HELP! Library, collections, pocket all gone after update

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 10:04 AM

Hi guys,

I've been looking around to see if anybody else has the same problem, but I'm not sure I have the same issue. If I do, apologies for creating a new thread.

This is what happened to me. I have a Kobo Touch N905. I have been travelling for the past six months and have been personalising my Kobo to great detail. I use it mainly to read articles from Pocket (great extension by the way) and also to read some travel guides and books I have borrowed from friends. All this I have set up back home, before leaving, on my old Windows XP computer. [edit] Books are on the device itself, not on an SD-card.

This morning, I synched my Kobo Touch - using WiFi - to download the latest articles from Pocket and it asked me to update, which I did. After it completed the update, I got a black screen with a "Kobo. Read On." image. After I flicked the power button, it prompted me to set up my new e-reader (new? what?) and to set it up on kobosetup.com.

Going through my library, everything is gone. All my books, all the shelves/collections I have painstakingly set up, all my articles from Pocket are gone as well. Total panic.

Most of my books are back home on my computer. Besides, I'm travelling with a laptop with Linux Mint as my OS. Kobo Setup only works on PC or Mac... I'm at a complete loss what to do and wonder if all my books are really definitely gone. If so: what the heck?!

My computer stil recognizes the Kobo Reader as a device, but doesn't see any files on it anymore. I can't do anything on my Kobo until I set it up...

Any thoughts? Any help or directions would be greatly appreciated. I do not understand how they could force an upgrade that wipes your whole e-reader clean of everything... ARGH!!!

PeterT · 11-05-2014, 10:20 AM

No Kobo update has wiped the database. This sounds more like you encountered corruption in the database, and since IT is key to successful operation of any Kobo eReader, you are SOL.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 10:29 AM

Thanks for the quick reply. Why would there be a database corruption right after the update though? What could have caused that? My whole Kobo Touch looks different (that would be the update) and it's not set up anymore...

[edit] I have managed to set it up using someone else's Windows 8 box, but it does appear that everything that used to be in my database is gone.

Ripplinger · 11-05-2014, 10:58 AM

Not that this helps you out now to recover, but when I travel even for a few days, I have Calibre and my complete library on a netbook, as well as the full library stored in the cloud, just in case something goes wrong where I might need to do a complete factory reset after the reader freezes, database corruption, etc.

I never use the SDcard on the reader since I only keep around 400 books on it at a time, so I also carry at least that many books on a spare SDcard I keep in my wallet with spare camera batteries, etc. With Kobo's track record of introducing more bugs in new firmware, I'd also never let it update while I'm away, just to avoid having to reset it all up just in case there was a really annoying bug that wouldn't let me read.

But with those precautions, you could get set back up as long as you even had wi-fi (unless that Kobo reader you have will only setup through a PC, but I didn't any were that limited if they're wi-fi capable). Short of damaging or losing your reader, you can recover.

And Murphy's Law seems to then take over then at least for me. Because I'm ready to recover from even a forced factory reset, nothing has ever gone wrong for me yet while I'm away.

I'll admit it's really odd that it wiped all your books from the reader, unless it somehow also did a factory reset (which you could tell by checking which firmware is on the reader). Even if the database gets corrupt, logging out of the Kobo account and back in usually takes care of that and it will rebuild a new database from the existing books still left on the reader.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 11:00 AM

A side-effect of this latest update seems to be that my Kobo doesn't recognize folders that have ebooks in them anymore, when I drag and drop 'em on my e-reader. It used to do that before. What a nightmare... now it has to download all my Pocket articles again, using South-American internet download speeds, which will take forever.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 11:11 AM

Ripplinger, you are absolutely right about keeping my library somewhere else besides my e-reader... some books I have stored on my laptop, but most of my collection is back home somewhere...

Second good advice is about not updating while away. I just didn't think about it and clicked Update Now instead of Update Later.

I haven't done a factory reset, as that has caused everything to be deleted from my e-reader before, but it does appear as though that's what happened, as all of my settings are gone / reset to some factory standard.

[edit] Now that's very weird. All of the Collections I created still exist... they're just empty. All my books do appear to be gone, and when I add new books to my e-reader, they are not all recognized. What a mystery.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 11:22 AM

Okay, that's it. I was trying to fix it, but now it's solidly frozen, after trying to change my settings. It won't power off, go to sleep mode and won't be recognized by my laptop either.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 11:37 AM

Okay, last try. I connected it to a Windows Box and it does recognize my e-reader. Opening it in Windows Explorer, I do see all my old books but as 'shortcuts' and not in ePub format.

