ebook viewer not working in calibre

[pwrgrl]

I am suddenly unable to open any ebook in any format in calibre. I've updated to the most recent version (9.17) and my plug-ins appear up-to-date. I can edit metadata and convert books but not open them to read, even those I have previously read. Any book I try and open does show in the view drop list even though the viewer never opens. Please help!

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by pwrgrl

Any book I try and open does show in the view drop list even though the viewer never opens. Please help!

Could the viewer be opening off screen on a second monitor not currently connected?

[pwrgrl]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

Could the viewer be opening off screen on a second monitor not currently connected?

Thank you, DoctorOhh but nothing so fancy. I'm on a win7 laptop. I've been searching for a solution but so far no luck. While I can add and edit books, I can't view any of them.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by pwrgrl

Thank you, DoctorOhh but nothing so fancy. I'm on a win7 laptop. I've been searching for a solution but so far no luck. While I can add and edit books, I can't view any of them.

does the a Calibre worker process (viewer if no other Calibre Tasks are running) show in the Task Manager list?
I suspect a case of the missing 'Second Monitor'

[pwrgrl]

Originally Posted by theducks

does the a Calibre worker process (viewer if no other Calibre Tasks are running) show in the Task Manager list?
I suspect a case of the missing 'Second Monitor'

No. The only Calibre process showing up is the main program one. I've tried different books and none work. I converted a book and checked and a calibre worker process did show up but I can't open/view the converted book and no new process appears. This is really bumming me out.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by pwrgrl

No. The only Calibre process showing up is the main program one. I've tried different books and none work. I converted a book and checked and a calibre worker process did show up but I can't open/view the converted book and no new process appears. This is really bumming me out.

A WAG: Goto the Calibre Configuration folder: (preferences: Misc...: Press the button)
Delete viewer.py (delete viewer.json, viewr.themes.json if you don't mind losing viewer settings and history)

[DoctorOhh]

In the distant past I solved the second monitor dilemma by deleting the gui.json file then starting calibre.

The other option is to exit calibre and rename the calibre configuration folder. Starting calibre back up will recreate the configuration folder. You will loose some settings but it should work again.

[kovidgoyal]

Disable your security software, most likely Constant Guard Protection by Xfinity

[pwrgrl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Disable your security software, most likely Constant Guard Protection by Xfinity

Uninstalling Constant Guard did the trick! I never would have thought of that because it has never interfered before and I had Constant Guard installed before Calibre. Calibre is the greatest...many thanks.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by pwrgrl

Uninstalling Constant Guard did the trick! I never would have thought of that because it has never interfered before and I had Constant Guard installed before Calibre. Calibre is the greatest...many thanks.

People tend to forget that Security Software evolves (thru regular updates) to keep up (ahead of) with the bad guys. If you use fully automatic updates, you probably don't see this happening unless a reboot is required.

Another thing to remember: Windows Automatic Update only does 'Important and Security' updates. If you want (or just to see, but not tick for install) some of the other fixes or improvements, you need to run Windows Update from the Start Menu.