Backing Up Data (Collections)

Cpl Punishment · 10-24-2010, 08:52 PM

Ive made a few collections, sync'd with my puter but dont see the collection folders on the computer side....How does one back up the data on your Kindle to your computer...?? I thought I read somewhere you can make folders (directories) via USB on your computer and they show up on your Kindle...?? It doesn't work for me either way...What am I doing wrong...??

curstpriest · 10-24-2010, 09:28 PM

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ection+manager

for windows

Cpl Punishment · 10-24-2010, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by curstpriest

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ection+manager

for windows

Ah...I didn't mention I had a MacPro...I suppose I could load Win if I absolutely had to...

Tiersten · 10-24-2010, 09:45 PM

The Kindle doesn't care about directories at all. It can be in the main documents directory or under documents/blahblah/blah and it will still just show it in the main view as if they all were inside the documents directory.

If you do set something to be in a collection then you can't move it from where you originally stored it on the Kindle. The exact location and filename are used to identify that file. Changing the directory or the filename will cause it to think that this is a new document.

Cpl Punishment · 10-24-2010, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiersten

The Kindle doesn't care about directories at all. It can be in the main documents directory or under documents/blahblah/blah and it will still just show it in the main view as if they all were inside the documents directory.

If you do set something to be in a collection then you can't move it from where you originally stored it on the Kindle. The exact location and filename are used to identify that file. Changing the directory or the filename will cause it to think that this is a new document.

Thank-you...That cleared that up...All my books (all 15 of em) are on my computer but I can see it being a painful process is someone had hundreds of books and had to redo their collection data...

Josieb1 · 10-25-2010, 08:42 AM

Quote:

All my books (all 15 of em) are on my computer but I can see it being a painful process is someone had hundreds of books and had to redo their collection data...

My Kindle developed a crack on the casing and had to be replaced. it had over 300 books on it in 30+ collections, while saving the documents folder from the Kindle onto my pc made loading the books on my new Kindle painless and quick, it didn't really save me much time as it took a few hours to recreate the collections and sort out the books into them

desertblues · 10-25-2010, 09:30 AM

Every few weeks, or after downloading and sorting a lot of books, I just back the whole contents of my Kindle up on my PC. I think the file for collections is stored in the folder ' system' . I once lost my collections and just copied the whole backup-folder 'system' to my Kindle and it worked.
Don''t know if it will work for a comple new Kindle though.

hal2814 · 10-25-2010, 10:40 AM

I had about 400 books on my old Kindle when it crapped out. It was just a broken 5-way knob so I was able to copy my files out. When copying over to the new Kindle, the collections were gone. But there's an option to import collections from another Kindle. From Amazon's site:

To import a collection from another Kindle:
-Select "Archived Items" from the Kindle Home screen.
-Select "Add Other Device Collections" from the Archived Items page.
-Select the desired collection to import and select "ok" to confirm.
Note: Importing a collection from another device does not import the books or other items to your Kindle if they aren't downloaded already. However, books already on your Kindle that are associated with a collection will automatically appear under that collection name on your Home screen.

Worked like a charm for me, even for books I didn't get through Amazon. So I guess the short answer is that your collection info is backed up automatically.

Cpl Punishment · 10-25-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertblues

Every few weeks, or after downloading and sorting a lot of books, I just back the whole contents of my Kindle up on my PC. I think the file for collections is stored in the folder ' system' . I once lost my collections and just copied the whole backup-folder 'system' to my Kindle and it worked.
Don''t know if it will work for a comple new Kindle though.

Good idea....Im on it !!

curstpriest · 10-25-2010, 09:51 PM

You could probably also just use an emulator like VMWARE or Sun Virtual Box (FREE) or rather than installing windows directly on your mac, and mount the kindle as a share in the virtual machine, would be pretty easy... You can actually have it take control of USB devices directly as well if you want (thought this would not be necessary in the case of the kindle)

Basically you just create an image, install windows on the VM, and you can run windows programs and such without rebooting, everything runs from within the application.

Albright · 10-26-2010, 01:21 AM

The freeware options might work, but the commercial options are better supported, and there's such competition between the two main commercial options - VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop - that they often have special promotions on their respective products. If you're looking to get in to the virtualization game, I suggest signing up for both of their mailing lists and pouncing on the next one to send a good deal your way.

Either way, you still have to buy Windows, though, wich is oddly expensive even for its cheapest consumer versions.

curstpriest · 10-26-2010, 02:09 AM

Not at all, you do not have to buy windows....

And sun virtual box is very well supported. I find it to work as well as vmware workstation, I have used it on both pc and linux.

Download the microsoft windows TEST images. They are full versions of windows used for evaluating the OS. They have versions for testing versions of IE and other aspects. Regardless they expire every few months, at which point you can just download the next image. If all you are doing is simple stuff, and you don't own/want to buy a copy of windows, this can be a good option for you. Just configure your VM to have a seperate partition/drive that will persist and store all of your applications/files there if you go this route.

