Backup corrupted?

[hleo12]

I just have a question about the way CC backups its settings? Does it also backup the library database?

I made a backup after the latest update and reformatted my phone. The book files are still in my SD card but when I re-installed CC after reformatting, I restored the backup and nothing happened. It didn't even remember the multiple file directories I had set up for different file formats. And the library is still empty.

I'm just looking for advice on how should I proceed. The books are on my card but even Calibre on my computer won't recognize them. Do I have to delete the books on my SD then push my library back through Calibre?

Ant help/advice would be greatly appreciated...

Regards,
Harold

[chaley]

Originally Posted by hleo12

I just have a question about the way CC backups its settings? Does it also backup the library database?

No.

I made a backup after the latest update and reformatted my phone. The book files are still in my SD card but when I re-installed CC after reformatting, I restored the backup and nothing happened. It didn't even remember the multiple file directories I had set up for different file formats. And the library is still empty.

What version of CC are you running? There was a problem with corrupted backups in version 3.6.2, fixed in 3.6.3.

I'm just looking for advice on how should I proceed. The books are on my card but even Calibre on my computer won't recognize them. Do I have to delete the books on my SD then push my library back through Calibre?

Ant help/advice would be greatly appreciated...

Regards,
Harold

You don't mention the version of Android you are running. If it is Android 4.4 (Kitkat) or later (Lollipop) then there are all sorts of problems with SD cards. In particular, it seems to be the case that SD cards don't move between phones (or a reformatted phone) very well. There is something about how Android manages permissions that prevents the directories on the SD card from being seen when inserted into the "new" phone.

From peoples' reports and again assuming Kitkat or higher, the most certain way to fix SD card problems is to:

1. Uninstall CC
2. Reformat the SD card in the phone
3. Reinstall CC. At this point Android should create the application-private folders on the SD card (Android/data/...)
4. Tell CC to use the SD card (CC's Settings / Formats and folders). If CC won't offer you the option of using the SD card then something is still broken
5. Resend the books from calibre

[hleo12]

Thanks. And yes, I am using KitKat 4.4.2

I don't have a problem with CC being able to communicate with my SD card after reformatting, but it just doesn't recognize the old book files in my card.

It seems that the only solution is to delete the books and resend them.

And I'm using V3.6.3

It just sucks that I have to restart again.

But moving forward, is it possible to sync the read-dates and read-ticker from Calibre to CC?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by hleo12

I don't have a problem with CC being able to communicate with my SD card after reformatting, but it just doesn't recognize the old book files in my card.

Good. I was confused because you said that calibre cannot see the SD card.

It seems that the only solution is to delete the books and resend them.

If the books are all epubs and if they all came from the calibre library that you will connect to then you don't need to resend them. Instead let CC scan the library on connect. It will send the metadata to calibre, go through book matching, then get the latest metadata back from calibre.

If the books are not epubs then it is much faster to resend them.

But moving forward, is it possible to sync the read-dates and read-ticker from Calibre to CC?

Sure. See our FAQ answer Can I synchronize CC's Read and Date Read information with calibre?. Note that you must connect once as a wireless device so CC can get the names of the custom columns to show you in its setup. After you set things up the values will sync on the next wireless device connect.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by chaley

Good. I was confused because you said that calibre cannot see the SD card.
If the books are all epubs and if they all came from the calibre library that you will connect to then you don't need to resend them. Instead let CC scan the library on connect. It will send the metadata to calibre, go through book matching, then get the latest metadata back from calibre.

If the books are not epubs then it is much faster to resend them.
Sure. See our FAQ answer Can I synchronize CC's Read and Date Read information with calibre?. Note that you must connect once as a wireless device so CC can get the names of the custom columns to show you in its setup. After you set things up the values will sync on the next wireless device connect.

Thanks for the help. But I just need a little clarification. Where can I find the setting that will let CC scan my library once connected to Calibre? If that works, I'd be a really happy camper. 90% of my books are epubs anyways. I only have a few PDFs here and there.

