Book not transferring to Calibre correctly

JenPen1 · 04-29-2009, 06:52 PM

I'm wondering if someone else has had this problem. Bought 2 books by Ken Follett in MS Format. Deconverted both and sent them to Calibre to change to EPUB format for my Sony. I have done this many times now and no problem.
The one book today was converted fine and was sent to my Sony with no problem and I can read it there. But the other book, when I open it in the Sony, only shows 1 page, and when I select it it shows a triangle with 'Page Error' on the triangle.

I can read the book in Calibre viewer with no problem and I can read it in Digital Editions with no problem, but I can't read it on my PRS505! It is the most expensive of the two books and has several more pages than the other. Can a book be to large?
Also I tried changing the book in Calibre to LRF, though I prefer EPUB, but the same thing happened in my reader as before.
Pleas help me some one.

Thanks
~Jen

JenPen1 · 04-30-2009, 08:58 AM

I think the book 'World Without End' by Ken Follet was so large (2974 pages in LRF format) that Calibre had trouble transferring it into the PRS505. I finally sent it into the Sony library and then transferred it from there to the Reader. It worked! If Kovid sees this maybe he could comment so that I will know if that is a correct assumption - that the book was too large. I prefer not to use Sony library and always like to use Calibre to move and store my books.
~Jen

mukoan · 08-01-2009, 11:50 PM

I have a similar issue, but I don't think it's related to the book being too large. I have been downloading stuff from feedbooks for a while without issues, (I download mostly epub format). But the other day I tried to get "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross. It's a short story, and even though I can view it fine with Calibre's book viewer, when I try and view it on my Sony 505 it just shows one page with an error. I've downloaded it several times and still get the same problem. If I use Calibre to change the format to LRF then it's fine. But I'd prefer to be able to read the original epub I downloaded.

It's happened to one other book I've downloaded, "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. Everything else seems fine... so it must be something special about the epub format of those two books in particular. Any ideas?

JenPen1 · 08-02-2009, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mukoan

I have a similar issue, but I don't think it's related to the book being too large. I have been downloading stuff from feedbooks for a while without issues, (I download mostly epub format). But the other day I tried to get "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross. It's a short story, and even though I can view it fine with Calibre's book viewer, when I try and view it on my Sony 505 it just shows one page with an error. I've downloaded it several times and still get the same problem. If I use Calibre to change the format to LRF then it's fine. But I'd prefer to be able to read the original epub I downloaded.

It's happened to one other book I've downloaded, "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. Everything else seems fine... so it must be something special about the epub format of those two books in particular. Any ideas?

The only way I have found to solve the problem is as I mentioned in my edit. To 'open' the book first in either Digital Editions for epub or Sony for LRF and then go through a few pages. After that I attach my ebook and then transfer the book. After doing that I have no problem opening the book in the ebook. I then transfer the book into Calibre the usual way, so that I have it Calibre.

Hope this makes sense and helps. I haven't found any other way yet, though usually there are no problems.

~Jen

JenPen1 · 08-02-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mukoan

I have a similar issue, but I don't think it's related to the book being too large. I have been downloading stuff from feedbooks for a while without issues, (I download mostly epub format). But the other day I tried to get "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross. It's a short story, and even though I can view it fine with Calibre's book viewer, when I try and view it on my Sony 505 it just shows one page with an error. I've downloaded it several times and still get the same problem. If I use Calibre to change the format to LRF then it's fine. But I'd prefer to be able to read the original epub I downloaded.

It's happened to one other book I've downloaded, "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. Everything else seems fine... so it must be something special about the epub format of those two books in particular. Any ideas?

The only way I have found to solve the problem is as I mentioned in my edit. To 'open' the book first in either Digital Editions for epub or Sony for LRF and then go through a few pages. After that I attach my ebook and then transfer the book. After doing that I have no problem opening the book in the ebook. I then transfer the book into Calibre the usual way, so that I have it in Calibre.

Hope this makes sense and helps. I haven't found any other way yet, though usually there are no problems.

