Calibre can't communicate with SD card

BookCat · 06-07-2010, 10:43 AM

I've been using calibre to send books to my prs505 since I downloaded the horrid new sony software. When I used it to send books to the SD card a couple of weeks ago, it was fine, but it's acting up today. It will send books to the prs's internal memory, which is nearly bursting, but when I tried the SD card (kept in the reader permanently), I got this error message:

ERROR: Error: Error communicating with device

(82, 'The directory or file cannot be created')

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 56, in run
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 243, in _upload_books
File "site-packages\calibre\devices\prs505\driver.py", line 142, in upload_books
File "site-packages\calibre\devices\usbms\device.py", line 870, in create_upload_path
File "os.py", line 157, in makedirs
WindowsError: [Error 82] The directory or file cannot be created: 'G:\\Heyer, Georgette'

I was trying to send Heyer's "The Black Moth". Other books, in different formats, got the same response.

I tried unplugging and replugging the usb cable, popped the SD card in and out, switched the reader on and off, and all kinds of other "give it a good thump" things I could think of.

Please help.

chaley · 06-07-2010, 11:16 AM

Which version of calibre and which version of windows are you using?

Any chance that the SD card has had its write-protect enabled? Can you write to it using windows explorer?

BookCat · 06-07-2010, 11:38 AM

I'm using Windows xp and Calibre 0.6.54. The SD doesn't have its write-protect enabled and I've successfully written to it many times before. I've done so using this version of Calibre on previous occasions.

Windows explorer plays up sometimes and won't write to the card or to my MP3 player, though it will write to an external hard drive. I've recently run a virus scan.

Starson17 · 06-07-2010, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

Windows explorer plays up sometimes and won't write to the card or to my MP3 player, though it will write to an external hard drive.

Is the USB port OK? Do you have a USB hub? Is the cable good? I've run into bad USB ports, hub and cable problems several times. They typically manifest themselves as intermittent "won't write to" the connected device.

theducks · 06-07-2010, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I'm using Windows xp and Calibre 0.6.54. The SD doesn't have its write-protect enabled and I've successfully written to it many times before. I've done so using this version of Calibre on previous occasions.

Windows explorer plays up sometimes and won't write to the card or to my MP3 player, though it will write to an external hard drive. I've recently run a virus scan.

I have seen that problem in Calibre when the file system on the SD Card becomes damaged (not safe disconnected, hang killed).
With Calibre shut completely down (so drive is not in use)
Find the Drive in windows Explorer
Right click: Properties
Select the tool tab
Repair: Tick fix automatically

OK

BookCat · 06-07-2010, 02:05 PM

The usb must be ok because I can write to the reader's internal memory.

theducks, I tried your suggestion. Odd thing happened. I was able to write the blurb (short description of the book in rtf; I always have this for each book for when I'm deciding what to read next) onto the card, but Calibre refused to write the book to the card.

I phoned a techyish friend who suggested trying to create a new folder within the card's drive, but I was given the message that it was "unable to create the folder "new folder", the directory or file can not be created."

The card has MASSES of space left.

Starson17 · 06-07-2010, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

The usb must be ok because I can write to the reader's internal memory.

I've seen lots of problem USB ports where one device works and another doesn't.

Quote:

Calibre refused to write the book to the card.

I phoned a techyish friend who suggested trying to create a new folder within the card's drive, but I was given the message that it was "unable to create the folder "new folder", the directory or file can not be created."

The card has MASSES of space left.

These are very typical symptoms for USB problems. Alternatively, the SD card itself may be bad. I'd try very hard to check both out.

DoctorOhh · 06-08-2010, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

ERROR: Error: Error communicating with device

(82, 'The directory or file cannot be created')

This error (Windows Error 82) has happened to me also. It turns out that it was the result of pushing the limits of the FAT16 format that many SD cards come pre-formatted with. In my case there were over 900 books when this happened.

Not knowing, I initially just tried to reformat the SD card, but hit that limit again.

Reformatting the SD card as FAT32 solved the problem.

I hope this helps others that run into this problem.

itimpi · 06-08-2010, 04:42 AM

Anoher solution might be to change the template for sending the books to the device so that they are all down a directory level (assuming the reader is happy with this). With FAT16 the limit on the numnbe rof files applies to the root directory and not to sub-directories.

BookCat · 06-08-2010, 09:40 PM

dwanthny, thanks, I've tried your solution and it seems to be working - touch wood - all I need now is software which does what I want. I've come to the conclusion that Calibre is for techies. I had to phone a friend to interpret advice given here and explain what FAT meant! We've been on the phone all night!

Thanks to all for helping. I'm hoping this has fixed the problem with the SD card. Will let you know if further problems occur.

DoctorOhh · 06-08-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I've come to the conclusion that Calibre is for techies.

Thanks to all for helping. I'm hoping this has fixed the problem with the SD card.

You're welcome, but the too many files on the SD card is not a Calibre related problem.

I'm glad you're functioning again.

Lady Fitzgerald · 06-08-2010, 10:19 PM

Don't give up on calibre just yet. Yeah, it's a techie's dream but the techies here do a wonderful of helping people. Just let them know you are tech challenged and someone will walk you through it. They have been wonderful helping this tech challenged old broad.

Prior to getting calibre, I tried umpteen programs and didn't find any that did what I want as well as calibre does. Since getting calibre, I tried another and found it lacking. I'm still looking (just because I'm a greedy old broad and always want more) but I doubt I'll find a program that will do more and/or as well as calibre. It would be nice to have a program that manages my books, cleans house, cooks, does dishes, etc.

