Calibre error in Windows 8.1

[vinieux]

Machine specs: HP Notebook - 15-ac053tx
OS: Windows 8.1 with all updates
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: Intel onboard and AMD Radeon M330
Calibre: 32 bit portable updated to latest version

Background:
New laptop so I copied my portable Calibre onto it. Then I decided to try loading the 64 bit Calibre installable but had problems with porting the library. So I uninstalled it. Since then I get this error whenever I try to load a book in the portable version. "Failed to read book." "Failed to connect to worker process."

I checked the registry and saw many references to the 64 bit version, so I reinstalled it and used Geek Uninstaller to do a full uninstall of it. I also manually cleaned the registry of all references and even copied the portable version again after deleting it from the hard drive. Still the same issue.

Really would appreciate some help on this. Is there some way to reset the library or something?

[theducks]

There is no 'Porting Library' needed. The same Library (mostly) works with any OS or Calibre version (There are Windows vs Others, filename case issues that can crop up

The problem is most likely in WHERE (or the rights it inherited) you put the Library when you copied it to your system

The Library can not be in the Programs area. If it is, move THAT folder into your User folder. Then start Calibre and point it to the New Location (or use Switch/Create: Use Existing)

[vinieux]

OK, I didn't really "port" the library. My apologies if that term was confusing.

I copied the portable version onto my laptop with everything including the library as it was. Later, when I decided to try out the 64 bit installable Calibre I tried pointing to the folders in the portable version when setting up the 64 bit library. It did not work, and kept telling me there was no library in the location I was pointing to, so I uninstalled the 64 bit version. However, post uninstalling I noticed that Calibre leaves a lot of registry entries, which I got rid of by reinstalling Calibre 64 bit and then using Geek uninstaller to do a full uninstall followed by manual registry cleaning of 64 bit entries.

Thereafter I deleted the portable version and recopied it to the laptop from my back up but instead of working fines, I keep getting this error (about not being able to find the worker process).

[theducks]

Originally Posted by vinieux

Machine specs: HP Notebook - 15-ac053tx
OS: Windows 8.1 with all updates
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: Intel onboard and AMD Radeon M330
Calibre: 32 bit portable updated to latest version

Background:
New laptop so I copied my portable Calibre onto it. Then I decided to try loading the 64 bit Calibre installable but had problems with porting the library. So I uninstalled it. Since then I get this error whenever I try to load a book in the portable version. "Failed to read book." "Failed to connect to worker process."

I checked the registry and saw many references to the 64 bit version, so I reinstalled it and used Geek Uninstaller to do a full uninstall of it. I also manually cleaned the registry of all references and even copied the portable version again after deleting it from the hard drive. Still the same issue.

Really would appreciate some help on this. Is there some way to reset the library or something?

This image (path) is NOT a standard Calibre Library structure .


the viewer does not care where the books are...As long as you launch the viewer (or ebook) directly from the OS.

[vinieux]

Let me try again.

My portable Calibre has worked for years in exactly the same way. From my external hard disk, I used to just copy the entire folder into any new laptop I got and click on the exe and it would just load up and get going. In fact, if I do exactly the same onto any other laptop belonging to anybody else, it works just fine and dandy.

This issue started after I tried installing the 64 bit version (WHICH IS NOT PORTABLE but writes to the Windows registry) onto my newest laptop.

Now even if I delete the entire portable folder from the laptop and then recopy my portable Calibre from my external disk again onto the laptop, I still get this same error.

This despite the fact that I cleaned my registry of all references to the 64bit version to the best of my ability using Geek Uninstaller.

[MartyTX]

Originally Posted by vinieux

This issue started after I tried installing the 64 bit version (WHICH IS NOT PORTABLE but writes to the Windows registry) onto my newest laptop.
...
This despite the fact that I cleaned my registry of all references to the 64bit version to the best of my ability using Geek Uninstaller.

Do you have a System Restore Point from BEFORE your installation of the 64 bit version? Running it should remove all registry entries that were added.

NOTE: A System Restore will delete ALL programs you added AFTER the restore point, so proceed with caution. Also, I'm not familiar with Geek Uninstaller and don't know if having run it before a System Restore will negatively impact the outcome of a Restore.
NOTE: And of course, we're talking about a System RESTORE Point and NOT SYSTEM RECOVERY!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by vinieux

Let me try again.

My portable Calibre has worked for years in exactly the same way. From my external hard disk, I used to just copy the entire folder into any new laptop I got and click on the exe and it would just load up and get going. In fact, if I do exactly the same onto any other laptop belonging to anybody else, it works just fine and dandy.

This issue started after I tried installing the 64 bit version (WHICH IS NOT PORTABLE but writes to the Windows registry) onto my newest laptop.

Now even if I delete the entire portable folder from the laptop and then recopy my portable Calibre from my external disk again onto the laptop, I still get this same error.

This despite the fact that I cleaned my registry of all references to the 64bit version to the best of my ability using Geek Uninstaller.