~Jen

mukoan · 08-02-2009, 11:22 PM

Thanks Jen... I'll give that a go as another possible work-around. Like I said I can still convert it to another format within Calibre and then send it across and it works fine also. I'm more interested as to "why" this is even happening in the first place. You hinted that perhaps it was because the book was too large for calibre to handle, yet "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross is a short story on feedbooks, and is also screwing up. I'm thinking there's some specific, (rarely used), formatting in that and other epub ebooks ("Blindsight" by Peter Watts) which stops it working on the 505. Our conversion work-arounds would be one way of getting rid of that... but perhaps there's a known issue and bug fix that would stop the problem all together?

Thanks for responding btw.
MK.

JenPen1 · 08-03-2009, 12:39 PM

I don't think I was much help! And I apologize for repeating myself by sending 2 replies.

I'm sure you are right and I'm curious to find out why this happens also. Hopefully somebody will figure it out for us

~Jen

jrial · 09-11-2009, 02:24 PM

Already been discussed; it's because the Sony PRS-505 has a 300KB limit for a single flow in an ePub file. In order to confirm that this is indeed the problem you're facing, open the ePub file in whatever application is used to open .zip files on your platform. If you're on Windows, that would be WinZip. Then check the file size of the .xml files inside. If any of them is larger than 300KB, there's your problem.

You're not the first ones to be bitten by this bug, but it's kinda cool to see you're reading the same books as me. I actually hit upon this post yesterday evening when searching for a reason why Scratchmonkey didn't load in my freshly unpacked 505, and Blindsight is in my collection as well.

References to this bug can be found all over the web; for example right here in these forums: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ighlight=300kb

How to solve it? There are at least two options: you could convert it to .lrf, you could edit the xml and split it into two flows. Perhaps there are other options, but I'm blisfully unaware of them.

mukoan · 09-11-2009, 08:20 PM

Hey jrial, thanks for the response. I almost forgot about this post. It's good to know the reason why this is happening. I've been using the first option work-around of converting to lrf.

Can you believe I'm still reading scratchmonkey?! Need to make more time for reading!

. Oh and btw, Blindsight was a bloody good read. One of the better sci-fi's I've read in a long time.

neilmarr · 09-12-2009, 04:08 AM

Hya Jen: I read both *Pillars of the Earth* and *World Without End* back to back on my 505. I was nearing the end of the second book when I hit major problems -- the bookmark function went for a Burton and the reader wouldn't close. I took advice here, bought a mains charger and re-formatted memory (wiping my in-reader library in the process). I've since wondered if the problem was that I had too much stored (170 titles) and *World Without End* was the last straw, or if the WWE file might be in some way corrupt. Good luck -- marvellous books, by the way -- Neil

jrial · 09-12-2009, 10:33 AM

I've looked into it again, and Scratchmonkey doesn't have flows greater than 300KB - or I must be going a bit blind, what with all those years of reading in dimly lit rooms and all.

The biggest flow in there is main3.xml, weighing in at 269.6KB, which even if we assume the 300KB limit is counted the harddisk way (where they equal 1kb with 1000 bytes), would still not amount to more than 276.1kB. So it's a mystery to me why it doesn't load on the 505. I've noticed there are some special chars in there though, accents etc. - perhaps it's having trouble with those? Has anyone read epubs on their 505 that have accents? Do they display correctly?

Oh, and if you like Scratchmonkey, try Accelerando, also by Charles Stross. That was the last book I finished on my iLiad before it got nicked on the plane, right before I started reading Scratchmonkey. Made the loss somewhat more palpatable: at least I've read some damn good books on that thing before I lost it.

***UPDATE***

I just checked the files describing the chapters. There's something wrong there as well;a whole chapter isn't even referenced. But splitting chapter 2 - In The Duat (main3.xml) in two separate xml files does help. Now I can read the file on the 505.

kovidgoyal · 09-12-2009, 12:37 PM

Note that the actual limit is 270KB not 300KB.

With large LRF books, the problem is that the SONY reader has to preformat them and it fails. The SONY desktop software does the pre-formatting, which calibre doesn't, so sending large LRF books with the SONY software will be more robust.

