Troubleshooting Can no longer see Kindle .prc files for downloaded books

[ittiandro]

I have a PC on Windows 7 and a Samsung Galaxy tablet, where I can read the Kindle books I purchase.

I have( LEGALLY !) purchased a new batch of Kindle Books, which I can read O.K with the Kindle app on my tablet and on my PC.

I am trying, as I have successfully done in the past, to convert these books to EPUB format starting from the .prc files, in order to read them with my regular e-reader in the tablet, which has more features than the Kindle reader, especially for Greek fonts and other enhancements.

The problem is that for my latest batch of Kindle books I can no longer see the respective.prc files!

They used to be in Android/Data/com.amazon.kindle/files. Asa matter of fact I still see them for the other previously converted books. Not on this batch! I have already asked Amazon Kindle, but they won’t help. Either the guys on the chat line don’t know what I am talking about or they dodge the issue because they don’t want to help on DRM issues.

Bottom line, there are NO .prc files, only a bunch of .asc, kfx files and one file ending with .phl ( BOOBRX76JK _ebok.phl. Looks close, but it doesn't work.

I have tried the .phl file on Calibre with the DRM pugin and EPUBOR, in every possible ways.It just doesn’t work. I keep getting messages from Calibre that there is a DRM on the book or that the format is not recognized. How can I go about it?

Are any conversions possible?
Please note, again, that I am not doing anything illegal, because the books are paid for

Can you help?

Thanks

Ittiandro

[bruce]

I noticed the same thing today.

Not certain what is up with the change for books downloaded directly to the Kindle, but you can still get your books in traditional format (azw3, etc) via "Manage Your Content and Devices" on the Amazon website then side-load onto the Kindle.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by ittiandro

Bottom line, there are NO .prc files, only a bunch of .asc, kfx files and one file ending with .phl ( BOOBRX76JK _ebok.phl. Looks close, but it doesn't work.

The files that end in .kfx are your books. They are in Amazon's new(-ish) KFX format that currently is unsupported by existing DRM removal and format conversion tools. Unless you own a Kindle device your best bet is to use Kindle for PC, but you need to act quickly since that program is also in the process of being updated to support KFX.

Discussion of the details of DRM removal are not allowed on this forum. Check "Apprentice Alf" for more information.

Originally Posted by bruce

Not certain what is up with the change for books downloaded directly to the Kindle, but you can still get your books in traditional format (azw3, etc) via "Manage Your Content and Devices" on the Amazon website then side-load onto the Kindle.

That option is only available if you own an e-ink Kindle device.

[ittiandro]

Originally Posted by bruce

I noticed the same thing today.

Not certain what is up with the change for books downloaded directly to the Kindle, but you can still get your books in traditional format (azw3, etc) via "Manage Your Content and Devices" on the Amazon website then side-load onto the Kindle.

Thank you Bruce. I tried to do it by going to " Manage your content and devices" but I can't see how to retrieve these AZW3 or similar files. I don't need to open the book, just to access the AZW3 or PRC file., which I am unable to retrieve on the device memory.
Could you be a bit more specific how to do this via Manage your content and devices?

Thanks

Ittiandro

[AnemicOak]

Find the listing in the Manage Your Content & Devices content list for the book you want. Click the three dots in the Actions column. In the menu that pops up click Download & transfer via USB. Select your device from the drop down and click download.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Find the listing in the Manage Your Content & Devices content list for the book you want. Click the three dots in the Actions column. In the menu that pops up click Download & transfer via USB. Select your device from the drop down and click download.

Again, that choice will not appear in the menu unless you have a Kindle device registered to your Amazon account. From the device list in first post the OP doesn't seem to have a kindle, only apps.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Find the listing in the Manage Your Content & Devices content list for the book you want. Click the three dots in the Actions column. In the menu that pops up click Download & transfer via USB. Select your device from the drop down and click download.

For those without a Kindle, the OP would first need to download, install and register Kindle for PC. Then click on the three dots, choose "deliver to default device" which should now be Kindle for PC. Subsequent purchases will do it automatically.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Fbone

For those without a Kindle, the OP would first need to download, install and register Kindle for PC. Then click on the three dots, choose "deliver to default device" which should now be Kindle for PC. Subsequent purchases will do it automatically.

But how will this help if Amazon are now delivering as KFX in the latest version of Kindle for PC?

