Calibre Portable is Broken?

dictionarylover · 07-28-2019, 06:12 PM

So I have been using Calibre Portable (most recent version) on a PNY 128GB 3.0 USB Flash Drive for the past month or so, and I have begun having problems.

Even when I had just under 10 books, whenever I tried editing metadata or deleting things, the program came to a grinding halt and I would be forced to end the process.

As of now, I have ~600 ebooks in multiple formats.

I want to figure out how to fix the program so that it functions quicker and crashes less, as it takes too much time during each boot.

DNSB · 07-28-2019, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dictionarylover

So I have been using Calibre Portable (most recent version) on a PNY 128GB 3.0 USB Flash Drive for the past month or so, and I have begun having problems.

The last time which was back in 2015(??), that I ran speed tests on a PNY Turbo 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive, the results were not impressive especially for the 4K block writes (less than 250K per second is pretty pathetic). A SanDisk unit produced results that were much better in all areas including churning out 10MB+ results on the 4K writes.

This was using Crystal DiskMark 5.

I won't get into the complaints around the same time about issues with that drive and it's infant mortality issues.

ilovejedd · 07-29-2019, 12:02 AM

Use Samsung or SanDisk flash drive or switch to external portable HDD (avoid the Seagate SMR ones).

dictionarylover · 07-29-2019, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

The last time which was back in 2015(??), that I ran speed tests on a PNY Turbo 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive, the results were not impressive especially for the 4K block writes (less than 250K per second is pretty pathetic). A SanDisk unit produced results that were much better in all areas including churning out 10MB+ results on the 4K writes.

This was using Crystal DiskMark 5.

I won't get into the complaints around the same time about issues with that drive and it's infant mortality issues.

Hey David,

Thanks for the reply.

What kind of flash drive would you suggest? I see that SanDisk has a bunch of 3.0s and 3.1s of varying models, and I have NO clue what to do for a external hard drive.

If I was looking for a 128gb and a 256gb usb flash drive, what should I go with?

Or is there a single external hard drive to do both?

And won't that kill my Calibre library?

theducks · 07-29-2019, 04:43 PM

I use a 'Passport" drive. 3.0 compatible, light weight. Can't say how much abuse it will take, but it works fine.

dictionarylover · 07-29-2019, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I use a 'Passport" drive. 3.0 compatible, light weight. Can't say how much abuse it will take, but it works fine.

what brand/model?

also, do you know anywhere I can find ebooks outside of the library here?

ilovejedd · 07-29-2019, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dictionarylover

what brand/model?

also, do you know anywhere I can find ebooks outside of the library here?

"Passport" is Western Digital (WD).

WD's portable drive naming:

Element - basic USB mass storage
Passport - adds encryption and some extra software? not sure, I just reformat anyway when I buy this on sale for less than the Element
Passport Ultra - USB-C support for newer computers

dictionarylover · 07-29-2019, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

"Passport" is Western Digital (WD).

WD's portable drive naming:

Element - basic USB mass storage
Passport - adds encryption and some extra software? not sure, I just reformat anyway when I buy this on sale for less than the Element
Passport Ultra - USB-C support for newer computers

what reformatting do you normally do?

ilovejedd · 07-29-2019, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dictionarylover

what reformatting do you normally do?

Just to NTFS, 64K sectors. I use my portables (4TB) for videos so that makes seeks and sequential read/write a bit faster (at the cost of wasting a lot more space on smaller files).

theducks · 07-29-2019, 05:53 PM

I just removed the encryption with the tools that came with the disk. YMMV
IMHO you are over thinking this. The drive is pretty much ready to go. Way back, I put old (I upgraded the size) Laptop drives into a USB caddy. But off the shelf drives have becom reasonable (if you shop a bit. The big A is not always best, but I also watch out for cheapos. WD drives are decent)

dictionarylover · 07-29-2019, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I just removed the encryption with the tools that came with the disk. YMMV
IMHO you are over thinking this. The drive is pretty much ready to go. Way back, I put old (I upgraded the size) Laptop drives into a USB caddy. But off the shelf drives have becom reasonable (if you shop a bit. The big A is not always best, but I also watch out for cheapos. WD drives are decent)

so what brand is best?

ilovejedd · 07-29-2019, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I just removed the encryption with the tools that came with the disk. YMMV
IMHO you are over thinking this. The drive is pretty much ready to go. Way back, I put old (I upgraded the size) Laptop drives into a USB caddy. But off the shelf drives have becom reasonable (if you shop a bit. The big A is not always best, but I also watch out for cheapos. WD drives are decent)

I use some of the drives for recording (from antenna, 4-tuner HDHomeRun). Going with bigger allocation units is make or break between getting a corrupted video and a good one when recording multiple shows.

Funnily enough, nowadays USB HDDs actually tend to be cheaper than their internal counterparts.

dictionarylover · 07-29-2019, 06:16 PM

So I am in no way well versed with all this...

What exactly is the optimal first-time external hard drive to purchase? 2TB preferred...

ilovejedd · 07-29-2019, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dictionarylover

So I am in no way well versed with all this...

What exactly is the optimal first-time external hard drive to purchase? 2TB preferred...

I recommend Western Digital. Element or Passport doesn't matter. Just go with whatever's cheaper. I think you can find 2TB on sale for $50-60 quite frequently.

Note:
Any drive can fail. Make sure you backup.

P.S. If you're in the US, I think WD also has the EasyStore which I believe is pretty much the same as the Element except branded exclusively for Best Buy.

BetterRed · 07-29-2019, 06:41 PM

IMO Toshiba portable USB hard drives are a bit better than WD but they usually cost more, then there's the rest.

07-28-2019, 06:12 PM	#1
dictionarylover Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: none	Calibre Portable is Broken? So I have been using Calibre Portable (most recent version) on a PNY 128GB 3.0 USB Flash Drive for the past month or so, and I have begun having problems. Even when I had just under 10 books, whenever I tried editing metadata or deleting things, the program came to a grinding halt and I would be forced to end the process. As of now, I have ~600 ebooks in multiple formats. I want to figure out how to fix the program so that it functions quicker and crashes less, as it takes too much time during each boot.

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07-29-2019, 12:02 AM	#3
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,110 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	Use Samsung or SanDisk flash drive or switch to external portable HDD (avoid the Seagate SMR ones).

07-29-2019, 04:43 PM	#5
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,056 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I use a 'Passport" drive. 3.0 compatible, light weight. Can't say how much abuse it will take, but it works fine.

07-29-2019, 05:53 PM	#10
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,056 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I just removed the encryption with the tools that came with the disk. YMMV IMHO you are over thinking this. The drive is pretty much ready to go. Way back, I put old (I upgraded the size) Laptop drives into a USB caddy. But off the shelf drives have becom reasonable (if you shop a bit. The big A is not always best, but I also watch out for cheapos. WD drives are decent)

07-29-2019, 06:16 PM	#13
dictionarylover Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: none	So I am in no way well versed with all this... What exactly is the optimal first-time external hard drive to purchase? 2TB preferred...

07-29-2019, 06:41 PM	#15
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,725 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	IMO Toshiba portable USB hard drives are a bit better than WD but they usually cost more, then there's the rest.

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