JBL 16e and ADE Overdrive

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Blusaber

There in lies my problem With 16b that folder and one named just digital editions were both on the JBL now after up dating to 16e the ".adobe-digital-editions" folder no longer shows up in explorer I just have the One digital editions folder not both

Gary

The update can't put a "digital editions folder" on your JBL. So it must have
been there prior to doing the update. You should clean out your internal
memory prior to doing this update, now that you are having this problem.
You can't have a fresh start at the process with existing ADE created files
and folders on your device.

All you need do is connect the USB cable, (with no SD card in your device)
and your PC should see your JBL as an external drive, with a drive letter.
When you open that drive letter in Windows Explorer you should see what is
on your JBL's internal memory. Right clicking on that drive letter should offer
a "Format" option, also note the "Properties" option.

**If you haven't already you should copy the internal memory to a folder
on your hard drive, as a backup.**

If you format that "drive letter" you are formatting your JBL's internal
memory. A quick format will clean out the memory. You can format the
internal memory as FAT (FAT16) or FAT32. It was FAT from the factory, but
FAT32 causes no problems. You may see exFAT format, or others, offered
I wouldn't use any of those with the internal memory.

As long as you have the drive/JBL connected this is a good time to run the
"Error-checking" (ChkDsk) routine. It can be found under the "Tools" tab of
the "Properties" option. You can check the options supplied, and it will likely
take longer than you would expect.

Now you should have a clean and healthy internal memory ready for your
update. There should be no reason for the 0.16e update to fail to add the
".adobe-digital-editions" folder to your JBL's internal memory.

-----------
Now my personal opinion is that, If you have to use ADE, don't have it
interact with your JBL directly at all. Don't have a ".adobe-digital-editions"
folder in the JBL's internal memory. Don't have any ADE created files or
folders in the JBL's internal memory.

If you already have your JBL authorized by ADE you can unauthorize it in
ADE. Then you can:

On your PC with an SD card in a reader connected to your PC:
Format the SD card (2GB or greater) to FAT32 then add just the following;
the ".adobe-digital-editions" folder (that you backed up to your PC's hard
drive after the 0.16e FW update) and an empty "Books" folder and an empty
"Pictures" folder. Then, with your JBL and it's USB cable hidden in your sock
drawer, insert the SD card you just made into the reader connected to your
PC, AFTER you have ADE up and running. ADE should now see your SD card
as a new JBL to be authorized. It will create the files and folders it needs on
the SD card and see the SD card as the place to put the ebooks it makes
readable on your JBL. It also creates a place in its "Library", on your PC, to
manage the ebooks that it places on your SD card.

So now whenever you plug your SD card/JBL into the reader connected to
your PC (and your real JBL and its cable are safely in your sock drawer) you
can drag&drop an ebook into your SD card/JBL section of ADE's Library and
a readable (on your JBL) copy will be added to the "digital editions" folder
now on your SD card.

Then you can take the SD card out of the reader connected to your PC and
retrieve your JBL from the sock drawer (Leave the cable behind).

Now when you insert the SD card, into your JBL, you should be able to find
and read your added ADE, DRM infected eBooks.

Luck;
Ken

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by MmavisO

Here is what I did:

1. Backed up JBL memory.
2. Reformatted JBL
3.Put on 16e FW--just for fun, looked at contents of JBL. No .adobe folder
4. Put contents of memory back on JBL
5. Looked at contents of JBL using PC--no .adobe folder
6. Just for fun, tried ADE with and without a card. ADE did not see the JBL, which I didn't really expect since the necessary folder is not there.
7. Also just for fun, unauthorized one of my ADE devices to "make room" for the JBL.

The last two I did more or less so I could say I had done them, not because I thought it would do any good. What I need, and cannot seem to get, is that .adobe folder. I have even "unhidden" my files, just in case it is hidden. but no such luck. It is just not there.

FWIW: Version Information: Software: v0.16, Patch v16
So 16e appears to be on properly, except that .adobe folder.
Also, is there supposed to be an Upgrade Patch? I have "Patch not found!"

If you really had updated to FW 0.16e the system settings version information
would say: "Software: v0.16e Patch: v16"

If you did a FW update and the system settings version information said anything
other than "Software: v0.16e Patch: v16", then you are updating with the wrong
FW or the update didn't take. You may need to re-download the update.

