Kobo not showing on Calibre

[rxmom03]

I have a Kobo Aura One, Calibre 5.44 running on a Windows 11 64bit computer. I will say I think i have the newest version of Kobo, but I don't know another way to check without looking at my Koko (which I can't do). I had a few new books to put on, so converted them in Calibre, plugged in my Kobo and hit the button to connect to the computer when it popped up. Well, this was about 15 minutes ago and it has still not showed up on my Calibre screen. The Device tab is not showing, nor the two columns on the left that will show which books are on my Kobo and which ones are on my computer.

I am stumped and don't know what to do. On my Kobo it says it is connected and don't forget to eject my eReader before unplugging. But there is nowhere on Calibre to eject it because it is not showing. So, what's a girl to do?

Oh, I just got an error message. Does this mean that I can disconnect my Kobo? Thanks for your help!

Spoiler:

calibre, version 5.44.0
ERROR: Error: Error communicating with device

Failed to access files in the main memory of your device. You should contact the device manufacturer for support. Common fixes are: try a different USB cable/USB port on your computer. If you device has a "Reset to factory defaults" type of setting somewhere, use it. Underlying error: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 159, in get_device_information
File "calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 133, in _update_driveinfo_file
File "calibre\__init__.py", line 570, in fsync
OSError: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor

The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre\gui2\device.py", line 87, in run
File "calibre\gui2\device.py", line 508, in _get_device_information
File "calibre\devices\kobo\driver.py", line 1560, in get_device_information
File "calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 170, in get_device_information
File "calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 149, in raise_os_error
OSError: Failed to access files in the main memory of your device. You should contact the device manufacturer for support. Common fixes are: try a different USB cable/USB port on your computer. If you device has a "Reset to factory defaults" type of setting somewhere, use it. Underlying error: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor

[DNSB]

It does sound as if the connection from the computer to/from the Kobo was dysfunctional. I would suggest trying a different USB cable, port and, if available, different computer.

A bit late for this now but did the Kobo appear in File Explorer and then disappear?

[rxmom03]

Originally Posted by DNSB

A bit late for this now but did the Kobo appear in File Explorer and then disappear?

It actually did appear in File Explorer. I didn't think of that until I was already in bed last night but was able to eject it this morning. I am now on the hunt for a new cable to start checking - I love my Kobo Aura but this is the only thing I have now that does not use USB-C. Thanks for your help and ideas on where to start.

[rxmom03]

Ok, I found some cables to try. The first one didn't work, but I think it was trying to connect. My computer would beep every couple of seconds - nothing would show up on calibre but a file kept showing up and then disappearing in File Explorer - I don't remember the name (it wasn't Kobo but Drive D or something like that). I was finally able to right-click on that and got an option to eject so I hoped for the best and did that.

I tried one more cable and this time it did connect (and showed up in Calibre) but it showed that there were jobs running. There were 6 jobs but only 4 completed. "Send metadata to device" and "backing up Kobo device database" did not (I will put the error messages in spoiler). And it took almost 10 minutes for "get list of books on device".

I'm not sure if I messed it up with the first cable or now, but I've about exceeded my level of knowledge and what I am comfortable experimenting with. Could there be a problem with my Kobo, or is it still probably something with my cable/computer, etc? Thanks for any ideas!

Spoiler:

IOError: disk I/O error

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre\gui2\device.py", line 87, in run
File "calibre\gui2\device.py", line 578, in _sync_booklists
File "calibre_plugins.kobotouch_extended.device.driver" , line 517, in sync_booklists
File "calibre\devices\kobo\driver.py", line 1004, in sync_booklists
File "calibre\devices\kobo\driver.py", line 2649, in update_device_database_collections
File "calibre\devices\kobo\driver.py", line 3434, in set_core_metadata
apsw.IOError: IOError: disk I/O error


[Errno 22] Invalid argument

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre\gui2\device.py", line 87, in run
File "calibre_plugins.koboutilities.jobs", line 199, in do_device_database_backup
File "shutil.py", line 279, in copyfile
File "shutil.py", line 185, in _copyfileobj_readinto
OSError: [Errno 22] Invalid argument

[theducks]

This sounds like what the bad firmware of a few months ago was doing (erratic USB connectivity, damaging the devices DB). Make sure your Kobo has the most recent release.

[rxmom03]

I have version 4.33.19759 which says it was updated 7/20/22. That's the most current update, isn't it?

ETA - I just tried to connect again. The jobs took about 10-12 minutes and this time 5 of the 6 jobs were completed. The "send metadata to device" is the only one that didn't. I loaded 4 books on my Kobo and everything went fine. I'm not sure what is wrong or what metadata is not being sent.

[theducks]

Yes that is current FW
Calibre has 2 files in the root. the small one id's the device and does not usually change.
The large on is the one that Calibre creates and matches the OnDevice marks.
It functions as a ondevice speedup file.

If you delete this, Calibre will create it again, that takes time.
Then there is the Kobo database (this is the one Utilities updates on the second connect)

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by theducks

Yes that is current FW
Calibre has 2 files in the root. the small one id's the device and does not usually change.
The large on is the one that Calibre creates and matches the OnDevice marks.
It functions as a ondevice speedup file.

If you delete this, Calibre will create it again, that takes time.
Then there is the Kobo database (this is the one Utilities updates on the second connect)

No, the metadata update is done by the driver. The Kobo Utilities can fetch the reading position and backup the database automatically, but, it doesn't automatically update anything on the device.

@rxmom03: A longer time on some the jobs usually means an issue. It could be an issue with the connection and will be sorted out after rebooting the computer or the device. It could also be a corrupt database. But, the database backup would report any issues if that was the a case.