errors syncing huge Calibre Library from USB stick to Ubuntu netbook

[beep_dave_1d]

MobileReaders kindly assist

I am trying to sync Calibre libraries via "Sneakernet" and rsync or Unison


I have 10 Calibre Libraries on a Windows 7 laptop wich I copied onto a Fat32 Flash Drive. I want to sync the Calibre Library folders on the Fat32 Flash Drive to the Home directory on my Ubuntu Netbook

I am having trouble syncing only the Large "Calibre Library" (5000 epubs, 8GB disk space)
The other libraries of 100-300 epubs are tiny by comparison and sync without error


I have tried Unison and Rsync and I do seem to get any error message but a small number of epubs do not work in Calibre on the Netbook


If I open the ebook from the file manager it *is* valid copy

I am able to copy everything perfectly with cp -R command and eliminate the problem but I am unable to fix the sync with Rsync and Unison


For example:
the book "Caves of Steel" by Isaac Asimov is missing the cover
and the viewer has an error:
Caves of steel has no available formats

but if I wipe the Calibre Library , start over and use cp -R method it is fixed

This is my rsync command:

rsync -rtv --no-o --no-p --no-g --progress --exclude '*.mobi' /media/Mybooks/'Calibre Library'/ /home/user/Shared_files/'Calibre Library'

TIA Dave





[Adoby]

WARNING: There are SERIOUS problems using the same calibre library in Linux and Windows. The reason is that Windows/Linux treat upper/lower case characters in filenames differently. Windows doesn't care. Linux care a lot. OS/X is by default case insensitive, like Windows, I believe?

This means that you most likely will end up with a seriously corrupt calibre library if you move it between Linux and Windows. And the errors are like you describe, calibre unable to open a book or find a file that obviously is there. But with the wrong case... It seems very weird until you realise the cause. And you may not even notice it for a while, and the errors keep accumulating.

It might be possible to do all the updates in Linux, and only read the library in Windows. I haven't tried. I only use Linux. Another possibility could be to use a VM with Linux on the USB stick to run calibre.

Also it might be possible to use the library maintenance tools to fix some of these problems.

In Windows "Caves of steel.epub" and "Caves of Steel.epub" are identical filenames, and will overwrite each other. In Linux they are two completely different filenames.

[alanHd]

I had the same problem when i went to transfer my windows library to a Linux Mint laptop. i now treat it as two seperate libraries and manually mirror any changes i make.

[beep_dave_1d]

Thanks for the reply

What script can I use to repair the Calibre Libray ?

I still do not understand why the cp -R command does not create the problem
with the Caves of steel.epub but syncing the Calibre Libray using both Unison and Rsync seem to result in the exact problem when running Calibre under Ubuntu


I agree that it is probably better to the update in Linux and then transfer to Windows but I need to use the larger screen on the Windows laptop to edit the ebooks and convert them to ePub in Sigil and Calibre

I have all the same tools in the Ubuntu netbook but the have a 10 inch screen on the Acer C7 so it is not as good for formatting as the 17 inch Windows laptop

That is why I just want to do a quick sync job via the USB Flash drive to the Ubuntu Netbook


TIA
Dave

[Adoby]

Install Linux on the USB stick, possibly buy a larger and faster one, and run calibre that way on the laptop.

The library maintanence tools in calibre may be ablre to fix the library.

[beep_dave_1d]

The Library maintenace option in the Calibre Gui does not fix
the problem
I do not see any plugins in Calibre that fix this issue

I need to obtain or write some kind of script to test if the file in the Calibre metadata.db is found or not and return the the filename reported
from the metadata.db

then I can run a rename of the epub to match the filename reported
from the metadata.db

The other alternative is DOA ...

Running a large 5000+ ebooks Calibre library off a Flash drive is too slow!
I usually just open the ebook from the file manager when I read books
from the Flash drive

I also need to Calibre on Windows 7 because my Ubuntu Netbook
does not recognize the SDcard in my Nook Tablet and I do not wish to
eject the SDcard from the Nook each time I want to sync with Calibre

I actualy have all the epubs on the Nook...

Any help is apreciated!
TIA
Dave

[Adoby]

Install Linux on the Laptop. Dual boot? Or Windows on the notebook.

[theducks]

If Linux is your 'Calibre Host' use VNC (remote desktop viewer) to control the Host from ANY OS (I even have a VNC client on my TAB 2)

If Windows (Pro required on XP) is your Host: Remote Desktop connection

Obviously these solutions only work when a WAN/LAN connection is available.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by theducks

If Windows (Pro required on XP) is your Host: Remote Desktop connection

Plenty of VNC servers available for Windows in case you don't run Professional/Ultimate versions.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Plenty of VNC servers available for Windows in case you don't run Professional/Ultimate versions.

True
I should have mentioned that I was listing built in solutions.

RealVNC claims a more secure (if you are worried about your content being intercepted) solution than some of the free versions.
I use TightVNC (in shared session, so she can see what I am doing when I Yell 'Right Here' ) to maintain my Wife's sewing room PC