Transferring books from the eReader to my Mac

DiesOutHere · 03-23-2009, 01:45 PM

My friend sold me her used Sony PRS-505 along with the 124 books she had on it. I love the reader, but there are times when it's just not feasible to tote it around with me, so I'd like the option to pull off some of my favorite titles and put them in Stanza on my iPhone. My trouble is that I have a Mac, so the Sony software is useless to me. I hate to install it virtually, because I'm far more likely to purchase books via Amazon to read on the Kindle iPhone app.

Is there a way to connect my reader and manage the content manually by pulling the files to my computer and converting them with Calibre? I've tried doing this, but the titles come up as nonsense and I just don't have it in me to sort through 124 files to find the 10 or so that I want.

Thanks for your help, everyone

AnemicOak · 03-23-2009, 03:14 PM

Are these files she bought from the Sony store? If so they're LRX files and are DRM'd so you won't be able to do any conversion of the titles. They can only be read on a Sony Reader or in the Sony desktop software.

To add the files to Calibre you should be able to just drag the files into it (at least you can in Windows).

kf6gpe · 03-25-2009, 01:29 AM

AnemicOak is right on. If they're not DRM'ed files, pull them off with Calibre, convert them to eBook, and you're set with Stanza.

I use calibre on the Mac pretty much exclusively. I bought a couple of books with Sony Connect, but there's been enough stuff out there for me to read that I haven't bought much after I got over the initial novelty.

If you have an Intel-based Mac, Sony Connect works fine in in Windows on vmWare Fusion or Boot Camp, too, of course... except that you have to boot Windows in the first place.

DiesOutHere · 03-27-2009, 09:27 AM

I'm about to install VMware to run all of two programs that aren't OS X compatible. Do you know if I can pull the books off the reader in VMware, then at least put them on Stanza on my iPhone? I haven't noticed Stanza complaining about DRM format the way that Calibre does.

Also, since the reader used to belong to my friend, will it restore itself and lose the library once it realizes that it now belongs to me? I bought the reader knowing full well that this was a possibility, but of course I'd like to avoid it.

03-23-2009, 01:45 PM	#1
DiesOutHere Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Sony-505, iPhone	Transferring books from the eReader to my Mac My friend sold me her used Sony PRS-505 along with the 124 books she had on it. I love the reader, but there are times when it's just not feasible to tote it around with me, so I'd like the option to pull off some of my favorite titles and put them in Stanza on my iPhone. My trouble is that I have a Mac, so the Sony software is useless to me. I hate to install it virtually, because I'm far more likely to purchase books via Amazon to read on the Kindle iPhone app. Is there a way to connect my reader and manage the content manually by pulling the files to my computer and converting them with Calibre? I've tried doing this, but the titles come up as nonsense and I just don't have it in me to sort through 124 files to find the 10 or so that I want. Thanks for your help, everyone

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03-23-2009, 03:14 PM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Are these files she bought from the Sony store? If so they're LRX files and are DRM'd so you won't be able to do any conversion of the titles. They can only be read on a Sony Reader or in the Sony desktop software. To add the files to Calibre you should be able to just drag the files into it (at least you can in Windows).

03-25-2009, 01:29 AM	#3
kf6gpe Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: PRS-700	AnemicOak is right on. If they're not DRM'ed files, pull them off with Calibre, convert them to eBook, and you're set with Stanza. I use calibre on the Mac pretty much exclusively. I bought a couple of books with Sony Connect, but there's been enough stuff out there for me to read that I haven't bought much after I got over the initial novelty. If you have an Intel-based Mac, Sony Connect works fine in in Windows on vmWare Fusion or Boot Camp, too, of course... except that you have to boot Windows in the first place.

03-27-2009, 09:27 AM	#4
DiesOutHere Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Sony-505, iPhone	I'm about to install VMware to run all of two programs that aren't OS X compatible. Do you know if I can pull the books off the reader in VMware, then at least put them on Stanza on my iPhone? I haven't noticed Stanza complaining about DRM format the way that Calibre does. Also, since the reader used to belong to my friend, will it restore itself and lose the library once it realizes that it now belongs to me? I bought the reader knowing full well that this was a possibility, but of course I'd like to avoid it.

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