Calibre 64Bit Issues

[Chris_Snow]

Okay, I have done some further testing. I have checked my wife's machine and it is running calibre version 2.44.1. It displays NONE of the issues I am seeing here. Everything is instanteous - including saving new metadata. It is 64bit.

I uninstalled 3.7 and installed 2.44.1. It is still exhibiting the same probelms. I uninstalled and then installed 1.48 (all 64bit) and it was a lot better, but still not as quick as my wife's machine. I have reinstalled 3.7 and nothing has changed.

One thing I have noticed. If I have the MDE windows open and click next, I can cycle through them clicking next as fast as I can and it will jump to the next book just as fast. However, if the "Tag" field is empty, then calibre pauses for a beat or more before moving to the next book??

I have uninstalled LibreOffice. Obivously, no change. I think my next step is to remove calibre completely, and then setup from scratch again without any plugins to see if anything changes.

Oh the joy of new systems!

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

Can I run two versions of 64bit calibre on the same machine? Don't have to run at the same time, but will installing a ealier version upset the current one?

My recollection is that Windows XP was pretty pernickety about such things, hasn't gotten any better since, probably worse. I try to avoid doing it - if push comes to shove I use a VM (Virtual Box), but I have never needed to do it for calibre.

Whenever I want to look at an old version I install the portable version, e.g. if I wanted to look at version 2.16, I would download that portable and 'install' it well away from my system drive.

Portable is the 32bit edition with a simple wrapper, the wrapper terminates once it starts its calibre.exe. I'm told you can replace the contents of the ...\Calibre Portable\Calibre folder with the contents of %SystemDrive%\Program Files\Calibre2 -- I've never had the need or urge to do it.

FYI - the Check library tool has 3 phases, the first one cleans the database (vacuum in SQLite parlance), the second one does database integrity checking (foreign key matching etc), the third reconciles the database tables/rows with the author and book folders and their contents. The third phase is the only one where I've ever had to take action. Always because of a blunder on my part - e.g. unpacking a CBZ, renaming/removing/adding some jpegs, creating a new CBZ, and neglecting to clean up.

- have you gotten rid of the manufacturer bloat. This is my first non-homebrew PC (apart from a couple of notebooks), its a Dell XPS 8920. It had enough bloat on board to sink battleship, first thing I did was to disable, uninstall much of it, I'm cogitating on doing a barebones install from MS media.

Just for fun, I installed 1.48 and 3.4 on on my internal SATA3 hard disk (I had the installs in my s/w install locker). start up times are sub 2 secs (practically instantaneous) - this is with the startup library, with no customisation or plugins, and no splash screen. The 1.48 might be a smidgen (as in 100-250 milliseconds) faster.

But, here's the rub... if I restart either in debug mode, it reports start up times anywhere between 1.55 and 11.23 seconds. But measured on a hand held stop watch, they are more like 6-9 secs .

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

Okay, I have done some further testing. I have checked my wife's machine and it is running calibre version 2.44.1. It displays NONE of the issues I am seeing here. Everything is instanteous - including saving new metadata. It is 64bit.

I uninstalled 3.7 and installed 2.44.1. It is still exhibiting the same probelms. I uninstalled and then installed 1.48 (all 64bit) and it was a lot better, but still not as quick as my wife's machine. I have reinstalled 3.7 and nothing has changed.

One thing I have noticed. If I have the MDE windows open and click next, I can cycle through them clicking next as fast as I can and it will jump to the next book just as fast. However, if the "Tag" field is empty, then calibre pauses for a beat or more before moving to the next book??

I have uninstalled LibreOffice. Obivously, no change. I think my next step is to remove calibre completely, and then setup from scratch again without any plugins to see if anything changes.

Oh the joy of new systems!

Which version of Windows is wife using?

And, try running calibre in Windows Safe mode

BR

[Chris_Snow]

Sorry for the delayed reply - been quite a bust day and I haven't had the chance to catch up. Really appreciate the detail in your reply.