Good luck =)

Current image Expires January 11, 2011

http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/e...displaylang=en

Cpl Punishment · 10-26-2010, 07:54 AM

I have VmFusion and bootcamp, with Win Xp...But prefer Mac OS....Thanks all !!

pchrist7 · 10-27-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cpl Punishment

I have VmFusion and bootcamp, with Win Xp...But prefer Mac OS....Thanks all !!

the file you want is in systems folder/directory named collections.json

Cpl Punishment · 10-27-2010, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pchrist7

the file you want is in systems folder/directory named collections.json

Thanks....

Ill just copy that for a backup then....

10-24-2010, 08:52 PM	#1
Cpl Punishment Guru Posts: 682 Karma: 4156546 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: On The Move Device: Ipad 103rd Gen	Backing Up Data (Collections) Ive made a few collections, sync'd with my puter but dont see the collection folders on the computer side....How does one back up the data on your Kindle to your computer...?? I thought I read somewhere you can make folders (directories) via USB on your computer and they show up on your Kindle...?? It doesn't work for me either way...What am I doing wrong...??

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10-24-2010, 09:28 PM	#2
curstpriest Confused Posts: 402 Karma: 5538 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: Kindle DXG	https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ection+manager for windows

10-24-2010, 09:45 PM	#4
Tiersten Guru Posts: 987 Karma: 8641 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3G+WiFi	The Kindle doesn't care about directories at all. It can be in the main documents directory or under documents/blahblah/blah and it will still just show it in the main view as if they all were inside the documents directory. If you do set something to be in a collection then you can't move it from where you originally stored it on the Kindle. The exact location and filename are used to identify that file. Changing the directory or the filename will cause it to think that this is a new document.

10-25-2010, 09:30 AM	#7
desertblues Home for the moment Posts: 5,127 Karma: 27718936 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: travelling Device: various	Every few weeks, or after downloading and sorting a lot of books, I just back the whole contents of my Kindle up on my PC. I think the file for collections is stored in the folder ' system' . I once lost my collections and just copied the whole backup-folder 'system' to my Kindle and it worked. Don''t know if it will work for a comple new Kindle though.

10-25-2010, 10:40 AM	#8
hal2814 Connoisseur Posts: 65 Karma: 2460 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 2	I had about 400 books on my old Kindle when it crapped out. It was just a broken 5-way knob so I was able to copy my files out. When copying over to the new Kindle, the collections were gone. But there's an option to import collections from another Kindle. From Amazon's site: To import a collection from another Kindle: -Select "Archived Items" from the Kindle Home screen. -Select "Add Other Device Collections" from the Archived Items page. -Select the desired collection to import and select "ok" to confirm. Note: Importing a collection from another device does not import the books or other items to your Kindle if they aren't downloaded already. However, books already on your Kindle that are associated with a collection will automatically appear under that collection name on your Home screen. Worked like a charm for me, even for books I didn't get through Amazon. So I guess the short answer is that your collection info is backed up automatically.

10-25-2010, 09:51 PM	#10
curstpriest Confused Posts: 402 Karma: 5538 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: Kindle DXG	You could probably also just use an emulator like VMWARE or Sun Virtual Box (FREE) or rather than installing windows directly on your mac, and mount the kindle as a share in the virtual machine, would be pretty easy... You can actually have it take control of USB devices directly as well if you want (thought this would not be necessary in the case of the kindle) Basically you just create an image, install windows on the VM, and you can run windows programs and such without rebooting, everything runs from within the application.

10-26-2010, 01:21 AM	#11
Albright Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	The freeware options might work, but the commercial options are better supported, and there's such competition between the two main commercial options - VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop - that they often have special promotions on their respective products. If you're looking to get in to the virtualization game, I suggest signing up for both of their mailing lists and pouncing on the next one to send a good deal your way. Either way, you still have to buy Windows, though, wich is oddly expensive even for its cheapest consumer versions.

10-26-2010, 02:09 AM	#12
curstpriest Confused Posts: 402 Karma: 5538 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: Kindle DXG	Not at all, you do not have to buy windows.... And sun virtual box is very well supported. I find it to work as well as vmware workstation, I have used it on both pc and linux. Download the microsoft windows TEST images. They are full versions of windows used for evaluating the OS. They have versions for testing versions of IE and other aspects. Regardless they expire every few months, at which point you can just download the next image. If all you are doing is simple stuff, and you don't own/want to buy a copy of windows, this can be a good option for you. Just configure your VM to have a seperate partition/drive that will persist and store all of your applications/files there if you go this route. Good luck =) Current image Expires January 11, 2011 http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/e...displaylang=en

10-26-2010, 07:54 AM	#13
Cpl Punishment Guru Posts: 682 Karma: 4156546 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: On The Move Device: Ipad 103rd Gen	I have VmFusion and bootcamp, with Win Xp...But prefer Mac OS....Thanks all !!