Fail message from Calibre about Kobo Touch

[mXb]

I am suddenly getting what others have posted about, a "FAIL" message from calibre about the Kobo database when I plug my Kobo into the PC.

Yes I know there are posts elsewhere but they seem to just peter out ?

My Kobo is using the older firmware 1.9.17, and I didn't try to update it because of the problems.

I haven't used my Kobo Desktop software for the same reason.

My Kobo has been working fine until today when I plugged it in to transfer some books to it from calibre.

calibre is running 0.8.62, but I don't know which version it was running the last time I had my Kobo connected to it ?

I tried uninstalling calibre and reinstalling 0.8.61 but still get the fail message.

But I notice that calibre still has all the books in it's Library, so obviously t wasn't a "clean" reinstall.

Would a clean reinstall of an earlier version of calibre fix the problem, and how do I do that please ?

[PeterT]

Are you sure that the filesysyem / databse on the Kobo itself is not corrupted?

Could you post the actual errors that Calibre is displaying.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mXb

I am suddenly getting what others have posted about, a "FAIL" message from calibre about the Kobo database when I plug my Kobo into the PC.

Yes I know there are posts elsewhere but they seem to just peter out ?

My Kobo is using the older firmware 1.9.17, and I didn't try to update it because of the problems.

I haven't used my Kobo Desktop software for the same reason.

My Kobo has been working fine until today when I plugged it in to transfer some books to it from calibre.

calibre is running 0.8.62, but I don't know which version it was running the last time I had my Kobo connected to it ?

I tried uninstalling calibre and reinstalling 0.8.61 but still get the fail message.

But I notice that calibre still has all the books in it's Library, so obviously t wasn't a "clean" reinstall.

Would a clean reinstall of an earlier version of calibre fix the problem, and how do I do that please ?

There are basically 3 parts to Calibre:
1)The Program files
2)The (logon) User settings-preferences, user-Plugins
3)The Library

Uninstall only removes #1, which is why your reinstall started out by reading #2 which tells it where to find #3

#2 can be located by using the button in Preferences: Miscellaneous

I can't help with the Kobo problem, but I suspect the issue might (now?) be there in the form of some sort of DB corruption.

[mXb]

This is a screen grab of the calibre message. First time I've tried adding an attachment so hope it works. It seems you have to click on it to make it big enough to read. I think this problem has been discussed elsewhere but only suggestion seemed to be to a factory reset.
I don't want to do that since it was working ok with previous versions of calibre.
Surely if I can uninstall calibre completely , that all files, folders, etc, then reinstalling it like its from new maybe it will work again ?

[mXb]

Originally Posted by theducks

There are basically 3 parts to Calibre:
1)The Program files
2)The (logon) User settings-preferences, user-Plugins
3)The Library

Uninstall only removes #1, which is why your reinstall started out by reading #2 which tells it where to find #3

#2 can be located by using the button in Preferences: Miscellaneous

I can't help with the Kobo problem, but I suspect the issue might (now?) be there in the form of some sort of DB corruption.

Hi theducks

You say that uninstalling calibre, using Windows uninstall presumably, only removes part of the program ?
If I want to completely remove all of it say because I don't want to use it anymore, I run Windows uninstall then just manually delete parts 2 & 3 ?

Part 3. I assume you mean the folder "Calibre Library" that contains all the authors and their books ? I know where that is as I use a copy of that to update another computer.

Part2. I don't know about that so I'll have to check...

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mXb

This is a screen grab of the calibre message. First time I've tried adding an attachment so hope it works. It seems you have to click on it to make it big enough to read. I think this problem has been discussed elsewhere but only suggestion seemed to be to a factory reset.
I don't want to do that since it was working ok with previous versions of calibre.
Surely if I can uninstall calibre completely , that all files, folders, etc, then reinstalling it like its from new maybe it will work again ?

That is not a 'Fail' message, but a warning/advisory that Calibre has discovered that there now exists a known condition that would require you to perform steps on your device if you want full calibre functionality again.

Read the instructions very carefully and decide if you want to proceed with the optional.

IIRC If you do not, Calibre will still send books, but little else will effect your Kobo

[mXb]

The point I am trying to make is that my Kobo ISN'T running updated firmware/database as it hasn't been conected to the Kobo Desktop program (which is how it is updated) since before the new Kobo firmware was released.
It has been working quite happily with calibre 0.8.61 or 0.8.62, it's a bit difficult to sure exactly which one I was running when I last connected them together.

If I can remove all the elements of calibre from my PC then install say 0.8.60 so it's like a first time intallation hopefully it should work.