Let me try again

My Books\Calibre\Fiction\<the title>.mobi

IS BOGUS. Not a possible Standard Library pathname to the BOOK

Most workers expect the book to be inside the library
<Libraryname>\<authorname>\<Booktitle (##)>\<formats>

The path in your error (image) does not look normal. This is not a Calibre caused issue. I suspect you used a Save to Disk to create that structure (as a backup)

[BetterRed]

@vinieux - try this

• Sign on to an admin account if you're not already,
• Take a Restore Point,
• Turn UAC off, if its on,
• In regedit find all references to calibre, delete them,
• Have a look in your AppData/Roaming/ directory for a directory called calibre, if found delete it,
• Have a look in the Program Files and Program Files (X86) (just in case) for a directory named Calbre2 , if found delete it,
• Restore UAC if you disabled it,
• Logon to normal account if necessary.

If anything goes horribly wrong do a System Restore.

Now see if the calibre you have on your portable drive works on the new laptop.

If it does work and if you want to migrate it to an installed calibre then I suggest you post a directory tree of what on your portable drive. Because, as theducks last posted, what you've told us thus far doesn't conform to calibre's 'standard structures'.

If it doesn't work then post the directory tree.

Afterthought - what version of calibre is on the portable drive and what's it provenance - i.e. where and when did you get it?

BR

[vinieux]

I got Calibre portable maybe 5 or more years ago.

Because I wanted different libraries for different collections like Comics, Fiction books, non-fiction books, etc, I had created different libraries. For some reason Calibre refused to create these inside the Calibre Library folder in the Portable folder. It created them in the root folder as shown in the screenshot below. However, it worked just fine with this structure.

I used to back up the entire parent folder on an external and copy it onto any laptop I wanted (for example for my nieces who are avid readers) and it always worked just fine.



Also, every time Calibre prompts me I update the portable version to the latest version so it is the very latest right now as well.

I cannot do a System Restore as it is a brand new laptop and it will delete all the official programs that my office has painstakingly installed.

[kovidgoyal]

That error means that the viewer failed to connect to a worker process. That could be because something on your system is blocking calibre from running worker processes,or communicating with them, or your install is corrupted.

Does this error happen only in the viewer, or also when you run a convert in the main calibre program?

Search your computer for calibre.exe, ebook-viewer.exe and calibre_parallel.exe and make sure you have only one of each.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by vinieux

I got Calibre portable maybe 5 or more years ago.

Because I wanted different libraries for different collections like Comics, Fiction books, non-fiction books, etc, I had created different libraries. For some reason Calibre refused to create these inside the Calibre Library folder in the Portable folder. It created them in the root folder as shown in the screenshot below. However, it worked just fine with this structure.

I used to back up the entire parent folder on an external and copy it onto any laptop I wanted (for example for my nieces who are avid readers) and it always worked just fine.

<snip>------</snip>

Also, every time Calibre prompts me I update the portable version to the latest version so it is the very latest right now as well.

I cannot do a System Restore as it is a brand new laptop and it will delete all the official programs that my office has painstakingly installed.

@vinieux FWIW : if you took a System Restore Point now and did a System Restore tomorrow then your computer would be restored to as it is now - its not like a Backup/Restore. But that's by and by, I didn't realise we were dealing with a 'corporate IT' computer.

The good news is that the folder structure you posted looks right for Calibre Portable, the only thing that looks 'foreign' to me is the STDUViewer folder.

The Calibre Library folder is the default library, and libraries cannot be nested. Calibre Portable anticipates the libraries will located in the same folder as the executable which is exactly where yours are

It's my guess is that your office has configured Windows to prevent you running 'unofficial' software or 'sophisticated' software that spawns other processes etc like calibre does. I suggest for the time being you run off your portable drive as you've been doing, and liaise with your office IT and ask them to do whatever needs doing so that you can run installed calibre etc.

BR

[vinieux]

Only one instance of each in the Calibre folder under the parent folder as shown in screenshot shared earlier.

There is no problem with converting. I just checked, but after conversion, it won't open and shows the same error.

I presume there is some corruption in the actual path, but how can I correct this? I have tried resetting to defaults where possible as well as library maintenance, but no luck.

[kovidgoyal]

Sounds like something on your computer is blocking the viewer process from connecting to its worker process. You can try restarting calibre in debug mode (right click the preferences button) but I doubt that will tell us anything.

[vinieux]

As a reply to BetterRed, it used to work just fine on this laptop too, till I made the mistake of attempting to install the 64bit installable with the portable existing simultaneously on G drive. So it can't be that the office is stopping the process.

I will have to try a fresh portable install and then create a quick and small library and see if that works. That's the only way to eliminate some of these assumptions.

Will do so over the weekend and report here.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by vinieux

Only one instance of each in the Calibre folder under the parent folder as shown in screenshot shared earlier.

Where did you install 64 bit calibre. The above statement implies its installed it on your portable drive in the place where you have calibre portable. That is a very unusual thing to do.

BR