[pjmpjm]

Experienced Calibre user here . . . nearly ten years. Using latest Windows 11 OS and latest Calibre v6.25 software on a new HP laptop.

This is a new laptop computer with a smallish hard drive which I set up last week. I moved Calibre and have Calibre Library placed on my 1 TB USB drive. It's large, with 40,000 books and about 600 MB in size.

All was running perfectly well for a week.

Yesterday I tried to do a backup on another external drive using FreeFileSync (my usual backup method) and it failed. Backup drive wasn't quite big enough. Ran it overnight and awoke to an error message.

Removed the backup drive from the laptop and ran a Calibre maintenance on my (still working) Calibre Library on my USB drive. That seemed to finish.

Tried to restart Calibre and that's where my troubles began.

Calibre would try to run, show the usual splash screen, and then just 'sit there' in my taskbar. Couldn't get it to run further. OK, I know lots of things to try . . . and so I did . . .

Here's what I've tried today . . .

1. Rebooted computer 5 times in total.

2. Ran Calibre repair 3 times and rebooted after each one.

3. Finally uninstalled Calibre three times, rebooted, and then reinstalled Calibre.

4. Removed USB drive and manually deleted Calibre directory on C: drive and then rebooted. Tried to install a fresh Calibre v6.25 . . . but it still showed the same behaviour . . . splash screen, then just sitting in the task bar, empty.

This latest failure has me bamboozled. Why can't I simply install a fresh version 6.25 and then tell it where my USB Calibre Library is located? Calibre just won't run. Just won't run. Writing here for Kovid and theducks because I've now completely run out of options.

Am desperate. Please help!