Complicated Library Transfer...

kharrisma · 01-10-2013, 10:30 PM

Hi All,

I'm in a mess here. I'm upgrading my OS several jumps (Ubuntu Linux), and am going to have to basically start over from scratch (fdisk, re-partition, format, etc)

I have several libraries (SciFi, Fiction, Horror, etc), each in its own directory (I just cringed at the thought of dumping all the books into one big box... like the old DOS days, when people just put everything into their root directory... "shudder").

These libraries are HUGE... one of 'em is in excess of 5000 books (not a typo...five thousand, though many are short stories, some as short as a few pages).

I'm soliciting thoughts on the best way to move this huge pile onto my USB external hard drive (1 TB), so I can re-load it when the wreckage is all carted away and the dust settles.

Would it be best to combine them all in some way NOW, before the transfer, or have I painted myself into a corner, and have to manually do each library with its attendant Calibre metafile?

By the way, I did all that segregating of genres while I was still very new to Calibre, and didn't yet trust it. I've grown much more comfortable with it over time, and will have no problem with dumping everything into one bin (except as the book count climbs, the speed begins dropping, *noticeably*).

Thanks for sharing your collective expertise; it's gratefully received and appreciated.

Karl
Bristol, NH

PS... in appreciation, the following URL (if you're not already aware of it: http://www.ereaderiq.com/free/ ; it's where the great majority of those books came from.

Dopedangel · 01-10-2013, 11:27 PM

Just copy all the main library folders to your portable. Then once you start calibre on the new machine you can point it to each library and it will work as normal.

theducks · 01-11-2013, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

Just copy all the main library folders to your portable. Then once you start calibre on the new machine you can point it to each library and it will work as normal.

Be sure to NOT mix/merge the folder contents.
Copy EACH the Library Folders to that 1T

kharrisma · 01-11-2013, 01:35 PM

Thanks both; that's pretty much what I thought I would have to do. Nice to have it confirmed, though; I'd HATE to have to try to replace 'em if lost!

@theducks: Ooohh, that sounds like the voice of experience... hope not, though. Warning noted and thanks!

Should I make catalogues, and then copy them over too?

Karl

theducks · 01-11-2013, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kharrisma

Thanks both; that's pretty much what I thought I would have to do. Nice to have it confirmed, though; I'd HATE to have to try to replace 'em if lost!

@theducks: Ooohh, that sounds like the voice of experience... hope not, though. Warning noted and thanks!

Should I make catalogues, and then copy them over too?

Karl

I Knew better,
but I thought I would warn those that don't know that Calibre DB also logs the (relative) file path (so it can find the actual book) as part of what it does

01-10-2013, 10:30 PM	#1
kharrisma Member Posts: 11 Karma: 128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle I	Complicated Library Transfer... Hi All, I'm in a mess here. I'm upgrading my OS several jumps (Ubuntu Linux), and am going to have to basically start over from scratch (fdisk, re-partition, format, etc) I have several libraries (SciFi, Fiction, Horror, etc), each in its own directory (I just cringed at the thought of dumping all the books into one big box... like the old DOS days, when people just put everything into their root directory... "shudder"). These libraries are HUGE... one of 'em is in excess of 5000 books (not a typo...five thousand, though many are short stories, some as short as a few pages). I'm soliciting thoughts on the best way to move this huge pile onto my USB external hard drive (1 TB), so I can re-load it when the wreckage is all carted away and the dust settles. Would it be best to combine them all in some way NOW, before the transfer, or have I painted myself into a corner, and have to manually do each library with its attendant Calibre metafile? By the way, I did all that segregating of genres while I was still very new to Calibre, and didn't yet trust it. I've grown much more comfortable with it over time, and will have no problem with dumping everything into one bin (except as the book count climbs, the speed begins dropping, noticeably). Thanks for sharing your collective expertise; it's gratefully received and appreciated. Karl Bristol, NH PS... in appreciation, the following URL (if you're not already aware of it: http://www.ereaderiq.com/free/ ; it's where the great majority of those books came from. Last edited by kharrisma; 01-10-2013 at 10:33 PM. Reason: afterthought

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01-10-2013, 11:27 PM	#2
Dopedangel Wizard Posts: 1,759 Karma: 30063305 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Singapore Device: Boyue	Just copy all the main library folders to your portable. Then once you start calibre on the new machine you can point it to each library and it will work as normal.

01-11-2013, 01:35 PM	#4
kharrisma Member Posts: 11 Karma: 128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle I	Thanks both; that's pretty much what I thought I would have to do. Nice to have it confirmed, though; I'd HATE to have to try to replace 'em if lost! @theducks: Ooohh, that sounds like the voice of experience... hope not, though. Warning noted and thanks! Should I make catalogues, and then copy them over too? Karl