---------------

If you are referring to the system settings option to upgrade patch, then
as far as I can tell nobody knows what it is supposed to do. It seems to have
no relation to the firmware updates.

Luck;
Ken

[MmavisO]

OK, this time I:

1. Downloaded FW again, unpacked, and moved to my card (after removing the old stuff from last night). This time it says 16e; the other one said 16. I don't know where I found it, but obviously it wasn't where I was supposed to be looking!
2. Ran the FW update with no cable, and no touching of buttons, and brand spankin' new batteries.
3. Booted up the JBL--Software: v0.16, Patch: v16. So far so good.
4. Connected JBL to PC and looked for elusive .adobe folder--it's hidden, but there! Getting better...
5. Started ADE--got message to authorize JBL...clicked OK...Sucess, I thought. But, even though I de authorized a device last night, I still have too many authorizations. So I have a trouble ticket in with Adobe. It'll be 24-48 hrs until I hear back from the next level of support. Then we'll see if Mohit (the chat agent) explained my problem correctly. Considering he thought I was authorizing an ebook reader on Photoshop , I don't have high hopes. But maybe I'll be able to get them to let me authorize at least this JBL without losing my PB360 in the process.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by MmavisO

OK, this time I:

1. Downloaded FW again, unpacked, and moved to my card (after removing the old stuff from last night). This time it says 16e; the other one said 16. I don't know where I found it, but obviously it wasn't where I was supposed to be looking!
2. Ran the FW update with no cable, and no touching of buttons, and brand spankin' new batteries.
3. Booted up the JBL--Software: v0.16, Patch: v16. So far so good.
4. Connected JBL to PC and looked for elusive .adobe folder--it's hidden, but there! Getting better...
5. Started ADE--got message to authorize JBL...clicked OK...Sucess, I thought. But, even though I de authorized a device last night, I still have too many authorizations. So I have a trouble ticket in with Adobe. It'll be 24-48 hrs until I hear back from the next level of support. Then we'll see if Mohit (the chat agent) explained my problem correctly. Considering he thought I was authorizing an ebook reader on Photoshop , I don't have high hopes. But maybe I'll be able to get them to let me authorize at least this JBL without losing my PB360 in the process.

"3. Booted up the JBL--Software: v0.16, Patch: v16. So far so good."
Didn't it say "Software: v0.16e, Patch: v16" ?

Luck;
Ken

[MmavisO]

Ken--yes, that was supposed to be 16e.

Still waiting on adobe support, but it's only been 22 hours. (Who's counting? I am!)

[Ken Maltby]

Given your Avatar picture, I can't help wondering why you would want ADE on your
Computer?

I have never "authorized" ADE, (or my JBL with ADE) and removed it from my PC after
getting a good look at it.

The only reason I might feel the need for it would be for ebooks that I wouldn't feel
should have their DRM removed, like library loans. And if I were to feel the library loan
experience were something I wanted to expose myself to, I would never expose my JBL
to ADE directly. I would make an SD card that ADE would think were my JBL.

Now the new 0.16e firmware is a different matter, the Adobe Reader Mobile reader for
.epub and .pdf files is a nice improvement. The update is great even for a guy like me
who removes all DRM from my purchases. You don't have to use ADE just because it's
available from the update.

Luck;
Ken

[thaigreg]

Hi,

Need some help. I've loaded the 16e firmware but can't get epub from library to open. When I load the epub to JBL either on SD or internal memory I get a "failed to open folder". Also my SD firmware Folder reads "incompatible format".
What does that mean? Thanks.

Greg

[MmavisO]

Ken, I wish I didn't need ADE. But I have some DRM'd books, and in spite of online searches regarding the topic we don't discuss here and numerous attempts to follow the directions found, I can't seem to be able to do anything about it. I wish I could figure out how to do it, but I can't. Thus the need for the Evil Empire. And since Adobe's response to my request to reset my authorizations was to tell me to open another case, authorizing an SD card is not an option either at this point. I can't authorize anything until they *koff koff insert own mental image here* and reset my authorizations. By which point I may have given up. But I can be stubborn beyond reason, and being told I can't do something I should be able to do, like authorize my reader, just goes against the grain. Even an Adobe rep on their forum wasn't surprised at someone else's report of the same experience. Which tells you something.