AS for why the original LIT->EPUB conversion dodn't work is interesting. Please opena ticket and attach the de-DRMed LIT file.

jrial · 09-13-2009, 03:51 PM

Kov, thanks for that reply. I read about the 300k limit everywhere, but if it's 270 it makes more sense. Do you have links to useful information on this issue? I hear it referenced in many places, but it's always fragmented and apparently incorrect. I'd like to know what exactly it applies to; I thought it was only a per-flow limit in epub, but apparently it crops up in more places?

ps: thanks for Calibre. Installed it the other day, still discovering it, but I already love it.

04-29-2009, 06:52 PM	#1
JenPen1 Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 80 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Manitoba, Canada Device: Sony PRS505 (given away), Sony 650 Touch, LG Nexus 4, Kobo Arc	Book not transferring to Calibre correctly I'm wondering if someone else has had this problem. Bought 2 books by Ken Follett in MS Format. Deconverted both and sent them to Calibre to change to EPUB format for my Sony. I have done this many times now and no problem. The one book today was converted fine and was sent to my Sony with no problem and I can read it there. But the other book, when I open it in the Sony, only shows 1 page, and when I select it it shows a triangle with 'Page Error' on the triangle. I can read the book in Calibre viewer with no problem and I can read it in Digital Editions with no problem, but I can't read it on my PRS505! It is the most expensive of the two books and has several more pages than the other. Can a book be to large? Also I tried changing the book in Calibre to LRF, though I prefer EPUB, but the same thing happened in my reader as before. Pleas help me some one. Thanks ~Jen Last edited by JenPen1; 04-30-2009 at 08:53 AM. Reason: Solved the problem

09-12-2009, 10:33 AM	#11
jrial Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Diepenbeek, Belgium Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex Iliad, nokia 770, gp2x, palm zire 71	I've looked into it again, and Scratchmonkey doesn't have flows greater than 300KB - or I must be going a bit blind, what with all those years of reading in dimly lit rooms and all. The biggest flow in there is main3.xml, weighing in at 269.6KB, which even if we assume the 300KB limit is counted the harddisk way (where they equal 1kb with 1000 bytes), would still not amount to more than 276.1kB. So it's a mystery to me why it doesn't load on the 505. I've noticed there are some special chars in there though, accents etc. - perhaps it's having trouble with those? Has anyone read epubs on their 505 that have accents? Do they display correctly? Oh, and if you like Scratchmonkey, try Accelerando, also by Charles Stross. That was the last book I finished on my iLiad before it got nicked on the plane, right before I started reading Scratchmonkey. Made the loss somewhat more palpatable: at least I've read some damn good books on that thing before I lost it. *UPDATE* I just checked the files describing the chapters. There's something wrong there as well;a whole chapter isn't even referenced. But splitting chapter 2 - In The Duat (main3.xml) in two separate xml files does help. Now I can read the file on the 505. Last edited by jrial; 09-12-2009 at 11:14 AM. Reason: updated with more info

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04-30-2009, 08:58 AM	#2
JenPen1 Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 80 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Manitoba, Canada Device: Sony PRS505 (given away), Sony 650 Touch, LG Nexus 4, Kobo Arc	I think the book 'World Without End' by Ken Follet was so large (2974 pages in LRF format) that Calibre had trouble transferring it into the PRS505. I finally sent it into the Sony library and then transferred it from there to the Reader. It worked! If Kovid sees this maybe he could comment so that I will know if that is a correct assumption - that the book was too large. I prefer not to use Sony library and always like to use Calibre to move and store my books. ~Jen

08-01-2009, 11:50 PM	#3
mukoan Lord Of All That's Beige Posts: 105 Karma: 86518 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I have a similar issue, but I don't think it's related to the book being too large. I have been downloading stuff from feedbooks for a while without issues, (I download mostly epub format). But the other day I tried to get "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross. It's a short story, and even though I can view it fine with Calibre's book viewer, when I try and view it on my Sony 505 it just shows one page with an error. I've downloaded it several times and still get the same problem. If I use Calibre to change the format to LRF then it's fine. But I'd prefer to be able to read the original epub I downloaded. It's happened to one other book I've downloaded, "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. Everything else seems fine... so it must be something special about the epub format of those two books in particular. Any ideas?

