Where are files in Nook app for Android?

[Steve3742]

Hi

I have a Hudl 2 Tablet and i installed the Nook for Android app on it as i wished to buy a book from Nook and this seemed the only way to download it (I used to download it to Nook for PC, but they seem to have stopped this, at least for this book.) So, I bought the book, opened the app and it read fine. But I'm trying to download it to put it on my kobo. Now it does seem to have downloaded to the tablet - i turn off the WiFi and it's still readable - but i can't find the file anywhere. I looked in the Nook folder frst in Contents and then in all the other folders, i've tried the Data folder under Android and i've not been able to find anything. I've searched for epub files using ES and it still hasn't shown up. Yet when i open the app - without WiFi - it allows me to read the book.

Does anyone know where the file might be or how to find where a particular app stores its data? Preferably without rooting it.

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by Steve3742

Hi

I have a Hudl 2 Tablet and i installed the Nook for Android app on it as i wished to buy a book from Nook and this seemed the only way to download it (I used to download it to Nook for PC, but they seem to have stopped this, at least for this book.) So, I bought the book, opened the app and it read fine. But I'm trying to download it to put it on my kobo. Now it does seem to have downloaded to the tablet - i turn off the WiFi and it's still readable - but i can't find the file anywhere. I looked in the Nook folder frst in Contents and then in all the other folders, i've tried the Data folder under Android and i've not been able to find anything. I've searched for epub files using ES and it still hasn't shown up. Yet when i open the app - without WiFi - it allows me to read the book.

Does anyone know where the file might be or how to find where a particular app stores its data? Preferably without rooting it.

First, I just tried NOOK for PC and it's working fine for me, so maybe try that again.

That said, the latest NOOK app stores ebook files in "/data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books", which as you feared, is only accessible to root.

If you can't (or don't want to) root your device, the easiest solution is probably to try to find an older version of the NOOK app. Otherwise, you can still get to them if you're willing to install a few software packages to your PC.

You'll need:

• Adb, which is part of the Android SDK (the installer is available here). If you're only using adb, you only need to install "Android SDK Platform-tools".
• Android Backup Extractor (unzip the download and find the file "abe.jar")
• Java (Android Backup Extractor is a Java program).
• If you're using Windows, you'll need the USB drivers for your device (Google found instructions for you Hudl 2 here) and the Unix program "tar" (available in this package).

Once you have the above software downloaded and installed, type the following in a command shell:

adb backup bn.ereader

After you confirm the backup on your device (don't use encryption), adb will create a backup file named "backup.ab". You then need to convert the backup to a tar file:

java -jar abe.jar unpack backup.ab backup.tar

Now extract the backup:

tar xvf backup.tar

That will create a directory named "apps". Your books are in "apps/bn.ereader/f/B&N Downloads/Books".

[Steve3742]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Re the Nook for PC, when I complained about it to Nook, they did say that it wasn't going to be available in the UK - I'm guessing you're American? - so it's possible that they've just removed the ability to download for the UK. They're notorious for treating their UK customers really badly. Or it could have been the book - Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tschaikovsky - which is a Tor book and so DRM free - maybe they don't like people putting DRM free books on their computer.

Thanks for the solutions. I may try the second one, though it looks kind of involved. As for rooting it... I've always disliked the idea of having my tablet on permanant root access - one of the things I like about Linux is the fact that most of the time you're not on root. Is there an app that works a bit like the "sudo" command, that lets you root the tablet, do whatever you need to and then unroot? I could go for that. I presume you've rooted yours, could you tell me what the pitfalls and hazards are? I hear, for example, that certain things don't work or won't install as root, Google Play has been mentioned, is this true?

Thanks again for your solutions. I'll implement one of them.

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by Steve3742

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Re the Nook for PC, when I complained about it to Nook, they did say that it wasn't going to be available in the UK - I'm guessing you're American? - so it's possible that they've just removed the ability to download for the UK. They're notorious for treating their UK customers really badly. Or it could have been the book - Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tschaikovsky - which is a Tor book and so DRM free - maybe they don't like people putting DRM free books on their computer.

I am American and people have had problems with the UK store, so that's possible. It may be worth your while to read through this thread. Several UK posters were involved in that discussion and I think had some success.

Originally Posted by Steve3742

Thanks for the solutions. I may try the second one, though it looks kind of involved. As for rooting it... I've always disliked the idea of having my tablet on permanant root access - one of the things I like about Linux is the fact that most of the time you're not on root. Is there an app that works a bit like the "sudo" command, that lets you root the tablet, do whatever you need to and then unroot? I could go for that. I presume you've rooted yours, could you tell me what the pitfalls and hazards are? I hear, for example, that certain things don't work or won't install as root, Google Play has been mentioned, is this true?

I've rooted all of my Android devices (in fact, ability to root is now one of my criteria anytime I get a new device). The root management applications that I've used (SuperSU and Superuser) both can be configured to allow or deny root by default and to ask you when any specific app requests root. The main pitfall would be if an app that you trust and allow to access root does something malicious with it. No app (including Google Play) that I've tried has failed because of root.

Basically, rooting a table just means being able to put "su" somewhere executable and assigning the correct permissions to it. This can be more or less complicated depending on the device, but "unrooting" the device is as simple as deleting the "su" binary (which itself isn't always as easy as it sounds, but both SuperSU and Superuser have that option). If the process to root your device isn't too difficult, then you could indeed root when you want to and then unroot when you're done without much inconvenience.

