corrupt database, (powercut), possible solution

Perkin · 09-19-2010, 04:34 AM

I've just had a power-cut and on restarting, discovered that calibre's database was corrupt. Luckily I made a backup just a few days ago.

However, I have a couple of questions regarding rebuilding the database if I hadn't had the backup, from the files inside the library folder.

What filetypes aren't capable of storing all the metadata in them?

Would storing an *.opf file in the directory with each entry be able to store all the metadata needed to rebuild the database.

If it would, Could calibre do this automatically as a 'backup-redundancy' measure.

kovidgoyal · 09-19-2010, 11:27 AM

Try this

calibre-debug --reinitialize-db=/path/to/metadata.db

Perkin · 09-19-2010, 01:07 PM

Kovid, It wasn't a problem as I'd backed up just a few days before and didn't actually lose any info, I was just curious about rebuilding the database from scratch, and whether storing an opf in with the entries would help, as you could store all the metadata which wouldn't be included in some formats, just in case.

For instance, have a COPY of the library, remove the metadata.db, and try to rebuild the library, would storing the opf's be a good step as reguard as to rebuilding said database.

kovidgoyal · 09-19-2010, 01:22 PM

yes, you can use save to disk to "unwind" your database and then add books to recreate it.

Perkin · 09-19-2010, 01:32 PM

Could calibre then automatically store a copy of an opf in with the entries, just so if anything like this happens again, and a user hadn't got a backup (of any sort), then rebuilding would be fairly simple.

You could even have an option (perhaps in preferences, with 'Check database integrity') to 'Rebuild database from directory', which could read these opf's and rebuild the database as much as possible.

kovidgoyal · 09-19-2010, 01:38 PM

It's certainly possible, but not something that's high on my priority list.

Perkin · 09-19-2010, 01:43 PM

I wouldn't think it would be, other things are way more worthy.

And calibre is fairly bulletproof in this regard anyway, just having the powercut made me realize what I would miss if I hadn't had a recent backup.

Dopedangel · 09-19-2010, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perkin

I wouldn't think it would be, other things are way more worthy.

And calibre is fairly bulletproof in this regard anyway, just having the powercut made me realize what I would miss if I hadn't had a recent backup.

I had the same questions and problems. But now that I am using dropbox this is no longer a problem as if I ever have a metadata corruption and I can't recover the previous versions are available to me in dropbox so very easy to recover and I don't need to remember to backup every time after heavy us as it is done automatically.

09-19-2010, 04:34 AM	#1
Perkin Guru Posts: 655 Karma: 64171 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Kent, England, Sol 3, ZZ9 plural Z Alpha Device: Sony PRS-300, Kobo Aura HD, iPad (Marvin)	corrupt database, (powercut), possible solution I've just had a power-cut and on restarting, discovered that calibre's database was corrupt. Luckily I made a backup just a few days ago. However, I have a couple of questions regarding rebuilding the database if I hadn't had the backup, from the files inside the library folder. What filetypes aren't capable of storing all the metadata in them? Would storing an *.opf file in the directory with each entry be able to store all the metadata needed to rebuild the database. If it would, Could calibre do this automatically as a 'backup-redundancy' measure.

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09-19-2010, 11:27 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,835 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Try this calibre-debug --reinitialize-db=/path/to/metadata.db

09-19-2010, 01:07 PM	#3
Perkin Guru Posts: 655 Karma: 64171 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Kent, England, Sol 3, ZZ9 plural Z Alpha Device: Sony PRS-300, Kobo Aura HD, iPad (Marvin)	Kovid, It wasn't a problem as I'd backed up just a few days before and didn't actually lose any info, I was just curious about rebuilding the database from scratch, and whether storing an opf in with the entries would help, as you could store all the metadata which wouldn't be included in some formats, just in case. For instance, have a COPY of the library, remove the metadata.db, and try to rebuild the library, would storing the opf's be a good step as reguard as to rebuilding said database.

09-19-2010, 01:22 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,835 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	yes, you can use save to disk to "unwind" your database and then add books to recreate it.

09-19-2010, 01:32 PM	#5
Perkin Guru Posts: 655 Karma: 64171 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Kent, England, Sol 3, ZZ9 plural Z Alpha Device: Sony PRS-300, Kobo Aura HD, iPad (Marvin)	Could calibre then automatically store a copy of an opf in with the entries, just so if anything like this happens again, and a user hadn't got a backup (of any sort), then rebuilding would be fairly simple. You could even have an option (perhaps in preferences, with 'Check database integrity') to 'Rebuild database from directory', which could read these opf's and rebuild the database as much as possible.

09-19-2010, 01:38 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,835 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	It's certainly possible, but not something that's high on my priority list.

09-19-2010, 01:43 PM	#7
Perkin Guru Posts: 655 Karma: 64171 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Kent, England, Sol 3, ZZ9 plural Z Alpha Device: Sony PRS-300, Kobo Aura HD, iPad (Marvin)	I wouldn't think it would be, other things are way more worthy. And calibre is fairly bulletproof in this regard anyway, just having the powercut made me realize what I would miss if I hadn't had a recent backup.

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