08-02-2009, 11:22 PM	#6
mukoan Lord Of All That's Beige Posts: 105 Karma: 86518 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Thanks Jen... I'll give that a go as another possible work-around. Like I said I can still convert it to another format within Calibre and then send it across and it works fine also. I'm more interested as to "why" this is even happening in the first place. You hinted that perhaps it was because the book was too large for calibre to handle, yet "Scratch Monkey" by Charles Stross is a short story on feedbooks, and is also screwing up. I'm thinking there's some specific, (rarely used), formatting in that and other epub ebooks ("Blindsight" by Peter Watts) which stops it working on the 505. Our conversion work-arounds would be one way of getting rid of that... but perhaps there's a known issue and bug fix that would stop the problem all together? Thanks for responding btw. MK.

08-03-2009, 12:39 PM	#7
JenPen1 Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 80 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Manitoba, Canada Device: Sony PRS505 (given away), Sony 650 Touch, LG Nexus 4, Kobo Arc	I don't think I was much help! And I apologize for repeating myself by sending 2 replies. I'm sure you are right and I'm curious to find out why this happens also. Hopefully somebody will figure it out for us ~Jen

09-11-2009, 02:24 PM	#8
jrial Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Diepenbeek, Belgium Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex Iliad, nokia 770, gp2x, palm zire 71	Already been discussed; it's because the Sony PRS-505 has a 300KB limit for a single flow in an ePub file. In order to confirm that this is indeed the problem you're facing, open the ePub file in whatever application is used to open .zip files on your platform. If you're on Windows, that would be WinZip. Then check the file size of the .xml files inside. If any of them is larger than 300KB, there's your problem. You're not the first ones to be bitten by this bug, but it's kinda cool to see you're reading the same books as me. I actually hit upon this post yesterday evening when searching for a reason why Scratchmonkey didn't load in my freshly unpacked 505, and Blindsight is in my collection as well. References to this bug can be found all over the web; for example right here in these forums: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ighlight=300kb How to solve it? There are at least two options: you could convert it to .lrf, you could edit the xml and split it into two flows. Perhaps there are other options, but I'm blisfully unaware of them.

09-11-2009, 08:20 PM	#9
mukoan Lord Of All That's Beige Posts: 105 Karma: 86518 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Hey jrial, thanks for the response. I almost forgot about this post. It's good to know the reason why this is happening. I've been using the first option work-around of converting to lrf. Can you believe I'm still reading scratchmonkey?! Need to make more time for reading! . Oh and btw, Blindsight was a bloody good read. One of the better sci-fi's I've read in a long time.

09-12-2009, 04:08 AM	#10
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Hya Jen: I read both Pillars of the Earth and World Without End back to back on my 505. I was nearing the end of the second book when I hit major problems -- the bookmark function went for a Burton and the reader wouldn't close. I took advice here, bought a mains charger and re-formatted memory (wiping my in-reader library in the process). I've since wondered if the problem was that I had too much stored (170 titles) and World Without End was the last straw, or if the WWE file might be in some way corrupt. Good luck -- marvellous books, by the way -- Neil

09-12-2009, 12:37 PM	#12
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Note that the actual limit is 270KB not 300KB. With large LRF books, the problem is that the SONY reader has to preformat them and it fails. The SONY desktop software does the pre-formatting, which calibre doesn't, so sending large LRF books with the SONY software will be more robust. AS for why the original LIT->EPUB conversion dodn't work is interesting. Please opena ticket and attach the de-DRMed LIT file.

09-13-2009, 03:51 PM	#13
jrial Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Diepenbeek, Belgium Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex Iliad, nokia 770, gp2x, palm zire 71	Kov, thanks for that reply. I read about the 300k limit everywhere, but if it's 270 it makes more sense. Do you have links to useful information on this issue? I hear it referenced in many places, but it's always fragmented and apparently incorrect. I'd like to know what exactly it applies to; I thought it was only a per-flow limit in epub, but apparently it crops up in more places? ps: thanks for Calibre. Installed it the other day, still discovering it, but I already love it.

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