Originally Posted by Steve3742

Thanks again for your solutions. I'll implement one of them.

You're welcome!

[Purple Lady]

Chainfire's Supersu app has a checkbox to enable Superuser so unrooting can be as simple as that. That way you can also turn it back on if you need it for something else.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

No app (including Google Play) that I've tried has failed because of root.

Believe it or not, MyQuest app to see the results of my bloodwork will not work until I temp unroot. I have no clue why they would do that.

[ballfresno]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

That said, the latest NOOK app stores ebook files in "/data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books", which as you feared, is only accessible to root.

Thanks for this. Rooted my Nexus 7 and I can again read my copies of Analog and Asimov's.

Is it really so difficult for publishers to realise what a nuisance all of this is? Why can't they sell direct given that, in this case, the epubs are not DRMed. I want to give them my money but if I have to jump through further hurdles to do so, I have plenty of other books and magazines to read.

[Steve3742]

Just to give an update:

I thought i'd try the simpler solution mentioned by Difflugia, which was to install an older version of Nook for Android. So I installed Nook for Android 2.5, which downloads books from the library into the Content folder - which is readable without rooting. I installed it OK, signed in and downloaded my Library - and found that the book I wanted didn't download (all the others did.)

I can think of a few reasons why. Perhaps it's because it's a book I bought with a more up to date version of the app and so it wouldn't download. Perhaps it's because the older app had US settings (I couldn't get the Shop button to take me anywhere but the US store, which is useless in the UK as it won't let you buy from it.) I doubt this last one, else it'd not have downloaded my other books. Or perhaps it's because they've turned off downloading recent books for older versions of the app (in the UK at least.)

And you know what? I don't care. Increasingly frustrated with my inability to read a book that I've paid for on my e-reader, I spent 5 minutes on Google and got a copy for free. Started reading it today, shaping up to be a good read.

But I've had it with Barnes and Noble. I will never buy another book from them. Even Amazon are better than this and that's saying something (in the UK, at least, it's harder to find a more damning insult.) And I doubt that I'm the only one who feels this way or has taken a similar decision to this. You've got to wonder at the stupidity of a company that drives its customers away like they're doing.

[notyou]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Once you have the above software downloaded and installed, type the following in a command shell:

adb backup bn.ereader

Drat. When I try to run this, I'm getting "Bus error: 10"

This is on a Nexus 4, running 5.1.1 (Lollipop. Yeah, it's slow.)

Weird.

[notyou]

Originally Posted by notyou

Drat. When I try to run this, I'm getting "Bus error: 10"

This is on a Nexus 4, running 5.1.1 (Lollipop. Yeah, it's slow.)

Weird.

Problem solved:

adb backup -f backup.ab bn.ereader

Ugh, even though adb backup is supposed to use "backup.ab" as the default filename, it doesn't, and the error doesn't even tell you that's the problem. Lovely.

[cellocgw]

[If you have adb running, you can try the command
sudo ./adb pull "/data/data/bn.ereader"
Tho' in my case it just pulled an empty directory even tho' I am reasonably sure I have a book or two there.

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by cellocgw

[If you have adb running, you can try the command
sudo ./adb pull "/data/data/bn.ereader"
Tho' in my case it just pulled an empty directory even tho' I am reasonably sure I have a book or two there.

I was able to extract the books from my nook app on my android phone to my linux laptop. I connected my phone and entered "adb shell" to get a command prompt. At that point I issued the "su" command to get root access. I then used cd to goto the book directory. From there I issued the command:

tar -cf /sdcard/Download/nookbooks *.epub

This created a file in the user accessible storage with the books in an archive.
At that point I exited the su command and then the shell command. From the linux prompt I then issued:

adb pull "/sdcard/Download/nookbooks"

This copied the archive to my linux laptop. I now have to address the DRM issue on some books.

Dave

[cellocgw]

Originally Posted by dhdurgee

I was able to extract the books from my nook app on my android phone to my linux laptop. I connected my phone and entered "adb shell" to get a command prompt. At that point I issued the "su" command to get root access. I then used cd to goto the book directory. From there I issued the command:

tar -cf /sdcard/Download/nookbooks *.epub

This created a file in the user accessible storage with the books in an archive.
At that point I exited the su command and then the shell command. From the linux prompt I then issued:

adb pull "/sdcard/Download/nookbooks"

This copied the archive to my linux laptop. I now have to address the DRM issue on some books.

Dave

I suspect this works only because you have root access on your phone. My tablet does not have root access.
As to DRM, removing Barnes&Noble locks is trivial - see ignoblededrm at, e.g. http://www.epubor.com/calibre-drm-removal-plugins.html

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by cellocgw

I suspect this works only because you have root access on your phone. My tablet does not have root access.
As to DRM, removing Barnes&Noble locks is trivial - see ignoblededrm at, e.g. http://www.epubor.com/calibre-drm-removal-plugins.html

I am sure the fact that my phone is rooted is indeed a requirement to be able to use this approach. I was able to update Calibre to address the DRM issue and now am happy with this approach.

Dave

[MobileFinder]

You can find all the files of NOOK app ,and the latest NOOK app stores ebook files in "/data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books",, is only accessible to root and you can easily find it.