Aura 2, books directly on internal SD card

[vinz3ntr]

Hi,

I have a Kobo Aura 2 and it won't connect to any Windows PC. Tried everything for weeks now but no luck and Kobo helpdesk is useless really.

I opened the Aura 2 and put the SD card in my laptop. I can read it and I can see the books that are on it.

But if I delete books in Windows and add others, nothing appears to change, books I deleted are still visible but opening them gives a error since they're not there anymore (strangely enough I get an Adobe DRM error then).
New books are not visible and new books aren't processed.

Is there any way to add books to the Aura 2 this way?

Last chance for me, I don't know any other solution anymore. Aura 2 is seen in device management but gives an Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) error and no one seems to know what that is.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by vinz3ntr

Hi,

I have a Kobo Aura 2 and it won't connect to any Windows PC. Tried everything for weeks now but no luck and Kobo helpdesk is useless really.

I opened the Aura 2 and put the SD card in my laptop. I can read it and I can see the books that are on it.

But if I delete books in Windows and add others, nothing appears to change, books I deleted are still visible but opening them gives a error since they're not there anymore (strangely enough I get an Adobe DRM error then).
New books are not visible and new books aren't processed.

Is there any way to add books to the Aura 2 this way?

Last chance for me, I don't know any other solution anymore. Aura 2 is seen in device management but gives an Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) error and no one seems to know what that is.

Try using USBDeview (a NirSoft utility) to remove the unknown USB device and then retry your Aura 2.

As for importing/removing books, you need either a USB connect/disconnect or use NickelMenu to trigger a scan for new books (rescan_books or rescan_books_full).

A Google search on "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)" comes up with multiple pages of suggestions, some of which look useful, others that seem the equivalent of dance skyclad widdershins around an oak tree at midnight on the new moon.

[vinz3ntr]

Tried all those solutions, drove me insane and none of them work.
I bought a second Aura 2 with a broken screen very cheap, swapped the motherboard....yep, exact same problem so must be Windows related but Linux also didn't work.

Tried communicating with the Kobo helpdesk, but they never answer the question, I asked if they had USB drivers specific to the Aura 2, no reply at all.

Nickelmenu, how to get it on the Aura without USB connection?

Searching Google for this problem and the list is endless, so many people with USB related problems and no solution at all!
Makes me mad and reconsidering buying a new Kobo, I might change to an other brand.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by vinz3ntr

Tried all those solutions, drove me insane and none of them work.
I bought a second Aura 2 with a broken screen very cheap, swapped the motherboard....yep, exact same problem so must be Windows related but Linux also didn't work.

Tried communicating with the Kobo helpdesk, but they never answer the question, I asked if they had USB drivers specific to the Aura 2, no reply at all.

There are no Kobo specific drivers. Windows related but Linux also didn't work sounds more as if you are having hardware issues with your computer. So you've tried different computers, different ports on the same computer, different USB cables, ...

Originally Posted by vinz3ntr

Nickelmenu, how to get it on the Aura without USB connection?

Type devmodeon in the search bar, make sure WiFi is on, connect using an FTP client to your Aura 2 (user is root, password is blank). Transfer the file. It should automatically install the package after you disconnect but you may need to do a power cycle to trigger the install.

Originally Posted by vinz3ntr

Searching Google for this problem and the list is endless, so many people with USB related problems and no solution at all!
Makes me mad and reconsidering buying a new Kobo, I might change to an other brand.

That's why you may have to try several possible solutions and keep track of which didn't work for you. One page I looked at one HP's site listed about 17 possible solutions.

[PeterT]

What type of USB ports on your PC? 2 or 3? If 3 try using a USB 2 hub

[vinz3ntr]

Actually, succes! I tried USBDeview and the reader also shows up as an unknown device, when I removed it and unplugged the Aura 2 it started importing new media!

So this is what I did:

- Switch off the Aura 2 completely by pressing the power button for a few seconds
- open up the back, quite easy; stick a knife or sharp prying tool between the backplate and the side and pull the back off
- take out the SD card and stick it in a cardreader
- watch out, SD card is divided in multiple partitions and Windows can only read 1, Windows wants to format the other ones so cancel that, it will ask multiple times as there are multiple partitions.
- Copy the books in the root of the SD card, subdirectories are possible
- Put the SD card back in and close the backcover
- Start up de Aura 2. No book will be shown
- start USBDeview and delete the faulty USB connection
- When that is finished, take USB cable out and Aura will load new books.

Tried it several times and it works!

[vinz3ntr]

Originally Posted by PeterT

What type of USB ports on your PC? 2 or 3? If 3 try using a USB 2 hub

Only USB 3 ports on my laptop, but those are perfectly compatible. My fathers Clara has no issues at all.

Also tried some old USB hubs I had lying around. powered and unpowered. Even a 1.1 hub, not working, I found an unpowered USB hub should work, but not

[cbeaver]

There is a solution possible from within Windows itself - I will assume this is similar to an issue I had with my GloHD some time ago as this does sound very similar.

First plug in your Kobo to the computer.

Open Windows Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Storage - Disk Management.

A list of your dives will appear. Check is there is a specific listing for the Kobo. If there is, check that a Drive Letter has been attached to the Kobo's listing. If there is NOT a drive letter attached, right click the listing for the Kobo, and click on Change Drive Letter and Paths. It MAY ask you to confirm that is what you want to do, click on OK, and allow the computer to add a derive letter for the Kobo.

You may or may not have to confirm your choice. on leaving the Computer Management screen, but regardless, your Kobo will now be accessible from within Windows Exploder (not an sp - ) and for whatever program you use to load books.

This is what worked for me and saved a "bricked" unit.

[vinz3ntr]

Originally Posted by cbeaver

There is a solution possible from within Windows itself - I will assume this is similar to an issue I had with my GloHD some time ago as this does sound very similar.

First plug in your Kobo to the computer.

Open Windows Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Storage - Disk Management.

A list of your dives will appear. Check is there is a specific listing for the Kobo. If there is, check that a Drive Letter has been attached to the Kobo's listing. If there is NOT a drive letter attached, right click the listing for the Kobo, and click on Change Drive Letter and Paths. It MAY ask you to confirm that is what you want to do, click on OK, and allow the computer to add a derive letter for the Kobo.


You may or may not have to confirm your choice. on leaving the Computer Management screen, but regardless, your Kobo will now be accessible from within Windows Exploder (not an sp - ) and for whatever program you use to load books.

This is what worked for me and saved a "bricked" unit.

Thanks, I found this solution as well.
Since the device is detected as an unknown USB device, it's also not listed as drive or anything else.
So unfortunately this solution also doesn't work.

By the way, devices that don't get a driveletter assignes are usually easy to solve when you press start, type diskmgmt.msc, rightclick on your device and select 'change drive letter'. usually Windows uses a driveletter which is already in use, most of the time mapped network drive letters, just choose a free letter and after pressing ok your device will pop up with an explorer window.

I'm still looking for this problem. I'm convinced it's Windows related since I have 2 now with the exact same problem and tried. I bought a broken one (broken screen) and it had the exact same problem. I tried to buy a third one but tried it on my laptop first and exact same problem! Already tried it on 4 differrent machines but all Windows 10 with the latest version on it. I suspect a faulty USB driver. I can'r believe I tried 3 devices with the same problem.
Also tried live Linux from USB drive but that also didn't work but I'm a total n00b in Linux.