Questions about Unistalling and Reinstalling Calibre

[Josieb1]

Hi

Since version 2.00 some of my database has been corrupted. I don't think its specific to 2.00 its just timing however that and the fact that Marvin doesn't work with 2.00 has made me debate whether to go back to 1.48. However that means uninstallling and reinstallng Calibre from scratch. My origial install was in 2011 so its been a long time since i had to do this and I'm quite nervous tbh.

I have a few questions if anyone can help please? I have over 5000 books in Calibre.

Should I move my Calibre Library folder to a seperate location place until my new Calibre program is up and running? I have data in the metadata for plugins that need to be installed once Calibre is up and running.

Then can I just copy my library folder back into the location Calibre sets up for it and then will all my books appear just as they are now.

Any advice would be gratefully receieved. Thank you

[BetterRed]

@Josieb1 - you should have no problems doing an uninstall/reinstall of 1.48, your libraries and settings should remain as is and continue to function OK.

But that said, I would advise you backup your libraries and config data - just in case Sod's (Murphy's) Law comes to the fore.

BR

[kovidgoyal]

You can freely go back and forth between 1.48 and 2.0 they are completely compatible. As always, on general principles, back up your data.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

You can freely go back and forth between 1.48 and 2.0 they are completely compatible. As always, on general principles, back up your data.

Thank you Kovid, my only concern is that I need to uninstall 2.00 first so I lose all my custom plugins. Is their no way for 1.48 to overwrite 2.00?

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Josieb1 - you should have no problems doing an uninstall/reinstall of 1.48, your libraries and settings should remain as is and continue to function OK.

But that said, I would advise you backup your libraries and config data - just in case Sod's (Murphy's) Law comes to the fore.

BR

Thanks BetteRed. I do have backups of my Calibre Library but would take an extra one before I start.

[kovidgoyal]

Uninstalling does not affect any plugins or settings or books.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Uninstalling does not affect any plugins or settings or books.

Thank you again Kovid, but I'm really confused now (yes I'm dense with this type of thing) but surely if I uninstall Calibre and reinstall it I need to then manually add and reconfigure the plugins I've loaded on top, such as Kobo Utilities, Kepub Output, Count Pages etc?

I can't remember which one has the custom shelves/bookshelves etc, I think it's Kobo Utilities, but that is the one with the main metadata that can't be populated before I add the plugin back in. Plus every book has a word count, again that's a extra plugin

[kovidgoyal]

No you do not. Plugins are stored in the configuration folder, which is not touched by an uninstall

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

No you do not. Plugins are stored in the configuration folder, which is not touched by an uninstall

Ohhh I didn't know that, thank you

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Thank you Kovid, my only concern is that I need to uninstall 2.00 first so I lose all my custom plugins. Is their no way for 1.48 to overwrite 2.00?

When you uninstall Calibre it only removes the Calibre binaries - it leaves the library and settings intact. Your plugins should therefore survive this process as they are stored in the Calibre configuration folder.

However as has been mentioned it is still a good idea to backup your library and/or configuration folders.

[Josieb1]

I had a lot of problems with the unistall so Kovid advised me to use Revo which i did. It worked and I now have 1.48 installed again with all my books showing.

I've lost all my extra plugins though so i'll gradually load those again. I thought that might happen.

Still good practice in case I even replace my PC.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

But that said, I would advise you backup your libraries and config data - just in case Sod's (Murphy's) Law comes to the fore.

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I've lost all my extra plugins though so i'll gradually load those again. I thought that might happen.

Still good practice in case I even replace my PC.

@Josieb1 - For future reference and for the benefit of others

If you had backed up the calibre config(uration) data you could have restored all your settings including plugins.

The reason why you lost your config data is almost certainly due to the use of the Revo uninstaller, which IMO can be far too aggressive.

It's possible that not being able to uninstall calibre was a result of doing a Windows Restore. Or if you ran one of the 3rd party "system cleanup" tools then it was probably the culprit, IMO such tools create more problems than they solve.

I suggest a backup of calibre configuration data be folded into the process you have for backing up the calibre libraries. Then you'll be able to restore calibre in its entirety. Its easy enough to do as it's all in the folder that Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open calibre configuration directory opens.

One way of stopping things like Revo from trashing the config data is to relocate it away from the %APPDATA%, %USERPROFILE% etc locations via the CALIBRE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY environment variable.

BR

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Josieb1 - For future reference and for the benefit of others

If you had backed up the calibre config(uration) data you could have restored all your settings including plugins.

The reason why you lost your config data is almost certainly due to the use of the Revo uninstaller, which IMO can be far too aggressive.

It's possible that not being able to uninstall calibre was a result of doing a Windows Restore. Or if you ran one of the 3rd party "system cleanup" tools then it was probably the culprit, IMO such tools create more problems than they solve.

I suggest a backup of calibre configuration data be folded into the process you have for backing up the calibre libraries. Then you'll be able to restore calibre in its entirety. Its easy enough to do as it's all in the folder that Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open calibre configuration directory opens.

One way of stopping things like Revo from trashing the config data is to relocate it away from the %APPDATA%, %USERPROFILE% etc locations via the CALIBRE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY environment variable.

BR

Thanks very much, I add that into my notes. I only used Revo in desperation as I couldn't uninstall using windows. I had no idea what it was doing so I let it delete everything it flagged up.