Question for Ken Maltby

[Jabby]

Hi Ken-
I remember, when some time ago, you explained how you let ADE authorize one of your SD cards. I have been searching "KenMaltby/ADE" and get many hits but I can't find the one I'm looking for. I have found many mentions of it, but not how.

Wish I'd saved the link. Can you help?

Regards - John

[Ken Maltby]

OK; The basic Idea is that the ADE program seems to see any FAT file structure partition
(that your OS finds) with a hidden ".adobe-digital-editions" folder, in its root, and containing just a "device.xml" file; as a device that it can "Authorize". An SD card in a
USB Media Reader formatted to FAT16 or FAT32, will be assumed to be the device
described in the "device.xml" file, as far as ADE is concerned.

So, if you were to connect your jetBook to your PC and find the new drive letter your OS made for it, you can copy all the existing files into a folder on your PC's hard drive.
(This provides a backup so you can return your jetBook to the condition it is now.)

Once that is done you can reformat your jetBook's internal (with the ChkDsk/Fix options
checked and to FAT32). You should now have a clean and well structured internal memory. You need to have a "Books" and a "Pictures" folder on the "Root" of the internal
memory. (They can be empty folders.) You can copy back as much or as little of the
original contents as you want, otherwise. ( Having some extra room in the internal
memory can't hurt, in my opinion.) DO NOT copy back any "Digital Editions" folder, or any
hidden Adobe files or folders.

Make sure you have a fresh set of batteries in your JBL then:

First if you only have one SD card then you will want to back it up to a folder on your
PC's hard drive. Format an SD card for use during the update of the firmware. (I still use
FAT16 for this although I understand that FAT32 works as well.) The formatting will
insure a clean card and root directory into which the three update folders go.

You now want to update your jetBook to a Firmware that adds the ADE support to the
jetBook (I think it was the 35m for the regular jetBook, for the jetBook Lite it was 0.16e)
This firmware update will install the hidden ".adobe-digital-editions" folder with the
"device.xml" file onto your jetBook's internal memory. (We will then be able to extract
that folder and use it to make our "ADE Authorized SD Cards", that ADE thinks are your
jetBook.) You can remove the hidden folder, if you wish, later in the process.

Once you have finished the update, make sure ADE is NOT running on your PC and connect the jetBook so that you can make a folder that is a copy of how your internal
memory is right after the update. It should include the hidden folder we need to make
the "ADE Authorized SD Cards".

Now you should have the file and folder you need to make an SD card that, to ADE will
appear as the device described in the "device.xml" file and tell it to create ebook files
able to play in that device. ADE should create a "Digital Editions" folder with a
"manifest.xml" file and some subfolders on the SD card "device".

So now just format an SD card to FAT32 and copy just that hidden folder onto it.
Then with nothing but your SD card reader attached to your PC (NO jetBook) and ADE
now running you can insert the SD card (or SD card in the USB SD card reader, if that is
what you are using). ADE should notice that there is a new device for it to "Authorize",
(your SD card) and do its thing.

Luck;
Ken

[Ken Maltby]

My last post is one way to do it. What most people like better is to just authorize their
real device with ADE and then simply move the ebook from the internal memory
"Digital Editions" folder to the folder of their choice on their SD card, using their PC's
file handling program (ie..Windows Explorer).

Luck;
Ken

[Jabby]

Many thanks Ken, in particular, for your step-by-step instructions. I read your instructions a couple of times until I understood what you were doing. Then it was easy.

I'm going to see if other readers will honor my authorized (micro)SD card. I'll get back to you with what I find out (or to ask for more advise).

Again, thanks!

Regards - John

[Ken Maltby]

If you have other readers that work with ADE, they also should have a hidden folder
with a "device.xml" file, so that ADE can set up the file decription and formatting of
the ebooks for that specific device. You might be able to make SD cards that ADE
would see as one of those, as well.

Luck;
Ken

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

If you have other readers that work with ADE, they also should have a hidden folder
with a "device.xml" file, so that ADE can set up the file decription and formatting of
the ebooks for that specific device. You might be able to make SD cards that ADE
would see as one of those, as well.

Luck;
Ken

That was my plan - but we know what happens to the "best laid plans". Here is where I stand:

After I read your instructions, I saw what you were doing so I thought I would try it with another device. I did and it worked . I now had an authenticated SD card that worked with my tablet (Coby MID7024 running Aldiko).

I am now trying to transport it to my JBL. So far no luck. The Aldiko hidden folder holds two .xml files; activation and device while the JBL only held a device xml. So I copied the activation file only to the JBL - no go. I copied the entire hidden folder to the JBL. I've tried all combinations of extsd and intsd card with and without a Digital Editions folder....and on and on.

Do you have any ideas? I can post the xml files if you think it will help.

Regards - John

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Jabby

That was my plan - but we know what happens to the "best laid plans". Here is where I stand:

After I read your instructions, I saw what you were doing so I thought I would try it with another device. I did and it worked . I now had an authenticated SD card that worked with my tablet (Coby MID7024 running Aldiko).

I am now trying to transport it to my JBL. So far no luck. The Aldiko hidden folder holds two .xml files; activation and device while the JBL only held a device xml. So I copied the activation file only to the JBL - no go. I copied the entire hidden folder to the JBL. I've tried all combinations of extsd and intsd card with and without a Digital Editions folder....and on and on.

Do you have any ideas? I can post the xml files if you think it will help.

