Touch Re-borrowed (renewed) books from openlibrary.org do not work

[swamp thing]

I borrowed an epub book from openlibrary.org, and I could read it in ADE and on the Kobo Touch.

When there were only a couple of days left of the loan, I wanted to "renew" it, so I returned it using ADE and borrowed it again. The newly issued book is readable on the PC in ADE, but when after I dragged-and-dropped it into Kobo it displays the "OOPS" DRM error message.

Also, the book is listed under the Kobo device icon in ADE, and if i double click it in the Kobo list I can read it in ADE.

I tried deleting all files from the device that have a similar name to the re-borrowed epub, and also checked that the database has no reference to this title.

I experimented with more books from openlibrary and found the same result - reborrowed books go "OOPS" on the Kobo.

So how does the Kobo remember that this is a title that has already been read? How can one clear this record so that it will display the book as per the fresh loan?

Thanks and Regards,
swamp thing

[davidfor]

Something might be cached in memory. Try restarting the device and then adding it again.

[swamp thing]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Something might be cached in memory. Try restarting the device and then adding it again.

I tried powering down and restarting, and also the paperclip reset followed by sending the book to the device from ADE. It's still OOPSing on renewed books.

[Ken Maltby]

You could try logging out of your Kobo account, but there are consequences. It should reinitialize your database.

Luck;
Ken

[PeterT]

What steps are you using when you drop and readd the book?

[swamp thing]

Originally Posted by PeterT

What steps are you using when you drop and readd the book?

Start ADE, then..

1. Hover over the book, either in the (a) Borrowed book list or (b) Books listed under Device icon.

2. Click on the small arrow and select "Return borrowed item"

3. go back to the library web site - book is back in circulation.

4. Get new acsm file. Open in ADE.

5. New File is readable in ADE with extended loan duration.

6. Drag and drop into Device Icon.

7. Disconnect device ... let it process the file

8. Try to read in device ... look at the OOPS message.

An extra twist: If I want, I can drag the book back from the device and into ADE's list. I will then have two copies in ADE, both readable there.

[swamp thing]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

You could try logging out of your Kobo account, but there are consequences. It should reinitialize your database.

Luck;
Ken

If it is something stored in the database, could one remove it manually? (I don't mind changing the database with an sql tool, I'd like to try that before anything more drastic).

I could not find anything in the database that matches the file name or title, but it's probably in there as a long GUID type string.

[PeterT]

I'd suggest dropping the book from the device using the kobos library view, doing a long press on the book and selecting the remove option. That should ensure it being fully removed from the database on the device. After that attach the Kobo to your PC and have Ade resend the book.

[TechniSol]

If you can't resolve this a trip to Apprentice Alf's may present a workaround in allowing you to temporarily circumvent the DRM Ca-ca. You would be on your personal honor to delete the title when your loan period is up.

Problems with DRM like this are yet another reason why DRM sucks when not properly implemented and vetted for all reasonably expected circumstances. The results of the implementer's lack of vision or inattention to detail should not be visited upon the world at large. One of these days similar inattention with a more dangerous product like a defense system is going to get people killed. I'm not saying this issue carries that kind of gravitas, but the trends are there and the writing is on the e-wall...

I've often wondered how many times bugs in non-essential systems, which, in fairness, may be used in capacities for which they were not intended, have contributed to human misery and never been identified as such. Quality control is a thing of the past.

[swamp thing]

I was dying of curiosity : how does Kobo know that a book is re-borrowed and not just borrowed?

Well, it turns out that it doesn't need to know!

If I borrow-return-borrow a book (NOT sending the first copy to the device at all) -- then the second loan can't be read on Kobo even though the title has just landed in the filesystem for the first time!

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by swamp thing

If it is something stored in the database, could one remove it manually? (I don't mind changing the database with an sql tool, I'd like to try that before anything more drastic).

I could not find anything in the database that matches the file name or title, but it's probably in there as a long GUID type string.

I haven't looked at the Adobe DRM much, but I had a look today. The tables to look at:

- content - This is the main table that contains details of the books. There should be one row for the book and one row for each chapter. The key is "ContentID".

- volume_shortcovers - One row per chapter in the book. The key is "volumeID".

For what you want, ContentID and volumeID are the same. For sideloaded books they are full path to the book as seen by the device when it is running. ADE puts the books into the "Digital Editions" directory. So, these will look like "file:///mnt/onboard/Digital Editions/Redshirts_0001.epub". The chapter rows in content will start with this. There are other tables with details, but they won't affect this. Deleting these rows should be enough to remove the book from the device library.

The other place to look is in the "Digital Editions" directory. As well as the book, there are some other places that might have something relevant. The subdirectories contain files such as the annotations that shouldn't interfere. "manifest.xml" contains details of he book. Maybe it has a leftover from when the book was originally sent to the device.

The thing I would try is:

- Make sure the rows are removed from the two database tables.
- Remove the book file.
- Edit manifest.xml to make sure it has nothing about the book.
- Remove the traces of the book from the "Digital Editions" directory.
- Restart the device to make sure nothing is cached.
- Connect to the PC and use ADE to send the book again.

[swamp thing]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The thing I would try is:

- Make sure the rows are removed from the two database tables.
- Remove the book file.
- Edit manifest.xml to make sure it has nothing about the book.
- Remove the traces of the book from the "Digital Editions" directory.
- Restart the device to make sure nothing is cached.
- Connect to the PC and use ADE to send the book again.

Thanks, I will try this out.