The wife is running Win 10 Home, while I'm running Win 10 Pro. I built my machine lean - no bloatware what-so-ever - not even the crap that comes with the hardware you buy. I told the tech to keep it lean - if it's not absolutely needed to run the hardware or some other reason - don't install it!!

I tried the portable version of calibre. No change. Still glitchy.

Then I rebooted in Windows Safe Mode. My whole desktop was messed up (proably the resolution setting) but playing with the installed version of calibre I found no issues. Seemed to save quickly when I added extra tags and saved them.

I did notice though that having the MDE open and clicking next repeatedly, any tag field that was empty, the software froze for a beat. This even happened in Safe Mode. Not sure what that means?

I have realised the issues all stem from a "write". That is, saving metadata, or updating an exising column or cell. I'm not sure what software I have that would effect that, or how I'm going to track it down.

If I recall correctly, Calibre was one of the first programs I installed, but I'm not sure if it was doing this then, as I just opened it, then moved on to the next piece of SW to install.

I am asssuming because all the calibre plugins showed in Win Safe Mode, that they aren't the problem, so not much point installing from scratch.

Check Library returned some results - mostly me taking a copy of the ebook and creating another version inside the library folders. Still, Calibre doesn't know thay are there unless I tell it.

So...any suggestions on how I can track this down? Thanks

[JSWolf]

Make a copy of your configuration and start from fresh. Maybe one of the plugins is causing your problem.

[kovidgoyal]

The general technique is to find out what programs are starting in normal mode that dont start in safe mode. Then try turning them off one by one until you find the culprit.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

Sorry for the delayed reply - been quite a bust day and I haven't had the chance to catch up. Really appreciate the detail in your reply.

The wife is running Win 10 Home, while I'm running Win 10 Pro. I built my machine lean - no bloatware what-so-ever - not even the crap that comes with the hardware you buy. I told the tech to keep it lean - if it's not absolutely needed to run the hardware or some other reason - don't install it!!

Maybe your tech forgot to install something

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

I tried the portable version of calibre. No change. Still glitchy.

Then I rebooted in Windows Safe Mode. My whole desktop was messed up (proably the resolution setting) but playing with the installed version of calibre I found no issues. Seemed to save quickly when I added extra tags and saved them.

I did notice though that having the MDE open and clicking next repeatedly, any tag field that was empty, the software froze for a beat. This even happened in Safe Mode. Not sure what that means?

I have realised the issues all stem from a "write". That is, saving metadata, or updating an exising column or cell. I'm not sure what software I have that would effect that, or how I'm going to track it down.

If I recall correctly, Calibre was one of the first programs I installed, but I'm not sure if it was doing this then, as I just opened it, then moved on to the next piece of SW to install.

I am asssuming because all the calibre plugins showed in Win Safe Mode, that they aren't the problem, so not much point installing from scratch.

Calibre plugins are python 'subroutines' that get interpreted at run time, Windows just sees them as a zip - hence they are present in Windows Safe mode. If you wanted to run without them, run calibre with the --ignore-plugins option, see ==>> User Manual - calibre command

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

Check Library returned some results - mostly me taking a copy of the ebook and creating another version inside the library folders. Still, Calibre doesn't know thay are there unless I tell it.

So...any suggestions on how I can track this down? Thanks

I would look at what extras -- by way of programs that run at start up and shell extensions -- you are running as compared to what your wife runs. Especially third party gadgets you've installed in Win 10 that you didn't use in XP.

For start up programs (most likely candidates), I'd use the Tools->Startup Programs feature in Piriform's CCleaner where it's easy to disable/enable startups, no need to restart when you do this, a signoff/signon should be enough.

Nirsoft's ShellExView - Shell Extension Manager For Windows will tell you what you have, it has a disable/option in its context menu. In this instance it may be necessary to restart after disabling\enabling gadgets - in some instances you might want to uninstall the software in its entirety.



