How do you back up your ebooks?

HarleyB · 08-10-2010, 01:13 AM

I am new to ebooks since I bought my Kobo at the end of May but in the past few months I have acquired a nice collection. I wouldn't like to lose them so what should I do to protect them?

At the moment I have my books on the Kobo, in ADE on my computer, and the ones I have purchased from Kobo and Borders are in their "clouds" - what ever that means!

I am thinking that my Kobo might die or be lost and I could choose to replace it with a different ereader.
My computer could die. It seems to do that regularly.

Borders, Kobo, Adobe etc could go out of business.

The only back up I have so far is for some of the books which I have backed up on an external hard drive. I have been thinking about using an SD card to make another copy of the books but I thought I would ask the question here.

sabredog · 08-10-2010, 02:33 AM

I do a double backup.

1. Calibre library and separate location on same HDD
2. External 500Gb Western Digital portable using Microsoft's free Synctoy utility.

ficbot · 08-10-2010, 07:16 AM

My Calibre library is kept inside my Dropbox folder. It backs up automatically to a web account. You can get two gb for free and if you sign up using the link I gave, you (and I) get some extra space

I would not reply on the 'cloud' of the bookstore. I had some issues recently where I had to re-download some books but since they were no longer for sale by Fictionwise where I bought them, they would not let me download then again. It took awhile to straighten out and left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I like Dropbox because it is a no-brainer. Whatever is in that folder gets backed up and I don't have to think about it. When my hard drive crashed, it was very easy to get things up and running again, I just downloaded the folder, told Calibre my library was there, and it found everything.

Stitchawl · 08-10-2010, 07:30 AM

All my books are triple backed-up. My entire library (with its sub-folder for the Calibre library) are on my internal hard drive and two external hard drives.

Stitchawl

wrenn1 · 08-10-2010, 11:31 AM

I was unable to save Kobo books on Calibre. I got the message that they were DRM secure or something like that. I saved them on disc but got an error message when I tried to open them from the disc.

clintbradford · 08-10-2010, 12:48 PM

You need to maintain THREE COPIES MINIMUM of ANY important file: The original, an external drive copy, and an off-site copy.

Your computer's hard drive will fail. Fact o' life. Having a bootable backup of your system on a local external drive is important. But if the house burns or a thief drops in, you need to be able to restore from an off-site copy.

carld · 08-10-2010, 12:54 PM

I'm in the process of copying everything into Calbre as well. I have ebooks scattered all over my drive and on the network. I'm not much of an organizer, so once I have things set up I'll start doing some sort of backup. Autobackup to Dropbox sounds interesting.

Edit: No DropBox for Windows Mobile though

wrenn1 · 08-10-2010, 01:00 PM

Can someone tell me how you back up a DRM protected ebook? TIA

Pookeysgirl · 08-10-2010, 01:04 PM

All my books are saved on a USB flash drive and an SD card.

clintbradford · 08-10-2010, 01:39 PM

>> ... All my books are saved on a USB flash drive and an SD card ...

Where do you keep 'em? If at your desk, you're at risk.

A friend of mine makes weekly backups onto archival DVDs, and mails them to a friend. Not quite as painless as the automated systems (like Carbonite), but it works.

sabredog · 08-10-2010, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrenn1

Can someone tell me how you back up a DRM protected ebook? TIA

Simply copy it to a storage device like any other file.

To give maximum flexibility though, it is best to remove DRM first. This ensures your purchased ebook survives the estore you purchased it from or an ereader changeover.

leighisme · 08-10-2010, 09:01 PM

I've never figured out how to do it. Whenever I google it I get more confused...

ellimak · 08-10-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

My Calibre library is kept inside my Dropbox folder. It backs up automatically to a web account. You can get two gb for free and if you sign up using the link I gave, you (and I) get some extra space

I would not reply on the 'cloud' of the bookstore. I had some issues recently where I had to re-download some books but since they were no longer for sale by Fictionwise where I bought them, they would not let me download then again. It took awhile to straighten out and left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I like Dropbox because it is a no-brainer. Whatever is in that folder gets backed up and I don't have to think about it. When my hard drive crashed, it was very easy to get things up and running again, I just downloaded the folder, told Calibre my library was there, and it found everything.

Just used your referral link for a Dropbox account -- it's working out pretty well for me so far.

Now my library will be backed up there as well as on my external hard drive. That should be plenty, I think.

wrenn1 · 08-10-2010, 09:51 PM

I have tried putting purchased DRM protected books on Calibre and on a disk and neither will allow me to open them. I get the message that they are .acsm or whatever those letters are.