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

But how will this help if Amazon are now delivering as KFX in the latest version of Kindle for PC?

Right now, at least in the U.K., the latest Kindle for PC is 1.17.1 which still delivers AZW files. I tested this today on MAC, W10 and W7.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Right now, at least in the U.K., the latest Kindle for PC is 1.17.1 which still delivers AZW files. I tested this today on MAC, W10 and W7.

Oh, yes, I understand that. I just meant that it's only a stop-gap solution until Amazon prevent 1.17.1 working. Which, based on past performance, they will do at some point - weeks/months/years? Who knows.

[ittiandro]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Find the listing in the Manage Your Content & Devices content list for the book you want. Click the three dots in the Actions column. In the menu that pops up click Download & transfer via USB. Select your device from the drop down and click download.

I went to the Manage Your Content & Devices tab. All my Books are listed, as well as my device(s). However when I try to download( transfer) the books via USB, as you suggested, I get a message that “NO device is eligible for downloading the selected content”( The Android device IS connected by USB cable to the PC.)
Strangely, if I try the other download option ( no USB cable) the transfer kicks in and shows as successful but I can’t see where the book has landed in the PC or the tablet.
I also noticed that even though I have installed the Kindle for PC App in my computer, I see no way to open these books from the physical PC. God knows where they are stored. I can only read them from the Cloud. For what I want to do, I think I need to have the Kindle books on the physical PC .

I am in a real quandary

Franco

[jhowell]

One more time: You cannot use the "Download & transfer via USB" option unless you own an e-ink Kindle device. To get at your book files you must use Kindle for PC.

Make sure that you install Kindle for PC version 1.17. After installing immediately go into the "Tools", "Options..." menu and deselect the option to "Automatically install updates when they are available without asking me." Otherwise you will eventually be updated to version 1.19 and be back to having KFX files that you can't work with.

By default Kindle for PC places downloaded book files in the "My Kindle Content" folder within the main "Documents" folder for your account. The book files have names that end in ".azw".

[ittiandro]

How you can you know that the files delivered by Amazon Kindle are AZW, KFx, or PRC or other ? I'm just curious and would be more than happy to find them.

I have been racking my brains for two weeks and flooding the Forums across half world to find out.. To no avail.

I am utterly unable to find these files in my PC or my Android tablet file system, as I used to. . All I get is the book to be opened in the Kindle Reader. No other files are delivered , if they exist, they are nowhere in the system..

In the light of my failure to locate these files, I was coming to think that the only plausible explanation is that the hub of Kindle's books delivery system is out there in something like the Cloud. When we download a book from Kindle, it is not delivered physically to the PC or tablet, but only virtual shells, so to speak ( the book icon you click when you want to open the book), even if the book shows in the "Manage your contents and Devices " section" after signing in to Amazon, .

In fact , I verified this by trying to open a Kindle book in the tablet with the Internet disconnected. It won't open. This indicates that the whole file structure of the books is not in the computer, but in the " Cloud" totatlly controlled by Amazon Kindle system and inaccessible without an Internet connection and the heir permission ( sign-in) .
I don't know if I am discovering ..Columbus' egg, but with what I found out as explained earlier , I am still surprised that people claim to find these AZW or KFX files in the physical compure ob tablet. I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong in my " experimental" verification, because finding these files would help me in my academical project, by making a a more efficient use of the Kindle books I download.
I am sure that people tell the truth when they say that they find these files and I am most likely missing out something. Quite possible. There are a lots of people who know computers better than me..

I 'd be really glad to have commebts on this , How and where do you finfd thes eenigmatic, almost ghost-like files?

Ittiandro

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Again, that choice will not appear in the menu unless you have a Kindle device registered to your Amazon account. From the device list in first post the OP doesn't seem to have a kindle, only apps.

Yes, I've got that. Like I said in the other thread both my Fire 7 and HDX tablets are listed for USB download as well (not just my eInk Kindle's). Guess I thought that meant they'd be available for the Android app as well (my bad).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by ittiandro

How you can you know that the files delivered by Amazon Kindle are AZW, KFx, or PRC or other ? I'm just curious and would be more than happy to find them.

The Kindle for PC and Kindle for Mac applications still download to your computer.

Note: applications, not apps. The Windows App store or Mac App store Kindle apps store things differently. You must download the full application from Amazon's web site.

And for more detailed help, you should ask at Apprentice Alf's blog or Apprentice Harper's github repository.