TBH, Calibre Companion is the only reason why I've been holding off on buying a new e-ink reader.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by hleo12

Thanks for the help. But I just need a little clarification. Where can I find the setting that will let CC scan my library once connected to Calibre? If that works, I'd be a really happy camper. 90% of my books are epubs anyways. I only have a few PDFs here and there.

It is the "Scan on connect" option in the "WIRELESS DEVICE CONNECTION" section. It is checked by default.

For the PDFs: scan on connect almost never matches these correctly. If that is what happens to you then you can either delete and resend the pdfs, or use calibre's device book matching function available via right-click on a book in calibre's device view.

TBH, Calibre Companion is the only reason why I've been holding off on buying a new e-ink reader.

Thanks.

Perhaps an e-ink android device? There are a few such as the Onyx Boox Afterglow 2, Onyx Boox T68, Boyue T62, etc. I have an Afterglow 2 and am mostly satisfied. The only real problem is that the battery lasts for only around one to two thousand page turns.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by chaley

Perhaps an e-ink android device? There are a few such as the Onyx Boox Afterglow 2, Onyx Boox T68, Boyue T62, etc. I have an Afterglow 2 and am mostly satisfied. The only real problem is that the battery lasts for only around one to two thousand page turns.

I'm rooting for the Yota Phone 2. But It still lacks that extra umph. There are still a lot of bugs. But it is looking promising.

[hleo12]

I forgot to update this thread!

But it worked!!

Although it took the better part of an hour to sync everything again.

I have a maybe about 50 cbr/cbz files on a different directory than the default one. And I noticed that it took the longest to sync the metadata on those books. I don't know if it's because they are comic files or if it's because they are in a different directory. Because all my other books (pdf and epub) are all in the same default directory. Any idea why it takes longer to sync the metadata (the first time at least) on cbr/cbz files? Or in books from a different directory than the default one?

Any input will be appreciated. It's not really important, but I'm just curious about it.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by hleo12

I forgot to update this thread!

But it worked!!

Although it took the better part of an hour to sync everything again.

I have a maybe about 50 cbr/cbz files on a different directory than the default one. And I noticed that it took the longest to sync the metadata on those books. I don't know if it's because they are comic files or if it's because they are in a different directory. Because all my other books (pdf and epub) are all in the same default directory. Any idea why it takes longer to sync the metadata (the first time at least) on cbr/cbz files? Or in books from a different directory than the default one?

Any input will be necessary. It's not really important, but I'm just curious about it.

Glad things are back in shape.

What you saw regarding time is why I said that scan on connect is best used if all the books are epubs. It doesn't have anything to do with folder structure. CC is able to extract the metadata from epubs and send only that to calibre for matching. For any other format (mobi, pdf, cbr, cbz, etc) CC must send the entire book file to calibre to do the matching. It is because of this that if there are a significant number of non-epub books it is usually faster to resend them all from calibre than to ask calibre to attempt to match books on the device with the books in the library.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by chaley

Glad things are back in shape.

What you saw regarding time is why I said that scan on connect is best used if all the books are epubs. It doesn't have anything to do with folder structure. CC is able to extract the metadata from epubs and send only that to calibre for matching. For any other format (mobi, pdf, cbr, cbz, etc) CC must send the entire book file to calibre to do the matching. It is because of this that if there are a significant number of non-epub books it is usually faster to resend them all from calibre than to ask calibre to attempt to match books on the device with the books in the library.

Thanks. Just a follow up question... Are the books sent from CC to Calibre automatically deleted after the sync? 'Cause I have about 2GB worth of comics on it right now and they might just be wasting space in a temp folder on my drive...

[chaley]

Originally Posted by hleo12

Thanks. Just a follow up question... Are the books sent from CC to Calibre automatically deleted after the sync? 'Cause I have about 2GB worth of comics on it right now and they might just be wasting space in a temp folder on my drive...

They should be deleted, but given their size it is probably worth your time to check. Look for directories containing the word 'calibre'.