Accessing a backup of Calibre on Liniux

krikket · 06-24-2012, 09:29 PM

I have a "minor" problem, I'm hoping folks here can help me out with.

I'm running Calibre on Linux, specifically PCLinuxOS, with the latest version downloaded for both.

I've had some OS problems that caused me to back up all of my files on DVD, including my latest collection of almost 1,000 books. And then my Kindle died. I got a replacement from Amazon, and have been able to back up the list of book collections as I had 'em. Unfortunately, when I went to reinstall Calibre, it then rejected the current collection, and created a "Calibre Library2". So I go to re-add those books to my Kindle, and none of them are recognized by the Kindle as belonging into the various collections I had them in.

I really don't want to manually re-sort almost 1,000 books. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Krikket

theducks · 06-24-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krikket

I have a "minor" problem, I'm hoping folks here can help me out with.

I'm running Calibre on Linux, specifically PCLinuxOS, with the latest version downloaded for both.

I've had some OS problems that caused me to back up all of my files on DVD, including my latest collection of almost 1,000 books. And then my Kindle died. I got a replacement from Amazon, and have been able to back up the list of book collections as I had 'em. Unfortunately, when I went to reinstall Calibre, it then rejected the current collection, and created a "Calibre Library2". So I go to re-add those books to my Kindle, and none of them are recognized by the Kindle as belonging into the various collections I had them in.

I really don't want to manually re-sort almost 1,000 books. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Krikket

Make sure the Read only mode for the Files and Folders r-r-r did get set when copying from CD/DVD (does not happen if the Library folder was Zipped before burning)

krikket · 06-25-2012, 10:28 PM

I just checked. The files are all r-r-r.

theducks · 06-25-2012, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krikket

I just checked. The files are all r-r-r.

That is your problem. rrr is read only. the must be rwx--r--r-- at minimum

krikket · 06-25-2012, 11:22 PM

Do you happen to know offhand the chmod command to change it recursively? I checked the man and help files, but they were less than helpful. When it comes to the command line, Linux isn't as good as it used to be.

kovidgoyal · 06-25-2012, 11:31 PM

chmod -R a+wx /path

krikket · 06-25-2012, 11:47 PM

Thank you very much!

krikket · 06-25-2012, 11:54 PM

My problem turns out to be a little more complex, but it's manageable at this point. The first two times I did this, I just ignored the problem and started manually adding books as I read them.

So in my home directory, I now have Calibre Library, Calibre Library2, and Calibre Library 3.

In those directories (before I ran the chmod command you just gave me) I see the following files:

-rw-r--r-- 1 krikket krikket 528384 Jun 24 20:17 metadata.db
-rw-rw-r-- 1 krikket krikket 12817 Jun 24 20:17 metadata_db_prefs_backup.json

Is there a way to merge the files from the 3 directories in a way that will make Calibre happy? (And yes, there are some duplicates...) If not, I can just take the directory with the most files and use that as a base. The problem is manageable at this point.

So once again, thank you very much!!!

chaley · 06-26-2012, 03:59 AM

The database (metadata.db) and the file structure must match, so you cannot merge the libraries without invalidating the db.

You can merge them and then rebuild the db using the recover command. I would attempt this in a fourth directory hierarchy to see if you like the results.

06-24-2012, 09:29 PM	#1
krikket Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3.0	Accessing a backup of Calibre on Liniux I have a "minor" problem, I'm hoping folks here can help me out with. I'm running Calibre on Linux, specifically PCLinuxOS, with the latest version downloaded for both. I've had some OS problems that caused me to back up all of my files on DVD, including my latest collection of almost 1,000 books. And then my Kindle died. I got a replacement from Amazon, and have been able to back up the list of book collections as I had 'em. Unfortunately, when I went to reinstall Calibre, it then rejected the current collection, and created a "Calibre Library2". So I go to re-add those books to my Kindle, and none of them are recognized by the Kindle as belonging into the various collections I had them in. I really don't want to manually re-sort almost 1,000 books. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance, Krikket

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06-25-2012, 10:28 PM	#3
krikket Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3.0	I just checked. The files are all r-r-r.

06-25-2012, 11:22 PM	#5
krikket Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3.0	Do you happen to know offhand the chmod command to change it recursively? I checked the man and help files, but they were less than helpful. When it comes to the command line, Linux isn't as good as it used to be.

06-25-2012, 11:31 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	chmod -R a+wx /path

06-25-2012, 11:47 PM	#7
krikket Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3.0	Thank you very much!

06-25-2012, 11:54 PM	#8
krikket Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3.0	My problem turns out to be a little more complex, but it's manageable at this point. The first two times I did this, I just ignored the problem and started manually adding books as I read them. So in my home directory, I now have Calibre Library, Calibre Library2, and Calibre Library 3. In those directories (before I ran the chmod command you just gave me) I see the following files: -rw-r--r-- 1 krikket krikket 528384 Jun 24 20:17 metadata.db -rw-rw-r-- 1 krikket krikket 12817 Jun 24 20:17 metadata_db_prefs_backup.json Is there a way to merge the files from the 3 directories in a way that will make Calibre happy? (And yes, there are some duplicates...) If not, I can just take the directory with the most files and use that as a base. The problem is manageable at this point. So once again, thank you very much!!!

06-26-2012, 03:59 AM	#9
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,742 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	The database (metadata.db) and the file structure must match, so you cannot merge the libraries without invalidating the db. You can merge them and then rebuild the db using the recover command. I would attempt this in a fourth directory hierarchy to see if you like the results.

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