Calibre Preferences (etc.) Suddenly Non-operational

GeekyGal · 01-18-2011, 02:05 PM

Hello all,

I've been using Calibre for several versions for a 1300+ book library. Yesterday, after having what I think were problems related to a failing video card in my Windows Vista 64 Home Premium machine, I swapped the video card and started up several programs, including Calibre. Most things workm although there are still some issues which seem to be related to refresh rate on the monitor [it "loses" the mouse for a while, then catches up to itself]. Most of my software is back working except for a few things in Calibre 7.4.

1. If I click on the Preferences button in the tool bar, NOTHING happens. Esc frees this up. I can get to the drop down menu, and can select / run Start Welcome Wizard and Debug Mode but not Preferences. [I'm trying to edit the list of choices on a custom column].

2. If I try to edit Metadata for one book, same problem. NOTHING happens, but Esc frees my up to do something else. If I select several titles, the Metadata can be edited in the multi edit pop-up window, except Tags.

3. I cannot access the Tag pop-up from anywhere, whether in the individual books, or in editing more than one.

Just in case this was an issue with 7.4, which I installed about the same time as fighting the video card, I reinstalled 7.38. Same behavior.

I may have uninstalled some other component which Calibre uses for these functions, but I don't know what that would be. Ideas? Help? Thank you so much.

GeekyGal

kovidgoyal · 01-18-2011, 02:23 PM

If you're saying that Esc frees up the preferences dialog, that mean the preferences dialog is opening, but is invisible (as Esc quits the preferences dialog) I must admit, I have no idea what could cause that.

GeekyGal · 01-18-2011, 02:35 PM

Yes, thank you very much for the rapid reply.

It does seem that the Preferences window is opening, but is not visible. That's exactly what I meant by saying that Esc frees this up.

I have no idea what I did to mess this up, and was hoping that it was something simple like a reinstall of some part of Windows or Calibre which the Preferences Window, Individual Title Editor and Tags Window have in common, since those are the three things acting up in apparently the same manner.

I reinstalled the Microsoft .NET Frameworks and the updates to them for 1.1, 3.5 and Client 4, since at least one of those was giving an error message, but to no avail.

https://www2.mobileread.com/i/smiliestext/thankyou.gif

kovidgoyal · 01-18-2011, 02:38 PM

basically what's happening is that any sub window of the main window is not being rendered. There is something screwy in the graphics layer on your machine. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about windows to have a clue as to what.

My standard cure for these kinds of windows problems is a re-install of windows.

Stumbl · 01-18-2011, 03:25 PM

in other programs when I've had this issue , I had to find the registry value that was remembering the window positions.
I don't know if that is where it is remembered for this program , but that may be a place to start
good luck!

edit : I couldn't find a registry location, but don't have my glasses

chaley · 01-18-2011, 03:32 PM

Also, if in the past you have used multiple monitors, then the dialog may be on the now-missing other screen. You can usually get these back by asking windows to 'cascade' the currently-open windows. On win7 you right-click on the task bar and pick 'Cascade Windows'. I imagine that Vista will be similar.

If this fixes it, be sure to cleanly exit calibre so the new positions are saved.

Maggie-Me · 01-18-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stumbl

in other programs when I've had this issue , I had to find the registry value that was remembering the window positions.
I don't know if that is where it is remembered for this program , but that may be a place to start
good luck!

edit : I couldn't find a registry location, but don't have my glasses

program name, Regedit.exe

Just type it in search box when you click on start (that is so for Win 7, Win XP, have to believe it is so for Vista)

Stumbl · 01-21-2011, 08:14 AM

I knew it was regedit , just couldn't find the values for window position for calibre. thanks!

itimpi · 01-21-2011, 01:52 PM

I am not sure they get stored in the registry. It could just be in the Calibre configuration folder.

DoctorOhh · 01-21-2011, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stumbl

I knew it was regedit , just couldn't find the values for window position for calibre. thanks!

Did you try closing calibre then deleting everything in the calibre configuration folder. Restarting calibre will recreate these files, you'll have to reenter your library location and any settings you have customized but it's worth a shot.

GeekyGal · 01-24-2011, 02:29 PM

THANK YOU, THANK YOU all for the suggestions. My underlying problem turned out to be a hardware issue. The Ethernet drop had failed, and corrupted some files, including Microsoft FRAMEWORK NET 3.5 and FRAMEWORK NET 4 client, on its way down. Of course, it took days to isolate that because the machine worked intermittently, and I was thinking video card failure, then software failures first.

In and around all of that, I had uninstalled / reinstalled Calibre completely, deleted the suspect registry keys for displaying window positions, and upgraded my OS to Win 7.

