Is Calibre compatible with Windows 8?

[dcdecker]

I may need a new computer soon and I will be forced to upgrade to Windows 8. Is Calibre as compatible with 8 as it is with 7? I have heard from friends and other forums that Calibre is very "glitchey" in W8.

[itimpi]

It runs fine for me on Windows 8.

[Adoby]

To me it seems that Win8, the computers that run Win8 or even possibly the owners of Win8 are glitchy. To me it seems that Microsoft has failed to verify that Win8 works correctly with all 3:rd party software, like calibre, before they released Win8. I suspect that this all is normal whenever Microsoft release a new Windows version, or a major update, and can be expected.

After a while bugs and problems in Win8 will be fixed with various patches and updates. And the owners learn to use Win8 and install and run 3:rd party software, like calibre, correctly. There seems to be some problems on some platforms for win8 to correctly run some 64 bit calibre.

Simultaneously the libraries inside calibre may be updated to compensate for bugs and glitches in Win8, and even calibre may be updated to handle bugs and quirks in Win8 that breaks compability with earlier versions of Windows.

If you want to avoid being a part of this process wait for a year(?) before getting a new version of windows or installing a major update or service pack.

[theducks]

Adoby
You have it backwards, You (3rd party) have to pay M$ to NOT break your software.
That is what the 'M$ Certified' label that we all bypass, is all about .

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by dcdecker

I may need a new computer soon and I will be forced to upgrade to Windows 8. Is Calibre as compatible with 8 as it is with 7? I have heard from friends and other forums that Calibre is very "glitchey" in W8.

Calibre is completely fine with Windows 8, both 32 bit and 64 bit.

Disregard the negative comments about the reliability of Windows 8, it is very stable and runs faster, more reliably, and is more compatible with applications and drivers than previous versions. Its installation is a breeze.

Some people have problems, but there again some always have problems of their own with something new, and, of course, a few encounter some local environment issue as may occasionally happen with any new software or update.

We run a wide variety of applications here on both 32 bit and 64 bit machines and some legacy applications on virtual machines in those too. Some of those applications are real time ones. We just haven't looked back, the whole lot, including some we were having some issues with under Windows 7, all run better.

There is a bit of a learning curve getting used to the new interfaces which now includes the ability to use "Modern" apps as well as the traditional, more capable, desktop ones.

[Hopskinny]

Works fine for me with Win8. I have bought a new laptop with Win8 and pensioned off my old WinXP system. Now my laptop recognises my Nexus 7 and Calibre works again. The developers of Calibre had removed support for WinXP as far as the new file system for the Nexus 7 was concerned (mtp drivers??).

So I am a happy camper as far as Win8/Calibre/Nexus 7 is concerned, though in my migration from one PC to another I somehow ended up with duplicate copies of all books in the Calibre Library...

[Davy49]

Hi,
I use windows 8 pro version on one of my laptop's, I recently installed the latest version of Calibre (0.9.25). I also installed the latest plugin that I'm supposed to use for the amazon kindle eBook, that I already purchased. I've already installed the kindle for pc app. on my laptop, my problem is currently..when I open the Calibre application, and try and 'find' the eBook that I can read using the kindle for pc app., the Calibre software can't seem to find my book, and I can't seem to find the location of where the eBook is 'stored' on my windows 8 laptop. Does anyone have information about this , and if so..would you PLEASE share it with me ?
Thanks,
David

[AnotherCat]

Am not exactly sure what you are asking, so apologies if I have misunderstood.

My experience is that purchases off Amazon to Kindle for PC go to C:\User\My Documents\My Kindle Content (and same for the "Modern" aka Metro version too - confusingly named Kindle for Windows 8). From there it can be dragged into your Calibre library (with the DRM removal plugin, if so required).

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Calibre is completely fine with Windows 8, both 32 bit and 64 bit.

My experience is similar to yours - I've installed Calibre on 11 Windows 8 boxes they all work fine.

One possible difference is that I also installed Windows 8, I never trust manufacturers installs - too much bloat and too many "why on earth did they do that?" questions.

I'm wondering if some of the problems folks are having are caused by hardware manufacturers not knowing what they're doing.

Having seen first hand how some of them QA their processes I'm not surprised; I am talking about major US brands, not slapped together in the back of a Ghangzhou shop brands, some of them actually know what they're doing.