Any thoughts? I must admit I really have no idea what's going on here.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 12:30 PM

Firmware on my Kobo Touch is 3.11.0 (4d8eac1207, 10/16/14), so that seems to be a very recent version.

PeterT · 11-05-2014, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

No Kobo update has wiped the database. This sounds more like you encountered corruption in the database, and since IT is key to successful operation of any Kobo eReader, you are SOL.

I think that the database was corrupted prior to the upgrade.

One suggestion would be to periodically backup either just the database or the entire filesystem you see when the Kobo is attached to your computer.

snapovski · 11-05-2014, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

I think that the database was corrupted prior to the upgrade.

One suggestion would be to periodically backup either just the database or the entire filesystem you see when the Kobo is attached to your computer.

Possibly, but how does that explain that the issue only occurred straight after updating to the newest version and never before?

Ripplinger · 11-05-2014, 04:12 PM

Try logging out of your Kobo account on the ereader from Settings, Accounts, and you'll see "sign out" at the right. Then sign back in again. Make sure you have access to your Kobo password before you do that.

Are you certain the books are shortcuts only? If they're .kepub books, I think Kobo usually shows those without any extension when on the reader itself. I rarely use .kepubs other than to try them awhile ago, I prefer .epubs.

PeterT · 11-05-2014, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snapovski

Possibly, but how does that explain that the issue only occurred straight after updating to the newest version and never before?

Quite simple. Normally a version upgrade might include a schema update to the database. If the database was corrupted in such a manner that the functions used for reading still worked but other tables / indices were corrupted then who knows what the schema change might do.

Unfortunately, now it's too late to figure out what happened,

davidfor · 11-05-2014, 09:35 PM

The other reason is that the device works from cached data and only rereads the database at restart. If you don't power off, the device could work for a while but have a corrupt database. As there is a restart during the firmware upgrade, the corrupt database would be found then with the result you are seeing.

snapovski · 11-06-2014, 09:21 AM

Alright, gotcha. Thanks for your answers, guys. I still do not understand how the device did remember my collections but erased all my books, but well. Nothing to be done at this point! I'm lucky to be at a place with a decent internet connection, so it can at least download all 180 Pocket articles (that's one big plus for Kobo, by the way). There's still something not right, because it froze completely twice yesterday. Only by connecting it to a public computer that I installed Kobo Desktop on, could I get it to work again. Hope it will stay functioning, because I can't get Kobo Desktop to work within Wine for some reason (am running Linux Mint 17 on my own laptop).

Anyhoo, thanks for all the feedback so far. Appreciated. (:

11-05-2014, 10:04 AM	#1
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	HELP! Library, collections, pocket all gone after update Hi guys, I've been looking around to see if anybody else has the same problem, but I'm not sure I have the same issue. If I do, apologies for creating a new thread. This is what happened to me. I have a Kobo Touch N905. I have been travelling for the past six months and have been personalising my Kobo to great detail. I use it mainly to read articles from Pocket (great extension by the way) and also to read some travel guides and books I have borrowed from friends. All this I have set up back home, before leaving, on my old Windows XP computer. [edit] Books are on the device itself, not on an SD-card. This morning, I synched my Kobo Touch - using WiFi - to download the latest articles from Pocket and it asked me to update, which I did. After it completed the update, I got a black screen with a "Kobo. Read On." image. After I flicked the power button, it prompted me to set up my new e-reader (new? what?) and to set it up on kobosetup.com. Going through my library, everything is gone. All my books, all the shelves/collections I have painstakingly set up, all my articles from Pocket are gone as well. Total panic. Most of my books are back home on my computer. Besides, I'm travelling with a laptop with Linux Mint as my OS. Kobo Setup only works on PC or Mac... I'm at a complete loss what to do and wonder if all my books are really definitely gone. If so: what the heck?! My computer stil recognizes the Kobo Reader as a device, but doesn't see any files on it anymore. I can't do anything on my Kobo until I set it up... Any thoughts? Any help or directions would be greatly appreciated. I do not understand how they could force an upgrade that wipes your whole e-reader clean of everything... ARGH!!! Last edited by snapovski; 11-05-2014 at 10:08 AM.

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11-05-2014, 10:20 AM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,328 Karma: 78876004 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	No Kobo update has wiped the database. This sounds more like you encountered corruption in the database, and since IT is key to successful operation of any Kobo eReader, you are SOL.

