Mobipocket problems

meera156 · 05-10-2010, 09:55 AM

Hi,

I have been using my dell axim x51v with windows 5 for the past 2 years to read ebooks. I have also been using Mobipocket to read the books.

Unfortunately i had to hard reset my axim due to a different problem and as a result lost mobipocket on it. Now when i try to reinstall mobipocket and open books on my axim i just get error messages, or it does not open at all. I have tried reinstalling it several times but nothing seems to work.

I have a lot of books in mobipocket format and hence while i don't mind using a similar reader that will actually work i don't want to loose all my books. Is there anything i can do to solve this problem?

Thanks

wallcraft · 05-10-2010, 07:48 PM

Has the Axim's MobiPocket PID changed? This is probably on a help screen somewhere within the MOBI software. Or it may be available in Windows MobiPocket Reader if you used this to transfer ebooks to the Axim.

A MOBI ebook can contain up to 4 PIDs (to authorize 4 devices), and your existing Axim MOBI files will contain the original PID of the Axim. They may also contain the PID of your Windows PC if you downloaded the MOBI ebooks via Windows. Most likely the PID on your Axim got reset during the re-install. The PID is 10 alphanumeric characters (8 active, the last 2 are a checksum).

If you can find the new PID, then it may be possible to redownload all your MOBI ebooks authorized for that PID.

In the long term, MobiPocket is a dead end. They have not released any new software updates for a couple of years, and will never have software for new device types. So I suggest stripping the DRM (encryption) from all your MOBI ebooks. The existing MOBI Reader will read DRM-free MOBIs, and you won't ever have PID issues again (and are safe when MobiPocket inevitably closes down). Or you can use Calibre (has its own forum here) to convert to another ebook format.

If you have copies that work on your Windows PC, then use the Windows MOBI PID with the mobidedrm.py script to produce DRM-free versions. If not, then you can copy the Axim MOBI files to a PC and use the original Axim PID and mobidedrm.py.

The best place to start looking for mobidedrm.py is probably Apprentice Alf's Blog. Its first post is on the the "tools" bundle which includes point and click wrappers for many DRM tools.

05-10-2010, 09:55 AM	#1
meera156 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Dell Axim x51v	Mobipocket problems Hi, I have been using my dell axim x51v with windows 5 for the past 2 years to read ebooks. I have also been using Mobipocket to read the books. Unfortunately i had to hard reset my axim due to a different problem and as a result lost mobipocket on it. Now when i try to reinstall mobipocket and open books on my axim i just get error messages, or it does not open at all. I have tried reinstalling it several times but nothing seems to work. I have a lot of books in mobipocket format and hence while i don't mind using a similar reader that will actually work i don't want to loose all my books. Is there anything i can do to solve this problem? Thanks

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05-10-2010, 07:48 PM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	Has the Axim's MobiPocket PID changed? This is probably on a help screen somewhere within the MOBI software. Or it may be available in Windows MobiPocket Reader if you used this to transfer ebooks to the Axim. A MOBI ebook can contain up to 4 PIDs (to authorize 4 devices), and your existing Axim MOBI files will contain the original PID of the Axim. They may also contain the PID of your Windows PC if you downloaded the MOBI ebooks via Windows. Most likely the PID on your Axim got reset during the re-install. The PID is 10 alphanumeric characters (8 active, the last 2 are a checksum). If you can find the new PID, then it may be possible to redownload all your MOBI ebooks authorized for that PID. In the long term, MobiPocket is a dead end. They have not released any new software updates for a couple of years, and will never have software for new device types. So I suggest stripping the DRM (encryption) from all your MOBI ebooks. The existing MOBI Reader will read DRM-free MOBIs, and you won't ever have PID issues again (and are safe when MobiPocket inevitably closes down). Or you can use Calibre (has its own forum here) to convert to another ebook format. If you have copies that work on your Windows PC, then use the Windows MOBI PID with the mobidedrm.py script to produce DRM-free versions. If not, then you can copy the Axim MOBI files to a PC and use the original Axim PID and mobidedrm.py. The best place to start looking for mobidedrm.py is probably Apprentice Alf's Blog. Its first post is on the the "tools" bundle which includes point and click wrappers for many DRM tools.