I looked at Preferences - Misc. and clicking the bottom( ?) button took me to "Roaming" that has a calibre folder in which there are a whole load of files !

Are you saying these aren't removed when calibre is uninstalled ?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mXb

The point I am trying to make is that my Kobo ISN'T running updated firmware/database as it hasn't been conected to the Kobo Desktop program (which is how it is updated) since before the new Kobo firmware was released.
It has been working quite happily with calibre 0.8.61 or 0.8.62, it's a bit difficult to sure exactly which one I was running when I last connected them together.

If I can remove all the elements of calibre from my PC then install say 0.8.60 so it's like a first time intallation hopefully it should work.

I looked at Preferences - Misc. and clicking the bottom( ?) button took me to "Roaming" that has a calibre folder in which there are a whole load of files !

Are you saying these aren't removed when calibre is uninstalled ?

Correct. They stay on uninstall, (Calibre does not do a full, 'Purge everything', Uninstall)
they are your custom settings and Library Location(s).
Deletion of that folder, will require you to supply the Library location at re-install, as well as install any user plugins you had, as well as their configration.

Basically this folder contains the Per User configuration (as opposed to the Per Library configuration, which is stored some place in the Library folder)

[mXb]

Originally Posted by theducks

Correct. They stay on uninstall, (Calibre does not do a full, 'Purge everything', Uninstall)
they are your custom settings and Library Location(s).
Deletion of that folder, will require you to supply the Library location at re-install, as well as install any user plugins you had, as well as their configration.

Basically this folder contains the Per User configuration (as opposed to the Per Library configuration, which is stored some place in the Library folder)

I can understand that idea for update purposes, it means you don't have to setup the program again.

However not from the point of view for someone wanting to uninstall calibre because they don't want to use it anymore.

Leaving a load of "orphaned" files & folders behind is bad news !

A choice of updating calibre or permanently uninstalling calibre would be a better idea.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mXb

I can understand that idea for update purposes, it means you don't have to setup the program again.

However not from the point of view for someone wanting to uninstall calibre because they don't want to use it anymore.

Leaving a load of "orphaned" files & folders behind is bad news !

A choice of updating calibre or permanently uninstalling calibre would be a better idea.

It is only 2 additional deletes (single library), that can't happen accidentally...Even during an upgrade.
Delete the hidden folder ,delete the Library after uninstalling. 99.9% will be gone (some of the building blocks used, also leave breadcrumbs in the registry. But then, other programs may use the same blocks also)


My XP system probably has 1,000's of orphans (especially in the registry) that I can't identify simply.
Then there is the Adobe Reader, updates that add-leave dozens of unnecessary or obsolete entries. Or Sun Java , that leave all the old versions (I recently read a note on the web page, it is suggested that you uninstall them).
The real question is when is a program an UPGRADE (where the old version [and folder] is to be replaced) or an update (patch) in the same folder. Calibre does the latter (except as noted on the download page)

[mXb]

Originally Posted by theducks

It is only 2 additional deletes (single library), that can't happen accidentally...Even during an upgrade.
Delete the hidden folder ,delete the Library after uninstalling. 99.9% will be gone (some of the building blocks used, also leave breadcrumbs in the registry. But then, other programs may use the same blocks also)


My XP system probably has 1,000's of orphans (especially in the registry) that I can't identify simply.
Then there is the Adobe Reader, updates that add-leave dozens of unnecessary or obsolete entries. Or Sun Java , that leave all the old versions (I recently read a note on the web page, it is suggested that you uninstall them).
The real question is when is a program an UPGRADE (where the old version [and folder] is to be replaced) or an update (patch) in the same folder. Calibre does the latter (except as noted on the download page)

...which was why I downloaded a program for my XP machine to check for and list "ophans" so they could be deleted.
One of the worst was a well known free Anti Virus prog which I had to get a special "remover" for and even then there were dozens of files & folders left !

I don't much like the idea of just deleting the "Calibre" folder in "Roaming" on my Win 7 PC in case it has some sort of knockon effect and stops it working so I'll just remove the "Calibre Library" and see if that helps to give a clean reinstall of calibre.

I might try deleting both on my XP PC as it doesn't matter so much with that as it needs a complete reformat anyway.

Failing that I have to use ADE to load my Kobo with books until Kobo have fixed their firmware and calibre works ok with it again...

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mXb

...which was why I downloaded a program for my XP machine to check for and list "ophans" so they could be deleted.
One of the worst was a well known free Anti Virus prog which I had to get a special "remover" for and even then there were dozens of files & folders left !

