Kindle SD Intermittent

tonyc46 · 03-29-2011, 10:09 AM

I am trying to get my Gen 1 Kindle to work with Calibre. The problem is that Calibre is not always seeing the SD card. Here are the details:

Running on MacBook with OS X 10.6.6
The Kindle always sees the SD card
The Mac always sees the Kindle and the SD card
Calibre always sees the device but usually does not see the SD card. When it does, it usually loses it after a few minutes, i.e. I'll send a few books to it and then it will drop off the Calibre menu. The device is still there in the Calibre menu but Card A is gone and I get a "cannot communicate with device" error.
I am also using this installation of Calibre with a Sony PRS-505 with SD card and never have any trouble with that configuration.

Wasn't able to find this problem in earlier posts via several search parameters.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thank you.

kovidgoyal · 03-29-2011, 10:18 AM

Try reformatting your SD card as FAT 32.

tonyc46 · 03-30-2011, 08:45 AM

It is FAT32. The odd thing is that everything sees it (kindle and computer) except sometimes Calibre.

kovidgoyal · 03-30-2011, 10:07 AM

The important part is the reformat not the FAT32

tonyc46 · 03-30-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

The important part is the reformat not the FAT32

I should have mentioned that I had reformatted it at the time I left the last message. I hooked it up about 12 hours ago, after the format. Calibre is seeing the device but not the card, even though the Mac sees the card and the device.

I just quit Calibre without touching the Kindle. On restart it sees the Card. I'll try to load something to it and see how long is stays available in Calibre.

tonyc46 · 03-31-2011, 04:30 AM

The card I was using was a 4GB SD. I'm trying now with a newly formatted 2GB. Same response. Both the computer and the Kindle see the device and card but Calibre only sees the device.

I just noticed something interesting. When I ejected the device using the Calibre menu, the card was removed from the Mac but the device stayed on the desktop.

kovidgoyal · 03-31-2011, 11:21 AM

Run calibre in debug mode you will get more output that should help you figure out the problem.

tonyc46 · 04-01-2011, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Run calibre in debug mode you will get more output that should help you figure out the problem.

I will do that.

FYI. I took the Kindle with the 4GB into my office where I have a PC. I carry the library on a USB drive and copied it over. I ran Calibre and plugged in the Kindle. It saw the device and the card. I transferred a few files to the card. Despite it taking a very long time (might have been doing conversions), it never lost the card.

So, the problem seems to be exclusive to Mac.

DoctorOhh · 04-01-2011, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyc46

So, the problem seems to be exclusive to Mac.

Not exclusive to Mac per se, but exclusive to your current Mac with its current set of updates, programs and configurations. If this was a Mac - Kindle SD card problem the odds are more people would have this problem.

Still it will be interesting to see if running calibre in debug mode will reveal anything that can help solve this problem.

theducks · 04-01-2011, 10:11 AM

@Tonyc64

Just confirming that when using your MAC:

you are NOT using any external USB Hub devices (including ones on a Keyboard or Display).
That you have tried with no other "USB Mass Storage" device attached, or a USB networking device.

tonyc46 · 04-01-2011, 10:29 AM

dwanthny:

I should have said "exclusive to my Mac.

I ran Calibre in debug. It never did see the SD card but did see the device. Log is attached, for what it's worth.

As I got to looking at the books it showed on the main, it seemed to me that there were a lot more earlier in the day. I took the card out of the reader and it showed 10 in the main. This time there were never any more, but earlier I thought I remembered seeing about 25 in the main. That would be about the total for both the card and the device. Is there any way Calibre could see the books in both the device and the card but not show the card in the menubar?

Thanks.

Tony

tonyc46 · 04-01-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

@Tonyc64

Just confirming that when using your MAC:

you are NOT using any external USB Hub devices (including ones on a Keyboard or Display).
That you have tried with no other "USB Mass Storage" device attached, or a USB networking device.

Good point.

I have several USB drives and 2 hubs (the Macbook only has 2 usb ports). I'll see if I can get to a point that I can remove everything external and just have the keyboard and kindle attached. If that works, I'll try it with a hub and only the kindle. If OK, I'll start adding stuff from there and see if I lose it.

I'll post the results.

theducks · 04-01-2011, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyc46

Good point.

I have several USB drives and 2 hubs (the Macbook only has 2 usb ports). I'll see if I can get to a point that I can remove everything external and just have the keyboard and kindle attached. If that works, I'll try it with a hub and only the kindle. If OK, I'll start adding stuff from there and see if I lose it.