DoctorOhh · 06-08-2010, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

It would be nice to have a program that manages my books, cleans house, cooks, does dishes, etc.

theducks · 06-08-2010, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

dwanthny, thanks, I've tried your solution and it seems to be working - touch wood - all I need now is software which does what I want. I've come to the conclusion that Calibre is for techies. I had to phone a friend to interpret advice given here and explain what FAT meant! We've been on the phone all night!

Thanks to all for helping. I'm hoping this has fixed the problem with the SD card. Will let you know if further problems occur.

You really had a computer type problem (yes, your device is a computer).
Calibre just helped you make it happen faster.

Think of a disk(SD card) as the Entry to your house. Only so many people can stand there before the door can't be opened (or closed).
Some of those must move to another room (folder) before the entry is usable again.

Another possibility is you overload the floor, and it breaks

(disk crash)
Now you have to call to repair the damage (Your computer fixing friend to the rescue) before you can use it again.

BookCat · 06-09-2010, 08:04 PM

I no longer blame calibre for the problem. After being told what FAT meant and me telling him the file names of stuff on the disc, it became apparent (to him) that the problem was with the SD card. I copied all the stuff from the card onto my external hd (the laptop's is small and nearly full) and reformatted to FAT32.

Last night I managed to find an old archived version of the Sony software I had before recently updating. I liked that version: 2.5.00.09170; it's now up and running again. I posted more about this in the software management board.

Lots of thanks everyone. I'm not decrying calibre, it's great for conversion, but has a steep learning curve. It really messed up my collections, creating categories which didn't make sense. The sony version I now have is nice and low tech.

06-07-2010, 10:43 AM	#1
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Calibre can't communicate with SD card I've been using calibre to send books to my prs505 since I downloaded the horrid new sony software. When I used it to send books to the SD card a couple of weeks ago, it was fine, but it's acting up today. It will send books to the prs's internal memory, which is nearly bursting, but when I tried the SD card (kept in the reader permanently), I got this error message: ERROR: Error: Error communicating with device (82, 'The directory or file cannot be created') Traceback (most recent call last): File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 56, in run File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 243, in _upload_books File "site-packages\calibre\devices\prs505\driver.py", line 142, in upload_books File "site-packages\calibre\devices\usbms\device.py", line 870, in create_upload_path File "os.py", line 157, in makedirs WindowsError: [Error 82] The directory or file cannot be created: 'G:\\Heyer, Georgette' I was trying to send Heyer's "The Black Moth". Other books, in different formats, got the same response. I tried unplugging and replugging the usb cable, popped the SD card in and out, switched the reader on and off, and all kinds of other "give it a good thump" things I could think of. Please help.

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06-07-2010, 11:16 AM	#2
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,742 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	Which version of calibre and which version of windows are you using? Any chance that the SD card has had its write-protect enabled? Can you write to it using windows explorer?

06-07-2010, 11:38 AM	#3
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	I'm using Windows xp and Calibre 0.6.54. The SD doesn't have its write-protect enabled and I've successfully written to it many times before. I've done so using this version of Calibre on previous occasions. Windows explorer plays up sometimes and won't write to the card or to my MP3 player, though it will write to an external hard drive. I've recently run a virus scan.

06-07-2010, 02:05 PM	#6
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	The usb must be ok because I can write to the reader's internal memory. theducks, I tried your suggestion. Odd thing happened. I was able to write the blurb (short description of the book in rtf; I always have this for each book for when I'm deciding what to read next) onto the card, but Calibre refused to write the book to the card. I phoned a techyish friend who suggested trying to create a new folder within the card's drive, but I was given the message that it was "unable to create the folder "new folder", the directory or file can not be created." The card has MASSES of space left.

06-08-2010, 04:42 AM	#9
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	Anoher solution might be to change the template for sending the books to the device so that they are all down a directory level (assuming the reader is happy with this). With FAT16 the limit on the numnbe rof files applies to the root directory and not to sub-directories.

06-08-2010, 09:40 PM	#10
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	dwanthny, thanks, I've tried your solution and it seems to be working - touch wood - all I need now is software which does what I want. I've come to the conclusion that Calibre is for techies. I had to phone a friend to interpret advice given here and explain what FAT meant! We've been on the phone all night! Thanks to all for helping. I'm hoping this has fixed the problem with the SD card. Will let you know if further problems occur.

06-08-2010, 10:19 PM	#12
Lady Fitzgerald Wizard Posts: 2,013 Karma: 251649 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth Device: JetBook Lite (away from home) + 1 spare, 32" TV (at home)	Don't give up on calibre just yet. Yeah, it's a techie's dream but the techies here do a wonderful of helping people. Just let them know you are tech challenged and someone will walk you through it. They have been wonderful helping this tech challenged old broad. Prior to getting calibre, I tried umpteen programs and didn't find any that did what I want as well as calibre does. Since getting calibre, I tried another and found it lacking. I'm still looking (just because I'm a greedy old broad and always want more) but I doubt I'll find a program that will do more and/or as well as calibre. It would be nice to have a program that manages my books, cleans house, cooks, does dishes, etc.

06-09-2010, 08:04 PM	#15
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	I no longer blame calibre for the problem. After being told what FAT meant and me telling him the file names of stuff on the disc, it became apparent (to him) that the problem was with the SD card. I copied all the stuff from the card onto my external hd (the laptop's is small and nearly full) and reformatted to FAT32. Last night I managed to find an old archived version of the Sony software I had before recently updating. I liked that version: 2.5.00.09170; it's now up and running again. I posted more about this in the software management board. Lots of thanks everyone. I'm not decrying calibre, it's great for conversion, but has a steep learning curve. It really messed up my collections, creating categories which didn't make sense. The sony version I now have is nice and low tech.

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