I don't much like the idea of just deleting the "Calibre" folder in "Roaming" on my Win 7 PC in case it has some sort of knockon effect and stops it working so I'll just remove the "Calibre Library" and see if that helps to give a clean reinstall of calibre.

I might try deleting both on my XP PC as it doesn't matter so much with that as it needs a complete reformat anyway.

Failing that I have to use ADE to load my Kobo with books until Kobo have fixed their firmware and calibre works ok with it again...

You are destroying your Library, that has no effect on which device it is used with (except formats available).

Removal of the config folder IS the recommended procedure for a difficult corrupted 'configuration'. It will be recreated (the Welcome Wizard will run) when you next start Calibre.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by mXb

The point I am trying to make is that my Kobo ISN'T running updated firmware/database as it hasn't been conected to the Kobo Desktop program (which is how it is updated) since before the new Kobo firmware was released.

Calibre says that your firmware is newer than the driver supports.

Originally Posted by mXb

It has been working quite happily with calibre 0.8.61 or 0.8.62, it's a bit difficult to sure exactly which one I was running when I last connected them together.

It's not hard to say. I believe the last time you could have connected to calibre an not have gotten that warning when connecting was version 0.8.59, because that warning was inserted in 0.8.60

Release: 0.8.60 [13 Jul, 2012]

Bug Fixes

• Kobo driver: Do not perform write operations on the Kobo database if its version is newer than the latest version the driver supports, for safety

As theducks stated calibre will still send books to your device fine. I think the auto-metadata management may not work because for the safety of your Kobo's database calibre will not write directly to it until the driver is updated.

If you wish to return to version 0.8.59 simply download it from Sourceforge. Find the calibre directory that has the calibre.exe file and delete that folder then execute the msi file downloaded from sourceforge. Since there is no major calibre database change it is just that simple. There will be no orphaned folders or files doing it this way.

Originally Posted by mXb

Failing that I have to use ADE to load my Kobo with books until Kobo have fixed their firmware and calibre works ok with it again...

As stated previously your Kobo will work fine with the latest version of calibre. It will work exactly as every eReader works with calibre except for what was stated in the warning. You may have to update collections and delete books via your device.

Personally if I had a Kobo I would be using the latest version of calibre because a fix for showing Kobo books on device was included. Additionally you wouldn't be chancing possible corruption of the database on your Kobo.

Release: 0.8.63 [02 Aug, 2012]

Bug Fixes

• Fix regression in Kobo driver that caused the on device column to not be updated after deleting books

Good Luck.

[camiller]

Incidentally, I get the exact same error with a Kobo Wireless (version prior to touch) that hasn't had a firmware update in ages. Deletes always worked fine before. I'll probably go the route of configuring the device to attempt to work with the "newest" firmware just to get back to where I was.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by camiller

Incidentally, I get the exact same error with a Kobo Wireless (version prior to touch) that hasn't had a firmware update in ages. Deletes always worked fine before. I'll probably go the route of configuring the device to attempt to work with the "newest" firmware just to get back to where I was.

Looking back through the thread something hasn't been mentioned:

There have been no changes to the code of the Kobo device driver in calibre that affects the actual function since before February of this year.

The change being discussed here is a simply a warning. This was put in on the 7th of July and went into calibre version 0.8.60. It tests what database version is found on the Kobo device and compares it to the versions that the calibre driver understands. The driver is coded for up to database version 33. Unfortunately, no one has been keeping this up to date. But, luckily there had been no changes to the Kobo database that caused any problems.

I don't know exactly what firmware version DBVersion of 33 is from. From my Kobo Touch, I have copies of the database from various times. I have one from when I recently did a factory reset the device. It has DBVersion 29 for firmware 1.9.11. I also have DBVersion 36 which I came from either 1.9.14 or 1.9.16. The previous firmware I was using was 1.9.17 which DBVersion of 50.

I have had a good look at the different versions of the database and the driver code, and there are no changes in the structure anywhere the calibre uses. So, it is safe to continue using calibre with these firmwares. I don't have a Kobo Wireless, so I can't check it. But, from comments from other people here, it is still OK.

Now the firmware that triggered all this, V2.0.0 for the Kobo Touch, is also safe with the current driver. Again, the database structure has not changed in the areas that the driver touches. But, there have been some changes that the driver doesn't go near and would be great to support. It now needs someone with the time and inclination to update the driver for this. I've had a look at it and have some ideas. But, I would want to split the driver into two. That would be either a Touch and a non-touch, or a pre- and post- firmware 2.0.0 drivers. Both ways have advantages and disadvantages.