[Ken Maltby]

ADE is a pain in many regards and I avoid purchasing ebooks infected with that flavor of
DRM. Normally I can find the same material available with one of the other, more curable
infections. I agree with "ICabbages" that DRM is a fatally flawed encryption scheme,
they have to give out the decryption key, and that it is a matter of obfuscation. Still
they can make it hard enough to cause people to avoid the issue altogether. Hopefully,
enough people will wise up and avoid purchasing ebooks infected with that DRM scam.

The ebook retailers that have catered to the Mobile market, still report greater sales for
ebooks in the .pdb format. As long as that remains the case you can expect to find
someone offering the new current books in that format. The "Secure eReader" DRM
scam has been reliably disinfected for a long time now. The B&N ePub uses basically the
same DRM, and can be disinfected the same way. Great strides have been made in
making the disinfection of the formats used by Amazon into a process even the most
rabid technophobe can handle.

Adobe has the business ethics of BP or GE under Immelt, they are all bad actors in the
free market and since I very much support the free market I do what I can to avoid
providing them any support. I hope they treat you better than they have the great
companies they acquired and then locked up their software, to keep it off the market.
They are certainly an "Evil Empire" in the audio, video and graphics industry.

Luck;
Ken

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by thaigreg

Hi,

Need some help. I've loaded the 16e firmware but can't get epub from library to open. When I load the epub to JBL either on SD or internal memory I get a "failed to open folder". Also my SD firmware Folder reads "incompatible format".
What does that mean? Thanks.

Greg

Unfortunately, you probably need to to install and authorize ADE on your
PC, then have the ADE program authorize your JBL (or better an SD card
it thinks is your JBL). Once that is done you have to have ADE running on
your PC and your JBL (or SD card pretending to be your JBL) connected to
your PC. Then you can add the downloaded ebook file to the "Library"
section of ADE that was made to manage the ebooks on your JBL (or SD
card pretending to be your JBL) and ADE will add the readable file into your
JBL (or SD card pretending to be your JBL) connected to your PC.

I have described the procedure to make the SD card in several posts on
this forum, if you are interested.

Luck;
Ken

[MmavisO]

I do avoid DRM books to the best of my ability, but unfortunately it isn't always possible, and I have some infected books that I acquired over time from various sources. Due to some kind of blindness/stupidity on my part, I am totally unable to follow the instructions I have found (including Cabbage's) to disinfect what I have in any DRM format, so I'm kind of stuck. I would much rather disinfect than bypass something I want that is infected (I already avoid enough in Kindle since I don't have or want one, and I don't want to read on my computer) or tolerate ADE etc, but I just can't seem to make disinfection happen. Either way, it's a pain.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by MmavisO

I do avoid DRM books to the best of my ability, but unfortunately it isn't always possible, and I have some infected books that I acquired over time from various sources. Due to some kind of blindness/stupidity on my part, I am totally unable to follow the instructions I have found (including Cabbage's) to disinfect what I have in any DRM format, so I'm kind of stuck. I would much rather disinfect than bypass something I want that is infected (I already avoid enough in Kindle since I don't have or want one, and I don't want to read on my computer) or tolerate ADE etc, but I just can't seem to make disinfection happen. Either way, it's a pain.

Well, then you still have two DRM scams that the JBL supports without the
problems that attend ADE and without any "Authorizing" or other net
connected issues.

It won't help with the infected with ADE files you already have but will work
for future purchases. Powell's, B&N, Fictionwise & eReader.com are but a few
of those offering DRMed files that JBL can handle without ADE.

Luck;
Ken

[thaigreg]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Unfortunately, you probably need to to install and authorize ADE on your
PC, then have the ADE program authorize your JBL (or better an SD card
it thinks is your JBL). Once that is done you have to have ADE running on
your PC and your JBL (or SD card pretending to be your JBL) connected to
your PC. Then you can add the downloaded ebook file to the "Library"
section of ADE that was made to manage the ebooks on your JBL (or SD
card pretending to be your JBL) and ADE will add the readable file into your
JBL (or SD card pretending to be your JBL) connected to your PC.

I have described the procedure to make the SD card in several posts on
this forum, if you are interested.

Luck;
Ken

Thanks for you reply Ken, as always you are very helpful. I finally got it to work. It seemed to be with my SD card and the way I was transfering the book to my reader.

Greg