PRS-505 How do I pull eBooks off PRS-505 and Newbie advice

FatDog · 05-14-2010, 11:40 PM

I just got a used 505 from ebay. The seller warned me that the books would disappear once I hooked it up to the reader software.

After reading a lot of stuff here I would like to use Caliber instead of the Reader software to avoid these issues (and Caliber is cooler anyway).

What is the best way to archive off the existing books? Will the device show up as a USB drive so I can just copy off the files? Or will Caliber read and import the files from the device? (I only see the Send to Device button.)

Many of the books are classics/Guttenburg books, but others are more of a hack job. I would love to pull them into Caliber and fix some of the Meta information.

Any advice for first time owners of a PRS-505?

dreams · 05-14-2010, 11:52 PM

A more experienced member will have to help with the calibre question.

When I want to backup the books on my Sony 505, I have to make a copy of the file from where it is located on my hard drive. On my computer, they are under owner / documents / my books / reader library or under owner / documents / my digital editions.

I wouldn't worry about losing the classics. Most of them are found right here on MR for free and are much better formatted. Just download the ePub or lrf format.

Worldwalker · 05-15-2010, 01:50 AM

I'm not sure why the books would disappear. DRM-locked books might be unreadable if the previous owner deregistered the device, but that wouldn't affect public domain books like the Project Gutenberg ones.

Anyway, yes, the 505 shows up as a mass storage device (a drive, that is) in Windows. I'm not sure about other platforms, sorry. You can copy your books like any other file.

As dreams said, don't worry about public domain books; you can pick up PD books in a jillion places. There's a list of them around here somewhere.

Personally, my preferred public domain ebook archives (in order of preference) are MobileRead, Manybooks, Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, and everybody else. For free non-PD books, the Baen Free Library and the Baen CDs rock. Hang around here for a while and everybody will give you conflicting advice on the best places to get books.

FatDog · 05-15-2010, 03:18 PM

Thanks everybody. I just hooked it up, scanned down the G drive and found a bunch of .epub files. and a few .rtf.

I copied them off and plan to spend the afternoon pulling them into Caliber and fixing the Meta information, then pushing the interesting ones back.

05-14-2010, 11:40 PM	#1
FatDog Witless protection Agent Posts: 290 Karma: 1002898 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	How do I pull eBooks off PRS-505 and Newbie advice I just got a used 505 from ebay. The seller warned me that the books would disappear once I hooked it up to the reader software. After reading a lot of stuff here I would like to use Caliber instead of the Reader software to avoid these issues (and Caliber is cooler anyway). What is the best way to archive off the existing books? Will the device show up as a USB drive so I can just copy off the files? Or will Caliber read and import the files from the device? (I only see the Send to Device button.) Many of the books are classics/Guttenburg books, but others are more of a hack job. I would love to pull them into Caliber and fix some of the Meta information. Any advice for first time owners of a PRS-505?

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05-14-2010, 11:52 PM	#2
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	A more experienced member will have to help with the calibre question. When I want to backup the books on my Sony 505, I have to make a copy of the file from where it is located on my hard drive. On my computer, they are under owner / documents / my books / reader library or under owner / documents / my digital editions. I wouldn't worry about losing the classics. Most of them are found right here on MR for free and are much better formatted. Just download the ePub or lrf format.

05-15-2010, 01:50 AM	#3
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I'm not sure why the books would disappear. DRM-locked books might be unreadable if the previous owner deregistered the device, but that wouldn't affect public domain books like the Project Gutenberg ones. Anyway, yes, the 505 shows up as a mass storage device (a drive, that is) in Windows. I'm not sure about other platforms, sorry. You can copy your books like any other file. As dreams said, don't worry about public domain books; you can pick up PD books in a jillion places. There's a list of them around here somewhere. Personally, my preferred public domain ebook archives (in order of preference) are MobileRead, Manybooks, Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, and everybody else. For free non-PD books, the Baen Free Library and the Baen CDs rock. Hang around here for a while and everybody will give you conflicting advice on the best places to get books.

05-15-2010, 03:18 PM	#4
FatDog Witless protection Agent Posts: 290 Karma: 1002898 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	Thanks everybody. I just hooked it up, scanned down the G drive and found a bunch of .epub files. and a few .rtf. I copied them off and plan to spend the afternoon pulling them into Caliber and fixing the Meta information, then pushing the interesting ones back.

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