Preparing book for first read

[LordP]

I have this issue from time to time, and I'm a bit confused as to where I should find an answer.

I found some websites and a couple of threads here dealing with this problem, but I think my problem is a bit different.

In this post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=357110
Solo1959 has the problem every time.

It's a bit different for me. I can open several epubs, one after the other - no problem. Then one epub will take a bit over a minute, and the next time that same epub takes no time at all.

I can open an epub quickly several times, and then, for whatever reason, that same epub will be very slow to open.

I'm on Windows 11 Pro. i9-13900K, with 64 GB of RAM - my system is not underpowered.

Any ideas?

[BetterRed]

Calibre caches recently read books in the user %appdata% folder. If that resides on an SSD then it's competing for what is probably a limited resource, as a consequence cached data has to be flushed.

If you have a hard disk, try relocating calibre's cache via the CALIBRE_CACHE_DIRECTORY Environment variable

BR

[LordP]

"Calibre caches recently read books in the user %appdata% folder. If that resides on an SSD then it's competing for what is probably a limited resource, as a consequence cached data has to be flushed."

I'm not 100% clear on what you mean, but I have to ask...do you think it would take more than a minute to flush cached data?

The main calibre program starts almost instantly. When in the main program, all books open instantly.

So, I think there must be a difference between the main program and the viewer.

Am I wrong?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by LordP

"Calibre caches recently read books in the user %appdata% folder. If that resides on an SSD then it's competing for what is probably a limited resource, as a consequence cached data has to be flushed."

I'm not 100% clear on what you mean, but I have to ask...do you think it would take more than a minute to flush cached data?

No but it might take more than a minute to recreate what was there when the book is viewed again

Originally Posted by LordP

The main calibre program starts almost instantly. When in the main program, all books open instantly.

What does that mean - does it mean open in the calibre viewer, or open in the relevant OS default viewer - e.g. PDF in Acrobat.

Originally Posted by LordP

So, I think there must be a difference between the main program and the viewer.

Am I wrong?

The main calibre program, the book-viewer and the book editor are discrete programs. On Windows :



The .exe's I haven't highlighted, are the command line programs shipped with calibre.

Which OS are you running -Linux, MacOS or Windows?

BR

[LordP]

What does that mean - does it mean open in the calibre viewer, or open in the relevant OS default viewer - e.g. PDF in Acrobat.

The Calibre viewer.

I see this path: C:\Program Files\Calibre2\

Do I create a new path for the cache like this: D:\cache\CALIBRE_CACHE_DIRECTORY

Or do I move the whole thing to my D drive?

Thanks.

[BetterRed]

Create folder on your D: drive called say CalibreCache

Then follow the instructions that are in the the Environment Variable page in the manual, here 'tis ==>> How to set environment variables in Windows

You need to navigate to here in Windows Settings



BR

[LordP]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Create folder on your D: drive called say CalibreCache

Then follow the instructions that are in the the Environment Variable page in the manual, here 'tis ==>> How to set environment variables in Windows

You need to navigate to here in Windows Settings

Attachment 219075

BR

I got all that, and I also know where and how to change it.

What is still unclear is if I move the WHOLE FOLDER to my D drive, or only "CALIBRE_CACHE_DIRECTORY", <- this is what all the instructions mention.

If I look at this page: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cus...ment-variables

CALIBRE_CACHE_DIRECTORY is only one of several environment variables, so, do I move all of them or that entire Calibre2\ folder, or...?

What the heck do I type here:

Variable Name: ___________________
Variable Value:____________________

[BetterRed]

Environment variables are discrete, they are set individually.



Don't move anything into D:\CalibreCache, let calibre take care of it.

If relocating the cache doesn't help, try relocating calibre's temporary storage via the CALIBRE_TEMP_DIR Environment variable.

BR

[LordP]

Thank you.

All the sites I found say the same thing: relocate CALIBRE_CACHE_DIRECTORY to a hard drive - not a single one of those sites have the one thing you provided, an example.

Thanks again.

[JSWolf]

My laptop only has an SSD. I find no slowdown with the viewer because of not having a hard drive.

[LordP]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My laptop only has an SSD. I find no slowdown with the viewer because of not having a hard drive.

Are you saying it might not be the problem?

I guess time will tell.

[BetterRed]

@Jon, the issue is not SSD as such, it's the capacity of the C: drive.

My 12 year old Dell desktop would have come with a 64GB SSD had I not swapped it for a 256GB SSD, today's equivalent comes with a 1TB SSD, twice as much RAM and its less than half the nominal price

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by LordP

Are you saying it might not be the problem?

I guess time will tell.

Does the drive the book cache is on have enough space?