Calibre 7.42 is VERY zippity fast in Win 7, and all features are working brilliantly. I love the metadata editing windows and features in the new version.

Thank you again for the suggestions.

Stumbl · 01-28-2011, 04:31 PM

Coming back and letting us know what fixed it was first class , much appreciated.

happy readin'

01-18-2011, 02:05 PM	#1
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	Calibre Preferences (etc.) Suddenly Non-operational Hello all, I've been using Calibre for several versions for a 1300+ book library. Yesterday, after having what I think were problems related to a failing video card in my Windows Vista 64 Home Premium machine, I swapped the video card and started up several programs, including Calibre. Most things workm although there are still some issues which seem to be related to refresh rate on the monitor [it "loses" the mouse for a while, then catches up to itself]. Most of my software is back working except for a few things in Calibre 7.4. 1. If I click on the Preferences button in the tool bar, NOTHING happens. Esc frees this up. I can get to the drop down menu, and can select / run Start Welcome Wizard and Debug Mode but not Preferences. [I'm trying to edit the list of choices on a custom column]. 2. If I try to edit Metadata for one book, same problem. NOTHING happens, but Esc frees my up to do something else. If I select several titles, the Metadata can be edited in the multi edit pop-up window, except Tags. 3. I cannot access the Tag pop-up from anywhere, whether in the individual books, or in editing more than one. Just in case this was an issue with 7.4, which I installed about the same time as fighting the video card, I reinstalled 7.38. Same behavior. I may have uninstalled some other component which Calibre uses for these functions, but I don't know what that would be. Ideas? Help? Thank you so much. GeekyGal

01-18-2011, 03:25 PM	#5
Stumbl Thread Killer Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC. USA Device: iPad	in other programs when I've had this issue , I had to find the registry value that was remembering the window positions. I don't know if that is where it is remembered for this program , but that may be a place to start good luck! edit : I couldn't find a registry location, but don't have my glasses Last edited by Stumbl; 01-18-2011 at 03:41 PM. Reason: ...

01-24-2011, 02:29 PM	#11
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	AHA! THANK YOU, THANK YOU all for the suggestions. My underlying problem turned out to be a hardware issue. The Ethernet drop had failed, and corrupted some files, including Microsoft FRAMEWORK NET 3.5 and FRAMEWORK NET 4 client, on its way down. Of course, it took days to isolate that because the machine worked intermittently, and I was thinking video card failure, then software failures first. In and around all of that, I had uninstalled / reinstalled Calibre completely, deleted the suspect registry keys for displaying window positions, and upgraded my OS to Win 7. Calibre 7.42 is VERY zippity fast in Win 7, and all features are working brilliantly. I love the metadata editing windows and features in the new version. Thank you again for the suggestions.

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01-18-2011, 02:23 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,858 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	If you're saying that Esc frees up the preferences dialog, that mean the preferences dialog is opening, but is invisible (as Esc quits the preferences dialog) I must admit, I have no idea what could cause that.

01-18-2011, 02:35 PM	#3
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	Yes, thank you very much for the rapid reply. It does seem that the Preferences window is opening, but is not visible. That's exactly what I meant by saying that Esc frees this up. I have no idea what I did to mess this up, and was hoping that it was something simple like a reinstall of some part of Windows or Calibre which the Preferences Window, Individual Title Editor and Tags Window have in common, since those are the three things acting up in apparently the same manner. I reinstalled the Microsoft .NET Frameworks and the updates to them for 1.1, 3.5 and Client 4, since at least one of those was giving an error message, but to no avail. https://www2.mobileread.com/i/smiliestext/thankyou.gif

01-18-2011, 02:38 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,858 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	basically what's happening is that any sub window of the main window is not being rendered. There is something screwy in the graphics layer on your machine. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about windows to have a clue as to what. My standard cure for these kinds of windows problems is a re-install of windows.

01-18-2011, 03:32 PM	#6
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,741 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	Also, if in the past you have used multiple monitors, then the dialog may be on the now-missing other screen. You can usually get these back by asking windows to 'cascade' the currently-open windows. On win7 you right-click on the task bar and pick 'Cascade Windows'. I imagine that Vista will be similar. If this fixes it, be sure to cleanly exit calibre so the new positions are saved.

01-21-2011, 08:14 AM	#8
Stumbl Thread Killer Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC. USA Device: iPad	I knew it was regedit , just couldn't find the values for window position for calibre. thanks!

01-21-2011, 01:52 PM	#9
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	I am not sure they get stored in the registry. It could just be in the Calibre configuration folder.

01-28-2011, 04:31 PM	#12
Stumbl Thread Killer Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC. USA Device: iPad	Coming back and letting us know what fixed it was first class , much appreciated. happy readin'

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