Connect Software and Vista

[Brainiac 5]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

if you can use the Connect software to connect to the Connect Store and purchase ebooks without a problem, then ask kovidgoyal is libprs500 can be made into a 64-bit version so you can transfer books to and from the Reader. That way you'll be all set and ready to go in a sort of round-a-bout way.

That's a really good idea! I haven't actually tried purchasing books, but I imagine that works. I think libprs500 uses libusb to talk to the hardware. I'm not sure of the state of it, but I think there is an x64 port of libusb.

[Bethsky]

That "missing left panel" issue is exactly what happened to me on XP.

There is a button midway on the left side of that window, try clicking it, opened it up for me.

[geekraver]

Originally Posted by Bethsky

That "missing left panel" issue is exactly what happened to me on XP.

There is a button midway on the left side of that window, try clicking it, opened it up for me.

I don't have any button (see my screenshot in the original post).

I did install the software on my laptop which is also running Vista and it works fine. Still no idea about why my desktop install is messed up.

[JSWolf]

Did you try any of the view menu options?

[geekraver]

Yes - clicked on everything I can think of, resized datagrid columns, etc, etc. I even tried playing around with some of the XML files in the installation, and searched my registry for keys related to Sony, but all to no avail so far.

[airlik]

Anyone know the email for PRS support? When I navigate their site it seems they don't have an email link for reader support - and I somehow doubt their Blue-Ray folks will be helpful. I've been putting off an upgrade to Vista 64-bit while waiting for drivers from all my hardware vendors... Sony is the last one so I might as well see if I can help prod them along.

[mattgam]

I'm seeing the exact same ui problem on my XP laptop. It just started happening today. I've tried uninstalling as well as system restore points with no success.

What I can't figure out is where sony is hiding their settings. after I do all the unistalling and deleting etc, when I reinstall the connect software still has my full catalog of books and such. I'm convinced there is some configuration data stashed somewhere that is tracking the library and probably some UI skin settings but I can't find anything. Anyone have any info that could help??

[mattgam]

Solution:

I finally got my Connect ui back working! I ended up getting process monitor off of sysinternals.com and then running a connect install in vmware to track down every single action taken by the setup kit. It turns out the sony uninstaller leaves behind all of the config files which is why the reinstall didn't help. To fix I had to:
1) Add/Remove programs and uninstall the connect reader

2) delete the following folders:
C:\Documents and Settings\[UserName]\Local Settings\Application Data\Sony Corporation
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\kinoma
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Marlin

3) And then in the in the registry delete:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Corporation

4) Reinstall the connect software

After all that the reader UI came back up and was working again. Of course I lost all of the collections i had defined and had to re-add all my books to the library (the person at sony that decided to not let you copy collections from the reader back to connect should be shot!) but after that its all back working.

Funny aside before doing this I called Sony support and was told simply to rerun setup. After that failed they informed me my operating system was broken and I should call Microsoft. Having worked at Microsoft for many years in a past life I knew there was zero chance that this was a corrupt XP install which is what made me go and figure this out. Hopefully it helps someone else!

[NatCh]

Nicely done, mattgam, and thanks for sharing it, I expect it will be useful to others.


One minor detail that you might like to know going forward:

Originally Posted by mattgam

...the person at sony that decided to not let you copy collections from the reader back to connect....

You actually can do that. The trick is that you have to drag the collection to the "Library" entry on the ConnSoft for it to take -- the same place you have to drop books when you're pulling them into ConnSoft initially. It'll pull all the books over, and the collection, preserving your book order within the collection.

[mattgam]

awesome thanks for the tip!
-Matt

[NatCh]

You're welcome, I only wish I'd been able to let you know before you rebuilt your collections manually.

[hkwally]

Originally Posted by geekraver

Is anyone out there using the connect software successfully with Vista? I find it is totally unusable; the entire left hand panel is missing (see attached screenshot).

I have been encountering this problems couple times with my vista ultimate. So Mattgam actually post a tip not long ago, and i would like add some note here.

If your Connect software get messed up like that, you don't have to uninstall the software at all. You will only have to go to the appdata folder in your C: drive, and remove couple folders:

Note: Before doing that, make sure you set ALL your folders visable. Set "Part one" for instructions. You can skip part one if you know how to do so and go straight to part 2.


Part 1:
In Vista, under window explorer, click on "Organize" -> "Folder and Search options" -> Dialog box pop up Then in the "View" tab under "Advanced settings, check the radio button "Show hidden files and folders" -> "ok"

Part 2:
Remove entire Sony Corporation folder:
(local disk) c:\users\(youruser_name)\appdata\local\Sony Corporation

Then remove entire kinoma folder:
c:\users\(youruser_name)\appdata\local\kinoma

Without uninstalling your Connect software, restart the application and you will get your UI back with the left pane like when you first installed the app.

Good Luck.