detect my reader.

I didn't get the windows popup today but I did briefly yesterday when I installed the earlier update that was pulled. I think you should just ignore the windows "Found new hardware" wizard and just follow the kobo instructions

Pookeysgirl · 12-14-2010, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plaid

I didn't get the windows popup today but I did briefly yesterday when I installed the earlier update that was pulled. I think you should just ignore the windows "Found new hardware" wizard and just follow the kobo instructions

I tried to ignore it and Kobo still couldn't detect my reader.

djloewen · 12-14-2010, 08:35 PM

I've got the new firmware on my reader, and I can no longer hide the 100 preloaded books. I still have the choice of "all books", "my books" or "preloaded books". The third choice just shows the 100 titles, the first two choices show all 130. I have no way of just showing the 30 of my own. Can anyone else confirm this most grievous bug?

G0AT · 12-14-2010, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djloewen

I've got the new firmware on my reader, and I can no longer hide the 100 preloaded books. I still have the choice of "all books", "my books" or "preloaded books". The third choice just shows the 100 titles, the first two choices show all 130. I have no way of just showing the 30 of my own. Can anyone else confirm this most grievous bug?

I can confirm this. I noticed that in Calibre, all books now show as being in the Im_Reading list, which could be the reason for this. However, I also notice that the preloaded books aren't showing up in Calibre anymore, which means I can't edit this status. Quite annoying.

Suzanna · 12-14-2010, 08:41 PM

I have the same problem Pookeysgirl described when I tried to update my daughter's original Kobo. The error message after the "Found new hardware" popup stating it failed to install the needed software, and the Kobo that just sat there, in update mode, with the update wizard unable to detect it. Bypassing the "found new hardware" screen nets the same result.

Fortunately, resetting the device made the device usable again (with the 1.4 firmware.) I haven't tried my other daughter's Kobo yet. It's bedtime and they want their Kobos, so I'll have to check in here tomorrow after they've gone to school to see if anyone has found a work around.

sabredog · 12-14-2010, 08:54 PM

Hmm, well that is not a good development, as I hide the 100 pre-loaded books.

12-14-2010, 05:45 PM	#1
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Installation Instructions for Kobo-1, Release 1.8.1 Installation of 1.8.1 Original Kobo I am updating this as things come up. Please read the whole (very long) post before you begin. This update is only for the original Kobo--not the WiFi version. On December 21, Kobo released 1.8.2 which addresses the problems people were having with Adobe DRM books. Please see JC Kobo's post for more information. Note that he recommends this update to anyone who is having related issues with 1.8.1. If all your problems are resolved, you can pass on this one, if you wish. As far as I can tell, people who have 1.8 or 1.8.1 or 1.8.2 or 1.8.3 working properly need not do any new updates (in the 1.8.X series) if the reader is working well. Each of those incremental updates past 1.8.0 were created, to address difficulties people were having with the 1.8.0 update (and beyond). The features and function are the same for all of them. The 1.8.3 release addresses an issue where KXML books were having repeating pages (this was the only change made from 1.8.2). It works best if you to do a factory reset (in settings--advanced) before doing the update. If you pass on this, and have strange things happening, try a factory reset at that point. If you have sideloaded books (books not added through sync with the desktop reader), things go more smoothly if you remove them if they are still on your reader after the factory reset. The 0.7.34 Calibre version is Kobo 1.8.1 friendly. If you ran 1.8.1 with earlier versions, you may have a corrupted data base. There are other reasons, of course that folks sometimes have a corrupted Db. If you do have a corrupted Db, then instructions for replacing it can be found here. . Please note: when you are installing a new database, in 1.8 you will replace 3 things: the entire images directory, kepub directory, and database. this is different than 1.4 which did not have a kepub directory. Your preloaded books will have dictionary support after you replace these files. One MR user stated that after she did the update she replaced the db and re-synced. All of her Calibre loaded books were still there and she didn't have to re-authorize ADE at all. Since my reader is fine, I can't repeat this to confirm. When you have done a factory reset you will have to reauthorize your Kobo reader with Adobe Digital Editions (if you load ePUB files).If you run out of authorizations in ADE, go to this page in Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions/. Look to your left, you will see "submit a web case". Make a request to have your authorizations reset. They seem to do this fairly quickly. The reader will appear to work without an authorization and not need a de-authorization and then a re-authorization, but it does. Instructions are in the WiKi for doing this. Some Windows user may have to try the update twice. On some machines, the finding new hardware script interrupts the update. It looks like the script then completes, so the 2nd attempt at the update goes through just fine. There is a small group of people that have downloaded the 1.8 firmware. Those people will have to do press Control+Shift+U (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+U (MAC) when the desktop application opens to get upgrades. Anyone who has the 1.8 desktop will get the upgrade prompt if they plug in a 1.0 or 1.4 Kobo Reader. Any Kobo Wi Fi users will get the new Desktop at the same rate as original Kobo users. They'll get the new Desktop features but there won't be any change to their Kobo Wi Fi's. I asked Kobo staff about partners like Borders AU and they said: "We will be updating those partners soon. Right now the only people who are getting the 1.8 upgrades are those that see pink and teal in their desktop apps." An unofficial Linux desktop application is now available. It is in the ongoing Linux thread here. Note: Kobo does not officially support Linux and this update is for Ubuntu. The dictionary works on kepub files only. Books that are on your reader in the old kobo format will not have dictionary support. That means if you are doing an update from 1.0 or 1.4, any of the books that were on your reader before the update and stayed on the reader after it was done will NOT have dictionary support as they continue to be on in the old kobo format. If Calibre sideloaded books stay in "I'm Reading", remember that you can change their status from the Calibre application. With the kobo plugged in and detected, go into "show books in main memory of the device" or "show books in storage slot a", depending on where the books are, and set the flag for "collections" to blank if they are showing up as "Im_reading". Setting the status as "Read" also works. Last edited by taming; 01-16-2011 at 07:41 AM. Reason: keeping current