Re compatibility - I have 3 bespoke programs that I've used since NT4.0, they do very specific a job, but the author lost the source. Ever since XP (NT5.2) came along they've been a bit flaky around the edges. When I installed them on Win 8 (NT6.2) I was staggered to find no flaky edges

BR

[Davy49]

Dear AnotherCat,
You had said this " My experience is that purchases off Amazon to Kindle for PC go to C:\User\My Documents\My Kindle Content (and same for the "Modern" aka Metro version too - confusingly named Kindle for Windows 8). " As I previously mentioned..I'm running windows 8 pro on the laptop I'm typing this message on, and for the life of me..I can't seem to locate the folder you mention on my laptop, now I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestion's for me to try ?
Thanks,
David

[toomanybooks]

Swipe from the right, search for the file, right click on it and open in file location. Then drag it into calibre.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by Davy49

Dear AnotherCat,
You had said this " My experience is that purchases off Amazon to Kindle for PC go to C:\User\My Documents\My Kindle Content (and same for the "Modern" aka Metro version too - confusingly named Kindle for Windows 8). " As I previously mentioned..I'm running windows 8 pro on the laptop I'm typing this message on, and for the life of me..I can't seem to locate the folder you mention on my laptop, now I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestion's for me to try ?
Thanks,
David

Try along the lines of toomanybooks advice but you will likely have a problem searching for the book itself that way as Amazon use file names with no meaning for most books (e.g. along the lines of the likes of B01BW5SFZ6_EBOK.azw). So search for My Kindle Content or azw, not the book name. If not known how to do so, and apologies for my over describing if you do, place the mouse cursor tight into the bottom right hand corner of the screen, move the cursor straight up the edge and select the magnifying glass then Files, and then in the text box type the word or words you want to search for.

Alternatively, the quick way is with the Windows 8 Start screen with all the tiles open, just start typing the word you want to find and most of the above will happen automatically, just select Files and files containing that word will be listed.

Else in Windows Explorer, expand Desktop (if not expanded already), and in the list under that should be things like Libraries, Homegroup (if you have created one), and your own user name (and those of any other users). Expand your username out and scroll down to the folder My Documents, expand that out and scroll down to My Kindle Content and select it. This path is C:\User\My Documents\My Kindle Content, perhaps I have misled by not making clear that "User" meant your own user name. The Amazon files should be there, with Calibre running drag them across into your Calibre Library (with the appropriate plugin if the book is DRM protected).

[Davy49]

Hello All,

This is REALLY getting 'interesting' now, I tried the following:
AnotherCat said:
"Try along the lines of toomanybooks advice but you will likely have a problem searching for the book itself that way as Amazon use file names with no meaning for most books (e.g. along the lines of the likes of B01BW5SFZ6_EBOK.azw). So search for My Kindle Content or azw, not the book name. If not known how to do so, and apologies for my over describing if you do, place the mouse cursor tight into the bottom right hand corner of the screen, move the cursor straight up the edge and select the magnifying glass then Files, and then in the text box type the word or words you want to search for." I tried this method..performed search, nothing found..I can easily view my purchased book, 'Top 100 Tips For Windows 8' using the Kindle for PC Windows 8 Version, when I click on the tile on the 'start' screen, the application opens up correctly, I'm then given three choice's...
Cloud..Device..Kindle Store . I can choose either the 'cloud' or 'device' option, and my book will be displayed.

toomanybooks said:
" Swipe from the right, search for the file, right click on it and open in file location. Then drag it into calibre. " I also tried this method, no luck..is my windows 8 pro laptop 'possessed' or something ??

Thanks,
David

[Davy49]

Hi All,
I installed the windows 7 version of kindle for pc software, now I'm a happy camper , now 'my kindle content' file show up correctly in the windows explorer / my documents area like they are supposed to. I've already converted an eBook to a different format (pdf), like I desired to do. Thanks to EVERYONE for ALL of your help !
David

[Quelch]

Originally Posted by dcdecker

I may need a new computer soon and I will be forced to upgrade to Windows 8. Is Calibre as compatible with 8 as it is with 7? I have heard from friends and other forums that Calibre is very "glitchey" in W8.

Windows 8 is a very clever operating system and works well with the last few versions of Calibre

I have Calibre on both of my computers, Windows 8 and Win 7, no problems with either

Both operating systems were done as a 'clean install' i.e. no bloatware, this may have helped with the lack of problems with Calibre

Removing bloatware on your new Windows 8 computer would be a good idea in my opinion

Quelch