move computers

snapsean · 02-01-2015, 08:21 AM

Is there a way to back up and restore the calibre database or some other way to move my calibre installation to another computer?

PeterT · 02-01-2015, 08:25 AM

See How do I move my calibre library from one computer to another?

BetterRed · 02-01-2015, 04:28 PM

and if you want to move the configuration data (preferences. optional plugins, resource overrides etc) see third para in ==>> How do I backup calibre?

It's not guaranteed to work, but I've done it at least a dozen times with no observable side-effects, always between different versions if the same operating system, i.e. Windows to Windows and OS/X to OS/X.

To transfer: on new machine, a) exit all calibre components (library, viewer, server, editor), b) empty the calibre configuration folder, and c) copy the content from the old machine's configuration backup into it. I use a a thumb drive to effect the transfer, its simpler than network shares etc.

BR

dwig · 02-01-2015, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

And if you want to move the configuration data (preferences. optional plugins, resource overrides etc) see third para in ==>> How do I backup calibre?...

I've always been cautious about copying the configuration directory. I always make sure that the same version of calibre is on the new machine and the old. This may require digging out an old installer to use on the new machine when the old machine won't accept the current version of calibre. After copying the configuration directory's contents to the new installation I can then update the new machine to the current version.

I've done this several times on Windows installations and have had no problems, but YMMV. I've even been successful copying the configuration from a regular install on one machine to a Portable version that was placed on a secondary drive on the second machine, again though with matching calibre version numbers.

eschwartz · 02-01-2015, 05:37 PM

Matching version numbers shouldn't make a difference, it is when calibre starts that things get affected.

The same problems that don't happen when you upgrade on one computer, won't happen when you transfer to a computer with a newer version.

calibre will upgrade the database schema if necessary -- which it usually isn't. But it cannot hurt to avoid moving to a computer with an older version installed.

And I have seen someone somewhere claiming that they have had no problems migrating the config folder between OSes (except for the changing library locations which is an easy fix). Take that with a grain of salt of course.

BetterRed · 02-01-2015, 06:12 PM

@dwig - nothing wrong with abundant caution.

However, I've seen no side-effects with copying config data between versions. That said, with one exception, the old and the new were within 2-3 versions of one another, and the users had done very little customisation. My escape route if something was to go awry would be to run the Welcome Wizard from Preferences - but so far I've not had to do it.

The exception was a move of 1.2? to 2.?, IIRC the only extra thing I needed to do was to update a couple of optional PI's, and apply adjustments that resulted from the switch to Qt5 in version 2.0. Again the user had done very little customisation. My experience is that most 'ordinary' people don't do much customising, calibre or anything else.

I wish other applications were as easy to move to a new machine as calibre is.

BR

theducks · 02-01-2015, 08:17 PM

I have used the same configuration on both Windows/portable/Linux with only a Library (path) update when it first starts

dwig · 02-02-2015, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Matching version numbers shouldn't make a difference, it is when calibre starts that things get affected.

The same problems that don't happen when you upgrade on one computer, won't happen when you transfer to a computer with a newer version.

calibre will upgrade the database schema if necessary -- which it usually isn't. But it cannot hurt to avoid moving to a computer with an older version installed.

...

Abundance of caution can be a good thing...

... Long years of doing software developement with a primary task centered on quality control procedures lead me to this approach. When applications have to introduce routines to update old data those routines are actively tested when introduced. The level of specific testing of the routines will generally drop off with successive releases. It is difficult to test the new functions and also retest all old functions with every release. The difficulty increases with every new feature added. The odds of the upgrade routine working properly will start to drop off as it is no longer tested actively since new additions frequently break old functions.

eschwartz · 02-02-2015, 10:12 AM

Even so it only matters once you try to run calibre. The existential status of the binaries will not edit the configuration data, that happens when you run calibre. I agree it cannot hurt to make sure to run calibre with each new weekly snapshot, but merely installing them one after the other does nothing. Nor does moving from an old version to the latest, if you don't run calibre.exe

The MSI will not touch the appdata. It is an easy experiment.

02-01-2015, 08:21 AM	#1
snapsean Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2015 Device: Kindle	move computers Is there a way to back up and restore the calibre database or some other way to move my calibre installation to another computer?

02-01-2015, 04:28 PM	#3
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,725 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	and if you want to move the configuration data (preferences. optional plugins, resource overrides etc) see third para in ==>> How do I backup calibre? It's not guaranteed to work, but I've done it at least a dozen times with no observable side-effects, always between different versions if the same operating system, i.e. Windows to Windows and OS/X to OS/X. To transfer: on new machine, a) exit all calibre components (library, viewer, server, editor), b) empty the calibre configuration folder, and c) copy the content from the old machine's configuration backup into it. I use a a thumb drive to effect the transfer, its simpler than network shares etc. BR Last edited by BetterRed; 02-01-2015 at 04:41 PM.

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02-01-2015, 08:25 AM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,521 Karma: 78910202 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	See How do I move my calibre library from one computer to another?

02-01-2015, 05:37 PM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Matching version numbers shouldn't make a difference, it is when calibre starts that things get affected. The same problems that don't happen when you upgrade on one computer, won't happen when you transfer to a computer with a newer version. calibre will upgrade the database schema if necessary -- which it usually isn't. But it cannot hurt to avoid moving to a computer with an older version installed. And I have seen someone somewhere claiming that they have had no problems migrating the config folder between OSes (except for the changing library locations which is an easy fix). Take that with a grain of salt of course.

02-01-2015, 06:12 PM	#6
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,725 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@dwig - nothing wrong with abundant caution. However, I've seen no side-effects with copying config data between versions. That said, with one exception, the old and the new were within 2-3 versions of one another, and the users had done very little customisation. My escape route if something was to go awry would be to run the Welcome Wizard from Preferences - but so far I've not had to do it. The exception was a move of 1.2? to 2.?, IIRC the only extra thing I needed to do was to update a couple of optional PI's, and apply adjustments that resulted from the switch to Qt5 in version 2.0. Again the user had done very little customisation. My experience is that most 'ordinary' people don't do much customising, calibre or anything else. I wish other applications were as easy to move to a new machine as calibre is. BR

02-01-2015, 08:17 PM	#7
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,058 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 have used the same configuration on both Windows/portable/Linux with only a Library (path) update when it first starts

02-02-2015, 10:12 AM	#9
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Even so it only matters once you try to run calibre. The existential status of the binaries will not edit the configuration data, that happens when you run calibre. I agree it cannot hurt to make sure to run calibre with each new weekly snapshot, but merely installing them one after the other does nothing. Nor does moving from an old version to the latest, if you don't run calibre.exe The MSI will not touch the appdata. It is an easy experiment.