One way to prevent your desktop getting messed up when you go into Safe Mode is to have a clean desktop

BR

[Chris_Snow]

@JSWolf - I used the -ignoreplugings thingee and Calibre still is glitchy.

@kovidgoyal - How specifically do I do that? I think I'll have to go back in safe mode and carry out further investigation.

Question - Is the MDE meant to freeze slightly on an empty "Tag" field when cycling through using the next button??

@BetterRed - You're proably right - the tech forgot something . Everything else seems to be working okay. If I didn't have the comparison with calibre on XP, I wouldn't have thought any different here.

That --ignoreplugins did the job, but still gltichy without them present. Safe mode seemed to show with them still present Calibre was working okay. More testing is required in safe mode.

Ccleaner has shown me a number of programs that I'll disbable and see what happens. Never looked at that portion of CC before.

AS for the desktop in safe mode - it was the resolutions setting was different maybe 800x600 or something - made it look weird. Didn't want to change anything in case I got stuck with it. My actual desktop is clean.

I'm on holiday at present (almost over ) and we're out again today, so I probably won't get a lot of time to investigate.

Really appreciate the help. Playing in areas of the win software I haven't been in before is scary. Always worried I'll mess something up. Got enough damn problems!

[BetterRed]

Chris - calibre plugins and windows safe mode have no connection with one another, if running calibre with the --noplugins option makes no difference in Normal mode, it will make no difference in Safe Mode. From what you've written, plugins are not the issue.

I've also just seen that CCleaner can also disable shell extensions (I think that must have been added since I last looked), so there's no need for the nirsoft utility, other than to get a second opinion. Manufacturers also run bloat as scheduled tasks, CCleaner can enable/disable them too.

Dell installs some of its bloat in services, you'll need to find them via services.msc module, you can disable them in Properties (one at a time). Other manufacturers probably do the same, here's an example of Dell services I have disabled.



If you're apprehensive in doing changes to Windows, create system restore point at appropriate times. WinKey+S then 'restore point' will get you to the right place to do that.

BR

[Chris_Snow]

@BetterRed - You are right....I don't think it is calibre or it's plugins.

I have gone back into safe mode and calibre seems back to normal - loading books and metadata while not instant, is still serveely better than in normal mode. For instance, I can hit the enter key after changing some Metadata and the MDE window will close instantly - not even close in normal mode - takes many seconds.

I have been looking through the task manager listing the services and programs running. It is going to be difficult to find exactly what is causing this.

I have verified none of the start-up programs seem to cause this (I disabled them, rebooted, and found Calibre still glitchy). This could take some time. Don't really have it at the moment. Still lots of parts of my new machine to get up to scratch. Hopefully I'll get there.

Thanks for these pointers. Couldn't have done it on my own. I'm about to head out to the beach. It's a lovely day and not too cold. Spring is here finally

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

@BetterRed - You are right....I don't think it is calibre or it's plugins.

I have gone back into safe mode and calibre seems back to normal - loading books and metadata while not instant, is still serveely better than in normal mode. For instance, I can hit the enter key after changing some Metadata and the MDE window will close instantly - not even close in normal mode - takes many seconds.

I have been looking through the task manager listing the services and programs running. It is going to be difficult to find exactly what is causing this.

I have verified none of the start-up programs seem to cause this (I disabled them, rebooted, and found Calibre still glitchy). This could take some time. Don't really have it at the moment. Still lots of parts of my new machine to get up to scratch. Hopefully I'll get there.

Thanks for these pointers. Couldn't have done it on my own. I'm about to head out to the beach. It's a lovely day and not too cold. Spring is here finally

For some reason I feel the problem is with your hard drive maybe a damaged head I had a similar problem not with calibre though but something similar where my application would be running fine till it had to read some file that was in the damaged portion of the disk at that would make the application slow. The drive was not showing any errors when I ran scan disk but while copying some file the read speed would drop from 160mb to 5-10kb then speed up when it again when it passed the portion that had the problem.

