Clara Is occasional database corruption to be expected?

[Desertway]

I have refurbished Clara HD, having switched a month or so ago from a Kindle PW. I put about 1400 Calibre sideloaded Kepubs on it, taking my time so as to avoid issues. It went fine.

A few weeks later I plugged in the Clara and got the windows "needs to be scanned and fixed" message. I let it scan, and was told there were no errors. However, after copying over a few books from Calibre, I received the message that Calibre could not communicate with the device. Kobo Utilities told me that the database was corrupt. Fortunately, I had a back-up and was quickly up and running.

The problem was that I lost reading progress along the way, which is not too big a deal. But I also lost highlights, which is a bigger deal.

I don't know what caused the corruption so I don't know how to prevent it, and I would like to avoid losing annotations. I suppose I could back-up everyday, but I thought that would put too much wear and tear on the USB port.

How do I minimize the risk of corruption?

[retro]

I have had the same problem with my Clara, so I started doing database backups with Kobo Utilities plugin. Then when it happened, I would just copy the backup db to the Clara, reboot and it was fine. It works, but it seemed kind of messy to me.
Anyway, in one of the last firmware update threads, the corruption was happening to more people. Someone observed that it usually happened when connecting with a book open, but not when you go back to the home screen or books page. Since then, I've made a point of making sure I did that and haven't had the problem anymore.
I only have epubs, so maybe it's a problem with them and not kepubs? IDK but it works for me so far, might be worth a try or at least do backups.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Desertway

How do I minimize the risk of corruption?

Make sure you are running firmware version 4.32.

[Desertway]

Thanks. I am running that firmware, and I definitely received the "scan and fix" notice more often before I upgraded.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Desertway

...

How do I minimize the risk of corruption?

Somethings that work for me...

Always safely eject the reader.
Don't do anything untill all the flashing on the home screen stops.
Let others be the guinea pig for new firmware.

I've been using Kobos since the Touch, and I don't recall getting any corrupted databases.

[Desertway]

Thank you. I'll take special care to watch what's going on after ejecting and before unplugging the Kobo.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by retro

I have had the same problem with my Clara, so I started doing database backups with Kobo Utilities plugin. Then when it happened, I would just copy the backup db to the Clara, reboot and it was fine. It works, but it seemed kind of messy to me.
Anyway, in one of the last firmware update threads, the corruption was happening to more people. Someone observed that it usually happened when connecting with a book open, but not when you go back to the home screen or books page. Since then, I've made a point of making sure I did that and haven't had the problem anymore.
I only have epubs, so maybe it's a problem with them and not kepubs? IDK but it works for me so far, might be worth a try or at least do backups.

I have Kobo Utilities set to back up on every connection, but I don't connect everyday. In this case, I wound up losing several days of highlights. So I appreciate your tip on not having a book open open when I plug in. Anything to decrease the chances of a corruption is welcome. Thanks.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Make sure you are running firmware version 4.32.

No, that statement should be:

Make sure you are not running firmware version 4.31.

If someone wants to run something other then the latest firmware released, they can if they want to. But, 4.31 would be a bad choice.

@Desertway: As @retro said, there were problems with firmware 4.31. Your description matches what was happening. The prompt to scan when plugging the device in has always been an occasional issue, and a corrupt database as well. Some people never see them, others seem to see them frequently. This got worse with firmware 4.31 to the point were some people hit it each time they connected. Your "a few weeks ago", suggests that you might have been running 4.31 and hence the likelihood of seeing this problem was higher.

These problems have been fixed in firmware 4.32. From my experience, the number of prompts to scan the drive when connecting has gone back to pre-4.31 numbers. As have the corrupt databases. Unfortunately, both can still happen, the reasons (other than a bad disconnect from the PC) are unknown.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by davidfor

No, that statement should be:



If someone wants to run something other then the latest firmware released, they can if they want to. But, 4.31 would be a bad choice.

@Desertway: As @retro said, there were problems with firmware 4.31. Your description matches what was happening. The prompt to scan when plugging the device in has always been an occasional issue, and a corrupt database as well. Some people never see them, others seem to see them frequently. This got worse with firmware 4.31 to the point were some people hit it each time they connected. Your "a few weeks ago", suggests that you might have been running 4.31 and hence the likelihood of seeing this problem was higher.

These problems have been fixed in firmware 4.32. From my experience, the number of prompts to scan the drive when connecting has gone back to pre-4.31 numbers. As have the corrupt databases. Unfortunately, both can still happen, the reasons (other than a bad disconnect from the PC) are unknown.

Thanks very much for the thorough explanation. I definitely had those errors in abundance before the firmware update, and only the once since the update. But this was the first corrupted database I've had. Thanks to your plugin, it wasn't nearly the setback that it could have been.

I'll be very mindful of disconnects going forward.

[ZodWallop]

I've had my Clara for a few years and had a Kobo Aura before that and the only database corruption I ever experienced was running firmware 4.31. And I never worry about whether a book is open or anything else.

From 4.31, I downgraded to 4.30 and things were good. When 4.32 came up I upgraded to that and things have been good. Poor 4.31. There was just something off there.

Since my one database issue, I have set up Kobo Utilities to back up on every connection.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by John F

Somethings that work for me...

Always safely eject the reader.
Don't do anything untill all the flashing on the home screen stops.
Let others be the guinea pig for new firmware.

I've been using Kobos since the Touch, and I don't recall getting any corrupted databases.

I second this.

I have a USB Safely remove program on my PC. i thought it was doing it's job. Later on i found out it is better to use Calibre's Eject device function and windows default Eject drive, as the app/program is not dismounting the kobo properly

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I've had my Clara for a few years and had a Kobo Aura before that and the only database corruption I ever experienced was running firmware 4.31. And I never worry about whether a book is open or anything else.

From 4.31, I downgraded to 4.30 and things were good. When 4.32 came up I upgraded to that and things have been good. Poor 4.31. There was just something off there.

Since my one database issue, I have set up Kobo Utilities to back up on every connection.

After reading of the issues with 4.31, I stuck with 4.30 and it was good. I did update to 4.32 and it also is good.

Yes, I do agree with the suggestion to go back to the home screen or my books before connecting to the computer.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Yes, I do agree with the suggestion to go back to the home screen or my books before connecting to the computer.

And personally, if I am on the home screen when I connect to the PC, it probably means I have finished a book and not started the next one. It was only with firmware 4.31 that this was an issue.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

After reading of the issues with 4.31, I stuck with 4.30 and it was good. I did update to 4.32 and it also is good.

Yes, I do agree with the suggestion to go back to the home screen or my books before connecting to the computer.

I'd agree with that except 4.30 was poorer than 4.28.x for Elipsa. Original H2O, Sage and Elipsa are on 4.32.x, but my original Libra is still on 4.26.x

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Yes, I do agree with the suggestion to go back to the home screen or my books before connecting to the computer.

Look, I agree it's a little thing to do that doesn't take much time.

But, to me at least, having to remember to do that every time I connect my Kobo will nag at the back of my mind that Kobo's software is buggy and fragile.

I don't believe it is. I think (for the Clara) 4.31 was just a misstep. So when connecting my Kobo I treat it the same as I would any other reader.