How to convert Kindle KFX books in Windows 7?

[Eddy]

Help, please. For a long time I've been using Calibre 3.44 on Windows 7, to convert my Kindle purchases to epub format so that I can enjoy reading them in the "Moonreader Pro" app on my phone.

Today I bought a new Kindle book, opened "Kindle for PC" on my computer, updated the library, the book appeared in the list, but I couldn't download it. To download the recently published Kindle book "Kindle for PC" advised that I needed to update to the latest version of "Kindle for PC" for Windows 8 and 10, but I and my computer couldn't handle either of them.

I understand that this is my first encounter with Kindle's "new" KFX format.

I have read that I must also update Calibre to version 5.00 or higher to be able to install the KFX plugin, but I suspect that Calibre 5.00 or higher won't operate on "Windows 7".

So, please, is there a workaround, so that I can convert Kindle KFX books on my Windows 7 computer?

[theducks]

Is your PC 64bit?
My Dell Optiplex 780 updated to W10pro just fine fro W7Pro.
Calibre 7.x is currently installed and working (just a bit slower than my other W10 which is an i7 )

There are reasons to NOT update. Windows Media center went away (and my USB HD tuner stopped working because no W10 support)

[Sirtel]

You can buy a cheap, used eink Kindle and register it to your Amazon account; then you'll be able to use the "Download & Transfer" option in your Content & Devices to download your purchases to your computer and deDRM them. No KFX involved in that.

Otherwise... probably not.

[Eddy]

Thank you, @theducks.

And thank you, @Sirtel.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You can buy a cheap, used eink Kindle and register it to your Amazon account; then you'll be able to use the "Download & Transfer" option in your Content & Devices to download your purchases to your computer and deDRM them. No KFX involved in that.

Sirtel, to update you. I remembered that I had an old e-ink Kindle-reader buried away in the cold of the garage, so I dug it out, charged it up, was amazed it still worked, and then connected it to my Amazon account and, yes, the book downloaded. It downloaded as an AZW3 file, perhaps because the book was published quite recently, and when I tried to convert it to epub using Calibre, Calibre gave me the same DRM "can't convert" message that I received yesterday when trying to convert the KFX file.

Perhaps Kindle books published prior to 2023 are still in a format which Calibre can convert to epub. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon does not slowly go through its back-catalogue and upgrade all its Kindle books to the new DRM standard, which Calibre can't convert.

It's all so very disappointing, because I love reading books in epub format on Moonreader Pro. However, there is a ray of hope, because another member has said that recently published books purchased from Kobo can still be converted so as to be usable with one's own preferred e-reader.

[DNSB]

Have you updated your copy of DeDRM? Use this link for the latest version.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Have you updated your copy of DeDRM? Use this link for the latest version.

Hi DNSB. Thanks for helping.

I've just loaded the DeDRM zip file via Calibre's Plugins icon and then tried to convert the book, but after a few seconds of processing I got the "book is locked by DRM" message.

I'm using Calibre 3.44 on Windows 7. It has converted Kindles for me successfully right up until a few months ago, although I think the books I converted were published before 2023, which may explain why Calibre was able to handle them.

Any further ideas?

[Sirtel]

You need to configure the deDRM plugin with the serial number of your Kindle.

And no need to download the books to the Kindle. Use the Download & Transfer via USB option in your Content & Devices to download the file to your computer.

AND, DRM is removed on import, not when converting. So after configuring the deDRM plugin, you'll need to delete the file from Calibre and import it again. DRM won't be removed from a file already in the library.

[JSWolf]

I agree that you should upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 10 64-bit and then upgrade to the latest calibre.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I agree that you should upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 10 64-bit and then upgrade to the latest calibre.

Jon's advice is good if your computer will support a Windows 10/Windows 11 upgrade. A lot of the older computers I'm running into now are not able to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11 leaving the owners with the choice of not upgrading or spending the money to purchase a new computer. Painful either way.

[jmurphy]

If the OP is running Win7 32bit (they didn't say) , it isn't possible to upgrade to Win10 64 bit, changing "bitness" requires a clean install, not an upgrade.

Also the upgrade from 7 to 10 is no longer free.

jmurphy

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by jmurphy

If the OP is running Win7 32bit (they didn't say) , it isn't possible to upgrade to Win10 64 bit, changing "bitness" requires a clean install, not an upgrade.

Also the upgrade from 7 to 10 is no longer free.

jmurphy

Even when it was free, it sometimes wasn't, according to MS.
There are other options for existing HW. But even with a fresh install, you can't install the 64 bit (Mac, Windows or Linux) needed for Calibre after I think 5.44 (?) if it's only a 32 bit CPU, or an unsupported 64 bit.