[Chris_Snow]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

For some reason I feel the problem is with your hard drive maybe a damaged head I had a similar problem not with calibre though but something similar where my application would be running fine till it had to read some file that was in the damaged portion of the disk at that would make the application slow. The drive was not showing any errors when I ran scan disk but while copying some file the read speed would drop from 160mb to 5-10kb then speed up when it again when it passed the portion that had the problem.

I've wondered this as well...BUT...I have reinstalled Calibre onto a different drive, used the portable version on another drive. Moved my library to a different drive. Installed 32bit Calibre to a different place. None of it makes any difference. What does seem to make a difference is safe mode. Calibre is definitely faster there. Also, none of my own software is running (except classsic shell and firefox) and I've already verified those aren't the problem. The only other sotuff running is windows services and the g.card SW. Not sure how to proceed. Don't want to start stopping services that might make my machine not boot or something. I'm beginning to sense that I may have to live with it!

Thanks for your input.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

I have realised the issues all stem from a "write". That is, saving metadata, or updating an exising column or cell. I'm not sure what software I have that would effect that, or how I'm going to track it down.

At some point in the beginning of the year, Windows 10 suddenly started to be very slow on both my desktop and laptop, even freezing the laptop occasionally. After scouring the internet for hours, I found the cause to this problem: Microsoft seems to have changed something in one of their default hard drive controller drivers with regard to Intel-based boards. That made some Skylake Intel-based systems VERY slow while writing (my desktop), and could sometimes freeze a computer entirely (my laptop) by hanging the hard drive (busy 100% all the time without actually doing anything, clogging up the busses on the mainboard).

This appears to be a problem between the BIOS/UEFI and the hard drive controller drivers.

The solution was to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) drivers for both my laptop and desktop. They are normally needed only if you want to set up some sort of special RAID-like hard drive solution. The driver in the RST package replaces the Microsoft driver, and that fixed the entire problem.

I don't know if Microsoft fixed this problem since then, but as the intallation of the RST package solved it, and did not create any new problems, I've left it as is.

What mainboard do you have? If it's Intel-based, it might be worth it to try this.

Note: back up your data before you start messing with drivers. Installing the wrong HDD-drivers (wrong RST drivers for your mainboard) could render your system unbootable.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Chris_Snow

I'm beginning to sense that I may have to live with it!

Can you get the 'techie' who built-system/installed-Windows to have a look at it?

Windows has a tasklist command. If you redirect its output to a couple of files you could eyeball compare (on paper if you were me) what's running in safe and normal modes. If needs be use the /svc switch to see what services are being run by each svchost instance.

BR

[Chris_Snow]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

At some point in the beginning of the year, Windows 10 suddenly started to very slow on both my desktop and laptop, even freezing the laptop occasionally. After scouring the internet for hours, I found the cause to this problem: Microsoft seems to have changed something in one of their default hard drive controller drivers with regard to Intel-based boards. That made some Skylake Intel-based systems VERY slow while writing (my desktop), and could sometimes freeze a computer entirely (my laptop) by hanging the hard drive (busy 100% all the time without actually doing anything, clogging up the busses on the mainboard).

This appears to be a problem between the BIOS/UEFI and the hard drive controller drivers.

The solution was to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) drivers for both my laptop and desktop. They are normally needed only if you want to set up some sort of special RAID-like hard drive solution. The driver in the RST package replaces the Microsoft driver, and that fixed the entire problem.

I don't know if Microsoft fixed this problem since then, but as the intallation of the RST package solved it, and did not create any new problems, I've left it as is.

What mainboard do you have? If it's Intel-based, it might be worth it to try this.

Note: back up your data before you start messing with drivers. Installing the wrong HDD-drivers (wrong RST drivers for your mainboard) could render your system unbootable.

This would be a course of last resort. I have a Asus Prime 270-AR MB. The thing is, this only seems to happen with calibre writing to the db (or whatever it writes to)?? I haven't noticed anything else amiss.