I'll post the results.

1 Hubs are notoriously underpowered (the wall (5V models) wart needs to have 500ma PER USB port as any or All can draw power. (don't just change the manufacturers wall wart for higher capacity. They may have left out the proper protections.)
2) High speed devices can use up all the bandwidth of the system connected port. (Slow devices on Hubs, Fast devices direct (a hub should be considered as fast as it aggregates many slows ))

tonyc46 · 04-01-2011, 11:11 AM

Removing all the external stuff didn't make a difference. I've got the keyboard in one port and the kindle in the other. The Mac sees the device and the card but Calibre only sees the device. Only books shown are in the main.

I think I'm going to give up on it. My primary reader is a Sony and it works fine with Calibre and the Mac. I thought I'd see if I could use the kindle since it has a keyboard and search capability, so would work well for reference. By using Calibre to manage all my books and backing up to a usb stick, I can take that into my PC at work and use it to load the kindle. Not a big deal.

Thanks for the ideas.

Tony

tonyc46 · 04-01-2011, 11:44 PM

I think I have just discovered a work-around. Kindle has a utility to move books from the device memory to the card. If I remove the card and use Calibre to add books to the device, I think I can then use the utility to move them them to the card. A minor inconvenience, but it will do them in bulk and I'm not planning on putting that many on the kindle. As I mentioned earlier, I'm just using it to maintain some reference books since the Sony is my primary reader.

03-29-2011, 10:09 AM	#1
tonyc46 Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: iPad Gen 6	Kindle SD Intermittent I am trying to get my Gen 1 Kindle to work with Calibre. The problem is that Calibre is not always seeing the SD card. Here are the details: Running on MacBook with OS X 10.6.6 The Kindle always sees the SD card The Mac always sees the Kindle and the SD card Calibre always sees the device but usually does not see the SD card. When it does, it usually loses it after a few minutes, i.e. I'll send a few books to it and then it will drop off the Calibre menu. The device is still there in the Calibre menu but Card A is gone and I get a "cannot communicate with device" error. I am also using this installation of Calibre with a Sony PRS-505 with SD card and never have any trouble with that configuration. Wasn't able to find this problem in earlier posts via several search parameters. Any ideas are appreciated. Thank you.

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03-29-2011, 10:18 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,355 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Try reformatting your SD card as FAT 32.

03-30-2011, 08:45 AM	#3
tonyc46 Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: iPad Gen 6	It is FAT32. The odd thing is that everything sees it (kindle and computer) except sometimes Calibre.

03-30-2011, 10:07 AM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,355 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The important part is the reformat not the FAT32

03-31-2011, 04:30 AM	#6
tonyc46 Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: iPad Gen 6	The card I was using was a 4GB SD. I'm trying now with a newly formatted 2GB. Same response. Both the computer and the Kindle see the device and card but Calibre only sees the device. I just noticed something interesting. When I ejected the device using the Calibre menu, the card was removed from the Mac but the device stayed on the desktop.

03-31-2011, 11:21 AM	#7
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,355 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Run calibre in debug mode you will get more output that should help you figure out the problem.

04-01-2011, 10:11 AM	#10
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,062 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	@Tonyc64 Just confirming that when using your MAC: you are NOT using any external USB Hub devices (including ones on a Keyboard or Display). That you have tried with no other "USB Mass Storage" device attached, or a USB networking device.

04-01-2011, 11:11 AM	#14
tonyc46 Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: iPad Gen 6	Removing all the external stuff didn't make a difference. I've got the keyboard in one port and the kindle in the other. The Mac sees the device and the card but Calibre only sees the device. Only books shown are in the main. I think I'm going to give up on it. My primary reader is a Sony and it works fine with Calibre and the Mac. I thought I'd see if I could use the kindle since it has a keyboard and search capability, so would work well for reference. By using Calibre to manage all my books and backing up to a usb stick, I can take that into my PC at work and use it to load the kindle. Not a big deal. Thanks for the ideas. Tony

04-01-2011, 11:44 PM	#15
tonyc46 Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: iPad Gen 6	I think I have just discovered a work-around. Kindle has a utility to move books from the device memory to the card. If I remove the card and use Calibre to add books to the device, I think I can then use the utility to move them them to the card. A minor inconvenience, but it will do them in bulk and I'm not planning on putting that many on the kindle. As I mentioned earlier, I'm just using it to maintain some reference books since the Sony is my primary reader.

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