Regards - John

I guess I don't follow what you are trying to do. The JBL has the activation
files, in as much as it needs any, built into the Adobe Reader Mobile software
that is embedded into the firmware update. The ADE software that you install
on your PC needs to be "activated/authorized" to provide the anchor Id
(Adobe ID) it needs in the process and allow the ADE software to "Authorize"
devices. The JBL's embedded Adobe Reader Mobile software appears to use
the data that the ADE program on your PC writes into the "manifest.xml" when
it both creates the file and when it updates it for each ebook it adds to the
"authorized device". That is why you need to use ADE to put the ebook onto
your "device". (Remember ADE thinks your SD card is the device that the
"device.xml" file said it was, and it provides ebooks that can be read on that
device, using the reader software that matches the data mentioned in the
"device.xml" and the resulting authorization it puts in the "manifest.xml" file.)
An SD card pretending to be one device can only be used in that device, I
think.

The reader software in each device will have its own way of working. The
script in the .xml files will be different.

If you are trying to use an SD card made for one device in a different device
it won't work. It might work with another of the same make and model
running the same firmware, but I wouldn't count on it.

Having an SD card that ADE sees as your device was mostly to have another
way to deal with manipulating large file structures and get around some DRM
issues. Changes in the DRM scheme made it somewhat less useful.

(But- I find it even easier to just use ADE to enable the download of the
actual ebook file, then disinfect the book file, and be done with it.)

Luck;
Ken

P.S. You could try renaming the "activation" .xml file to "manifest.xml" but
it probably won't work.

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

I guess I don't follow what you are trying to do. The JBL has the activation
files, in as much as it needs any, built into the Adobe Reader Mobile software
that is embedded into the firmware update. The ADE software that you install
on your PC needs to be "activated/authorized" to provide the anchor Id
(Adobe ID) it needs in the process and allow the ADE software to "Authorize"
devices. The JBL's embedded Adobe Reader Mobile software appears to use
the data that the ADE program on your PC writes into the "manifest.xml" when
it both creates the file and when it updates it for each ebook it adds to the
"authorized device". That is why you need to use ADE to put the ebook onto
your "device". (Remember ADE thinks your SD card is the device that the
"device.xml" file said it was, and it provides ebooks that can be read on that
device, using the reader software that matches the data mentioned in the
"device.xml" and the resulting authorization it puts in the "manifest.xml" file.)
An SD card pretending to be one device can only be used in that device, I
think.

The reader software in each device will have its own way of working. The
script in the .xml files will be different.

If you are trying to use an SD card made for one device in a different device
it won't work. It might work with another of the same make and model
running the same firmware, but I wouldn't count on it.

Having an SD card that ADE sees as your device was mostly to have another
way to deal with manipulating large file structures and get around some DRM
issues. Changes in the DRM scheme made it somewhat less useful.

(But- I find it even easier to just use ADE to enable the download of the
actual ebook file, then disinfect the book file, and be done with it.)

Luck;
Ken

P.S. You could try renaming the "activation" .xml file to "manifest.xml" but
it probably won't work.

I was trying to create a sd card that that contained every thing I needed (including the books) so that I could read books on which ever reader I plugged the card into.

Yep - you're right. Each reader has a unique device.xml. So my plan is undo-able. But for the record here is what I did. (in case I want to revisit this later).

When I started I copied the .adobe-digital-editions folder from the intsd to the root of the extsd. The folder contained two files device.xml and devicesalt (it had no extension and held maybe a dozen hex characters).

I then started ADE on my PC and plugged in the reader with the sd card. ADE recognized the sdcard and authorized it. Afer the authorization .adobe-digital-editions contained the activation.xml and device.xml.

I took the sdcard and plugged it into my tablet, turned it on and started Aldiko. I navigated to the DRM file that was in "Digital Editions" that I had created. I opened the book and all was well. I looked in "Digital Editions" and saw that Aldiko had added a Thumbnails folder and the manifest.xml.

One other thing. I had to put everything on the internal sd card to get it to work.

I think I learn more from my goofy ideas than I ever do from my good ones. oh-well

Ken, I want to thank you for your forbearance and please don't laugh to hard when you read this.

Regards - John

[Ken Maltby]

Not laughing, goofy ideas are what I live for. I have learned a lot more fooling with
those, than any other kind. Just like you there, I guess.

Without DRM an ebook file can be read in any reader that supports the format. My mobile
library SD cards work in all my devices, netbooks, and PCs.

Luck;
Ken

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Not laughing, goofy ideas are what I live for. I have learned a lot more fooling with
those, than any other kind. Just like you there, I guess.

Without DRM an ebook file can be read in any reader that supports the format. My mobile
library SD cards work in all my devices, netbooks, and PCs.

Luck;
Ken

I don't have any ethical or moral objection to removing DRM for my own use. It is not difficult to do. It's more of a bother, but I may be forced to be bothered in self defense.

I buy in multiple DRM formats and use multiple ereaders and it is becoming a pain to keep up with which is what. More so for she who must be obeyed. Your solution seems the best. It is reasonable to think that I should be able to read any book I purchase, on any reader I own at any time I damn well please. And so says my wife. So there!

Regards -John

[Ken Maltby]

The DRM proponents do keep it a bother, but all it has done is make Topaz books
something to be avoided. You can usually find the same books available without Topaz
at another vendor. It is worth it, to avoid Topaz, to pay a few dollars more, at another
site. Maybe they will learn someday?

For most purchases the bother is not that great and for the few ebooks I buy each month, not that time consuming. It's not like the authors that I really like can put out
new ebooks at a rate to make it so I am making more purchases per month.

Luck;
Ken