Deleting preloaded books from Kobo - Page 4

isarl · 01-29-2023, 07:01 PM

For the sake of anybody else interested, I was able to play with a new Kobo device (a Libra 2) purchased recently, which included 52 previews when the KoboTouch[Extended] driver's “Show previews” option is enabled. They range from about 40 kB to 7.5 MB and include titles in a variety of languages. These files are located under the .kobo/kepub/ directory relative to the root of the device.

I have confirmed using the cmp utility from GNU diffutils that these files are byte-for-byte identical to those shared earlier at this link:
https://www92.zippyshare.com/v/HzV4fwHw/file.html

The device has only been started in sideload mode so far (by altering the configuration file without going through the setup process). While the books do not appear in My Books, the books' authors are listed in the device's Authors view, which is a little surprising. Touching any given author's name takes you to a screen showing zero books by that author, which is both surprising and frustrating. I have not experimented with what happens when the device completes setup in the normal way.

Mystery solved – the 52 books were previews.

Quoth · 01-30-2023, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isarl

Mystery solved – the 52 books were previews.

Which is what most of us thought. Generally only PD titles are freebies, and there thousands of good ones.

Kindleing · 02-01-2023, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isarl

For the sake of anybody else interested, I was able to play with a new Kobo device (a Libra 2) purchased recently, which included 52 previews when the KoboTouch[Extended] driver's “Show previews” option is enabled. They range from about 40 kB to 7.5 MB and include titles in a variety of languages. These files are located under the .kobo/kepub/ directory relative to the root of the device.

Could this depend on where the Kobo was purchased? I recently bought a new Libra 2 from a US vendor that sells a lot of new Kobos on both Amazon and Ebay - Blueproton. It came in what appeared to be new, sealed, factory packaging. I cannot find any trace of book previews on my Libra 2. Setting my Mac to display hidden (dot) files shows the .kobo/kepub/ directory to be completely empty. When I first received the Libra 2 I sideloaded one book via Calibre to test it, and that book is the only book file I can find on the device.

isarl · 02-01-2023, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kindleing

Could this depend on where the Kobo was purchased? I recently bought a new Libra 2 from a US vendor that sells a lot of new Kobos on both Amazon and Ebay - Blueproton. It came in what appeared to be new, sealed, factory packaging. I cannot find any trace of book previews on my Libra 2. Setting my Mac to display hidden (dot) files shows the .kobo/kepub/ directory to be completely empty. When I first received the Libra 2 I sideloaded one book via Calibre to test it, and that book is the only book file I can find on the device.

Did you already set up the device first, i.e. log into your Kobo account? Once the Libra 2 I was playing with had been signed in to a Kobo account, the 52 previews disappeared and were replaced with kepubs tied to the Kobo account in question. They were only present when connecting the device to my PC while in “sideloaded” mode.

I think this has more to do with logging in to a Kobo account than it has to do with where the device was purchased.

Kindleing · 02-02-2023, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isarl

Did you already set up the device first, i.e. log into your Kobo account?

Yes, I did - I logged in to set it up. I don't have any books on the Kobo site, so there was nothing to sync to my kepub directory. I sideload my Kobos (I have more than one).

You are probably right about that deleting the previews. Thanks for pointing that out.

ownedbycats · 02-24-2023, 07:58 PM

I enabled "Show archived books" in the KoboTouchExtended driver and was vaguely amused to see something like 30 (definitely not family-friendly, judging from the titles) books show up on my Libra H2O. I'm assuming they're either previews or some very horny person got into my account (though I'm not getting the "You already have this item" message, so probably not latter).

Rid · 02-25-2023, 02:09 AM

If books are still showing up try the below

1. Begin the factory reset - but do not set-up the device.
2. After the set language screen, select "Don't have a WiFi network?".
3. Delete delete all files & folder in the kobo directory.
4. Eject USB (and remove cable), then setup as per normal.

Lukusaukko · 02-25-2023, 03:09 AM

When I first set up my Libra 2, I bypassed the login by editing the sqlite file, and as a result, my library showed several titles and authors already there, though none of them were actually installed. When I logged out and logged back in using a spare email, my library was completely empty as it should've been.

02-24-2023, 07:58 PM	#51
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 11,352 Karma: 79528341 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	I enabled "Show archived books" in the KoboTouchExtended driver and was vaguely amused to see something like 30 (definitely not family-friendly, judging from the titles) books show up on my Libra H2O. I'm assuming they're either previews or some very horny person got into my account (though I'm not getting the "You already have this item" message, so probably not latter). Last edited by ownedbycats; 02-24-2023 at 08:06 PM.

02-25-2023, 02:09 AM	#52
Rid Addict Posts: 209 Karma: 20980 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: Kobo Aura One, Aura HD (R.I.P.) :(	If books are still showing up try the below 1. Begin the factory reset - but do not set-up the device. 2. After the set language screen, select "Don't have a WiFi network?". 3. Delete delete all files & folder in the kobo directory. 4. Eject USB (and remove cable), then setup as per normal. Last edited by Rid; 02-25-2023 at 02:21 AM.

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01-29-2023, 07:01 PM	#46
isarl Addict Posts: 295 Karma: 2534928 Join Date: Nov 2022 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura 2	For the sake of anybody else interested, I was able to play with a new Kobo device (a Libra 2) purchased recently, which included 52 previews when the KoboTouch[Extended] driver's “Show previews” option is enabled. They range from about 40 kB to 7.5 MB and include titles in a variety of languages. These files are located under the .kobo/kepub/ directory relative to the root of the device. I have confirmed using the cmp utility from GNU diffutils that these files are byte-for-byte identical to those shared earlier at this link: https://www92.zippyshare.com/v/HzV4fwHw/file.html The device has only been started in sideload mode so far (by altering the configuration file without going through the setup process). While the books do not appear in My Books, the books' authors are listed in the device's Authors view, which is a little surprising. Touching any given author's name takes you to a screen showing zero books by that author, which is both surprising and frustrating. I have not experimented with what happens when the device completes setup in the normal way. Mystery solved – the 52 books were previews.

02-25-2023, 03:09 AM	#53
Lukusaukko Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 392326 Join Date: Feb 2023 Device: Kobo Libra 2	When I first set up my Libra 2, I bypassed the login by editing the sqlite file, and as a result, my library showed several titles and authors already there, though none of them were actually installed. When I logged out and logged back in using a spare email, my library was completely empty as it should've been.