It seems to me that if you can save/store them (other than on the original computer) then you can also 'share' them?

sabredog · 08-10-2010, 10:05 PM

The .ACSM file is a "seed file" and must be opened up in ADE to download the ePUB ebook file.

You can then back that up, or read it with no issues on an ADE compliant ereader.

08-10-2010, 01:13 AM	#1
HarleyB Fanatic Posts: 565 Karma: 1113286 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast Australia Device: Kobo (RIP), iPad, iPhone 4, Kobo Touch x2, Kobo Glo	How do you back up your ebooks? I am new to ebooks since I bought my Kobo at the end of May but in the past few months I have acquired a nice collection. I wouldn't like to lose them so what should I do to protect them? At the moment I have my books on the Kobo, in ADE on my computer, and the ones I have purchased from Kobo and Borders are in their "clouds" - what ever that means! I am thinking that my Kobo might die or be lost and I could choose to replace it with a different ereader. My computer could die. It seems to do that regularly. Borders, Kobo, Adobe etc could go out of business. The only back up I have so far is for some of the books which I have backed up on an external hard drive. I have been thinking about using an SD card to make another copy of the books but I thought I would ask the question here.

08-10-2010, 12:54 PM	#7
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I'm in the process of copying everything into Calbre as well. I have ebooks scattered all over my drive and on the network. I'm not much of an organizer, so once I have things set up I'll start doing some sort of backup. Autobackup to Dropbox sounds interesting. Edit: No DropBox for Windows Mobile though Last edited by carld; 08-10-2010 at 01:01 PM.

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08-10-2010, 02:33 AM	#2
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	I do a double backup. 1. Calibre library and separate location on same HDD 2. External 500Gb Western Digital portable using Microsoft's free Synctoy utility.

08-10-2010, 07:16 AM	#3
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	My Calibre library is kept inside my Dropbox folder. It backs up automatically to a web account. You can get two gb for free and if you sign up using the link I gave, you (and I) get some extra space I would not reply on the 'cloud' of the bookstore. I had some issues recently where I had to re-download some books but since they were no longer for sale by Fictionwise where I bought them, they would not let me download then again. It took awhile to straighten out and left a really bad taste in my mouth. I like Dropbox because it is a no-brainer. Whatever is in that folder gets backed up and I don't have to think about it. When my hard drive crashed, it was very easy to get things up and running again, I just downloaded the folder, told Calibre my library was there, and it found everything.

08-10-2010, 07:30 AM	#4
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	All my books are triple backed-up. My entire library (with its sub-folder for the Calibre library) are on my internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Stitchawl

08-10-2010, 11:31 AM	#5
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	I was unable to save Kobo books on Calibre. I got the message that they were DRM secure or something like that. I saved them on disc but got an error message when I tried to open them from the disc.

08-10-2010, 12:48 PM	#6
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	You need to maintain THREE COPIES MINIMUM of ANY important file: The original, an external drive copy, and an off-site copy. Your computer's hard drive will fail. Fact o' life. Having a bootable backup of your system on a local external drive is important. But if the house burns or a thief drops in, you need to be able to restore from an off-site copy.

08-10-2010, 01:00 PM	#8
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Can someone tell me how you back up a DRM protected ebook? TIA

08-10-2010, 01:04 PM	#9
Pookeysgirl Wizard Posts: 1,705 Karma: 12696746 Join Date: May 2010 Device: K3, Kobo Mini	All my books are saved on a USB flash drive and an SD card.

08-10-2010, 01:39 PM	#10
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	>> ... All my books are saved on a USB flash drive and an SD card ... Where do you keep 'em? If at your desk, you're at risk. A friend of mine makes weekly backups onto archival DVDs, and mails them to a friend. Not quite as painless as the automated systems (like Carbonite), but it works.

08-10-2010, 09:01 PM	#12
leighisme Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 14 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Whitehorse, YT Device: Kobo Touch, iPhone 4, iPad2	I've never figured out how to do it. Whenever I google it I get more confused...

08-10-2010, 09:51 PM	#14
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	I have tried putting purchased DRM protected books on Calibre and on a disk and neither will allow me to open them. I get the message that they are .acsm or whatever those letters are. It seems to me that if you can save/store them (other than on the original computer) then you can also 'share' them?

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08-10-2010, 10:05 PM	#15
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	The .ACSM file is a "seed file" and must be opened up in ADE to download the ePUB ebook file. You can then back that up, or read it with no issues on an ADE compliant ereader.