12-14-2010, 08:07 PM	#7
Pookeysgirl Wizard Posts: 1,705 Karma: 12696746 Join Date: May 2010 Device: K3, Kobo Mini	Am I missing something or what am I doing wrong? I just tried to update my reader. I got to step 5 and plugged it in and went through the windows* "Found New Hardware" wizard, at the end the wizard said that it couldn't find any software for this and asked if I wanted to keep my original software. I clicked yes and it took me back to the Kobo update page which said it was unable to detect my reader. I called Kobo and spoke to a rep who had no idea what I was talking about. When I tried to explain what happened she rudely cut me off mid-sentence and told me to unplug my reader and do a factory reset (at the beginning of this conversation I specifically told her that I had the original Kobo, not the Wi-Fi version). I did the reset and she told me that she was just told by a manager that there isn't an update for this reader yet. She told me I need to put my reader back to v 1.7 or something like that. I told her again that I don't have the wi-fi version, I have the original Kobo on v 1.4 and asked her if I should try to update again. Again she tells me (quite rudely) that there is no update for this reader yet. What do I do? Should I re-attempt the upgrade or wait? My Kobo seems to be working just fine still on v 1.4 so I'm pretty sure whatever problem I had during the update didn't do any damage. The exact wording on the windows setup wizard was "Cannot continue hardware update wizard. Wizard could not find a better match for your hardware than the software you currently have installed" Last edited by Pookeysgirl; 12-14-2010 at 08:24 PM. Reason: Put in exact wording from the wizard*

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12-14-2010, 06:50 PM	#2
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Thanks Taming This is good news!

12-14-2010, 06:50 PM	#3
Greenmantle Member Posts: 23 Karma: 16 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo	Any news on the SD card image?

12-14-2010, 06:55 PM	#4
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Greenmantle--I can't speak for kobo, but personally, I would be a bit surprised if they routinely make an SD card image available to folks if the update though the application goes well. In any case, I would not count on getting one in OZ before the partners there are actually offering the update. All along Kobo has been saying that this update would be much easier than the last one, and it looks as if it is true, so far.

12-14-2010, 07:42 PM	#5
digital_steve Muppet Posts: 240 Karma: 442 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tasmania Device: Kobo Aura HD, Sony PRS-650	Good to hear they're going to support Linux a bit

12-14-2010, 07:52 PM	#6
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Part of the problem has been that there are so many distros out there. That could make it really hard on customer support (which, as we know, is pretty much overwhelmed as it is). Kobo staff talked about perhaps having more official support for Ubuntu down the road. At this point, it is an idea, not a plan.

12-14-2010, 08:20 PM	#8
plaid Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 5434 Join Date: Sep 2004 Device: Kobo eReader	ok, I'm doing the update from 1.8 to the newer 1.8. It's interesting that the instructions on this one seem to use the older procedure from the 1.4 update. When I did the 1.8 update yesterday I only needed to push the menu and power buttons to get to update mode, but on today's version the instructions were to use the menu, center pad, and power button, and to have a paperclip ready. Looks so far like I won't need the paperclip.

12-14-2010, 08:35 PM	#12
djloewen Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 30 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo eReader	I've got the new firmware on my reader, and I can no longer hide the 100 preloaded books. I still have the choice of "all books", "my books" or "preloaded books". The third choice just shows the 100 titles, the first two choices show all 130. I have no way of just showing the 30 of my own. Can anyone else confirm this most grievous bug?

12-14-2010, 08:41 PM	#14
Suzanna Living in the past Posts: 432 Karma: 6011289 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Arc	I have the same problem Pookeysgirl described when I tried to update my daughter's original Kobo. The error message after the "Found new hardware" popup stating it failed to install the needed software, and the Kobo that just sat there, in update mode, with the update wizard unable to detect it. Bypassing the "found new hardware" screen nets the same result. Fortunately, resetting the device made the device usable again (with the 1.4 firmware.) I haven't tried my other daughter's Kobo yet. It's bedtime and they want their Kobos, so I'll have to check in here tomorrow after they've gone to school to see if anyone has found a work around.

12-14-2010, 08:54 PM	#15
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Hmm, well that is not a good development, as I hide the 100 pre-loaded books.