11-05-2014, 10:29 AM	#3
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Thanks for the quick reply. Why would there be a database corruption right after the update though? What could have caused that? My whole Kobo Touch looks different (that would be the update) and it's not set up anymore... [edit] I have managed to set it up using someone else's Windows 8 box, but it does appear that everything that used to be in my database is gone.

11-05-2014, 10:58 AM	#4
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Not that this helps you out now to recover, but when I travel even for a few days, I have Calibre and my complete library on a netbook, as well as the full library stored in the cloud, just in case something goes wrong where I might need to do a complete factory reset after the reader freezes, database corruption, etc. I never use the SDcard on the reader since I only keep around 400 books on it at a time, so I also carry at least that many books on a spare SDcard I keep in my wallet with spare camera batteries, etc. With Kobo's track record of introducing more bugs in new firmware, I'd also never let it update while I'm away, just to avoid having to reset it all up just in case there was a really annoying bug that wouldn't let me read. But with those precautions, you could get set back up as long as you even had wi-fi (unless that Kobo reader you have will only setup through a PC, but I didn't any were that limited if they're wi-fi capable). Short of damaging or losing your reader, you can recover. And Murphy's Law seems to then take over then at least for me. Because I'm ready to recover from even a forced factory reset, nothing has ever gone wrong for me yet while I'm away. I'll admit it's really odd that it wiped all your books from the reader, unless it somehow also did a factory reset (which you could tell by checking which firmware is on the reader). Even if the database gets corrupt, logging out of the Kobo account and back in usually takes care of that and it will rebuild a new database from the existing books still left on the reader.

11-05-2014, 11:00 AM	#5
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	A side-effect of this latest update seems to be that my Kobo doesn't recognize folders that have ebooks in them anymore, when I drag and drop 'em on my e-reader. It used to do that before. What a nightmare... now it has to download all my Pocket articles again, using South-American internet download speeds, which will take forever.

11-05-2014, 11:11 AM	#6
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Ripplinger, you are absolutely right about keeping my library somewhere else besides my e-reader... some books I have stored on my laptop, but most of my collection is back home somewhere... Second good advice is about not updating while away. I just didn't think about it and clicked Update Now instead of Update Later. I haven't done a factory reset, as that has caused everything to be deleted from my e-reader before, but it does appear as though that's what happened, as all of my settings are gone / reset to some factory standard. [edit] Now that's very weird. All of the Collections I created still exist... they're just empty. All my books do appear to be gone, and when I add new books to my e-reader, they are not all recognized. What a mystery.

11-05-2014, 11:22 AM	#7
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Okay, that's it. I was trying to fix it, but now it's solidly frozen, after trying to change my settings. It won't power off, go to sleep mode and won't be recognized by my laptop either.

11-05-2014, 11:37 AM	#8
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Okay, last try. I connected it to a Windows Box and it does recognize my e-reader. Opening it in Windows Explorer, I do see all my old books but as 'shortcuts' and not in ePub format. Any thoughts? I must admit I really have no idea what's going on here.

11-05-2014, 12:30 PM	#9
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Firmware on my Kobo Touch is 3.11.0 (4d8eac1207, 10/16/14), so that seems to be a very recent version.

11-05-2014, 04:12 PM	#12
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Try logging out of your Kobo account on the ereader from Settings, Accounts, and you'll see "sign out" at the right. Then sign back in again. Make sure you have access to your Kobo password before you do that. Are you certain the books are shortcuts only? If they're .kepub books, I think Kobo usually shows those without any extension when on the reader itself. I rarely use .kepubs other than to try them awhile ago, I prefer .epubs.

11-05-2014, 09:35 PM	#14
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The other reason is that the device works from cached data and only rereads the database at restart. If you don't power off, the device could work for a while but have a corrupt database. As there is a restart during the firmware upgrade, the corrupt database would be found then with the result you are seeing.

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11-06-2014, 09:21 AM	#15
snapovski Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Touch N905	Alright, gotcha. Thanks for your answers, guys. I still do not understand how the device did remember my collections but erased all my books, but well. Nothing to be done at this point! I'm lucky to be at a place with a decent internet connection, so it can at least download all 180 Pocket articles (that's one big plus for Kobo, by the way). There's still something not right, because it froze completely twice yesterday. Only by connecting it to a public computer that I installed Kobo Desktop on, could I get it to work again. Hope it will stay functioning, because I can't get Kobo Desktop to work within Wine for some reason (am running Linux Mint 17 on my own laptop). Anyhoo, thanks for all the feedback so far. Appreciated. (: