KINDLE FORCED UPGRADE

[John F]

Originally Posted by haertig

Running KindleForPC on Linux under WINE (wrapped by PlayOnLinux) I did the following:

$ cd ~/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/kindle_1.17/drive_c/Program Files/Amazon/Kindle

$ chmod 000 renderer-test.exe  (was previously mode 755)

$ cd ..

$ chmod 555 Kindle  (was previously mode 755)

Note: The "kindle_1.17" you see in the pathname right after "wineprefix" above is what I chose to call my PlayOnLinux installation. That part of your path may be different, depending on what you named your installation.

I then started KindleForPC a couple of times and verified that it always remained at the currently installed version 1.17. It did. And I never got any messages about "update available" either.

Next, I opened KindleForPC again, picked a random book from the display of titles (that was not currently downloaded), right-clicked on it and chose "download". Then I verified that the download successfully showed up in my "My Kindle Content" directory. It did. This is the only functionality I need from KindleForPC.

I actually don't use KindleForPC anymore. A few years ago I switched over to using the "Download for USB Transfer" method instead. But it was good for me to review usage of KindleForPC, and keep my installation "up to date" using the strategies described here to keep it from updating itself.

I run nightly backups on all of my family's computers, and keep each individual daily backup for 365 days. So if KindleForPC does manage to update on me, I have one year to notice, and restore from backup. After that, I guess I'd have to reinstall and re-register the program from scratch. Amazon may, and probably will at some point, make re-registering a no-go. So my preferred method of getting things back on track after an unexpected update would be to restore from backup. But Amazon could thwart that as well, if they tried hard enough.

I thought for version 1.17.x you didn't have a render check exe?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

I thought for version 1.17.x you didn't have a render check exe?

With 1.17 you do have render-test.exe. I've renamed it to render-test.exe.bak.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by John F

I thought for version 1.17.x you didn't have a render check exe?

It was there in my installation of 1.17. If it's even used, or what it's used for ... I don't know. I have "read on the internet" that it is not used in 1.17.

I did a "chmod 000" on it anyway. That may not help anything, but it appears that it doesn't hurt anything either.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by haertig

It was there in my installation of 1.17. If it's even used, or what it's used for ... I don't know. I have "read on the internet" that it is not used in 1.17.

I did a "chmod 000" on it anyway. That may not help anything, but it appears that it doesn't hurt anything either.

It's not used for KFX, that's certain. I've never bothered to rename it and have never even gotten a glimpse of KFX.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's not used for KFX, that's certain. I've never bothered to rename it and have never even gotten a glimpse of KFX.

The renderer for KFX was added to Kindle for PC in version 1.19 so 1.17 is safe from KFX.

The actual purpose of renderer_test is to check if the PC's graphics are capable of supporting KFX. One possibility for it being present in 1.17 is that Amazon was doing some testing in advance of the deployment of KFX to determine the graphics capabilities of user's PCs.

[p38lightning]

You might want to check the Public user folder or the ProgramData folder.
__________________
Regards,
David

Thanks.

Have checked everywhere on my PC where there is anything Kindle for PC or just Kindle related and no sign of any "Updates" folder. Leaving my K for PC closed and will continue using the Download to USB option which is still delivering AZW/Mobi files that I can then move to Calibre for use and/or further modification.

[Barbara1955]

Happened to me too! I deleted & downloaded 1.17 Now Calibre refuses to remove the DMR! I use it so I can convert & Transfer to my Kobo Clara. This is crap!

I dont understand how a AWZ file suddenly becomes KFX file... & Alf Cant convert it.

[Byrdie]

I'm still running 1.17 and was just in time to get rid of a downloaded update that I hadn't known about before it mucked anything up. After, I ran the batch file to disable updates -- and yes, my Kindle4PC has the "download & install updates without asking" ticky box unchecked since I don't want it doing that. So far it seems to be okay but now every time I open the program it nags me about a new version ready to download and I have to keep telling it to skip that nonsense. Anybody else have that issue? Running Windows 7 Pro if that matters.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Byrdie

So far it seems to be okay but now every time I open the program it nags me about a new version ready to download and I have to keep telling it to skip that nonsense. Anybody else have that issue?

Yes, unfortunately Kindle for PC will still detect that there is an update available and ask that question, but even if you agree to the update it won't work.

[TxHawkeye]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Yes, unfortunately Kindle for PC will still detect that there is an update available and ask that question, but even if you agree to the update it won't work.

I've been experimenting with K4PC 1.21 and 1.24 on Windows 10 in a virtual machine. There are 3 registry entries in the "HKCU\Software\Amazon\Kindle\User settings" key which, if deleted, appear to stop the "Software Update Available" popup.

The registry entries are updateDownloadDescription, updateDownloadUrl, and updateDownloadVersion. These entries contain a description of the 1.30 update, the URL from which it will be downloaded and the 1.30 build number, respectively.

Deleting any one of these seems to stop the popup on 1.21 and 1.24 (the only versions I have for testing). I've elected to delete all three.

I've been running without popups for several days on my 'live' Windows 10 machine with 1.24 installed and the three registry entries deleted.

It's certainly possible these entries may be repopulated given Amazon's aggressive push to update everyone to the latest version. So it may be necessary delete them again if the popups resume.

I welcome others who are confident in making registry changes to see if this also works for them.

[SpiritualMadMan]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Are you sure? What version were you running before?

Kindle for PC version 1.15.0 was released in 2016. The latest version is 1.30.0.

You may want to check out this thread.

I wondered about that, too. It decidedly downloaded something, and installed something, or at least tried to, all without asking anything at all.

Perhaps something in my Win 10 settings foiled it? (Like needing Administrator Rights?)

I honestly am not sure what version was there before. I thought it was 1.14

I'm finishing the Steel Dragon Series, then I will get another book.

(I really wish they'd left the language out, though.)

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Happened to me too! I deleted & downloaded 1.17 Now Calibre refuses to remove the DMR! I use it so I can convert & Transfer to my Kobo Clara. This is crap!

I dont understand how a AWZ file suddenly becomes KFX file... & Alf Cant convert it.

An AZW file can be any Amazon format...KFX, MOBI, AZW3, etc. If you successfully revert to version 1.17 and get it to stick, you won't have to worry about KFX format.

[julesy]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

An AZW file can be any Amazon format...KFX, MOBI, AZW3, etc. If you successfully revert to version 1.17 and get it to stick, you won't have to worry about KFX format.

Also, after restoring 1.17 and before running Calibre, delete the KFX book folder from your Kindle folders. Then re-download the book. You can then run Calibre on the book. Make sure all your plugins are updated. I had no issues running Calibre after restoring 1.17 and re-downloading the kindle book.

[remmons]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Another way to disable Kindle for PC updates is to replace the "updates" folder with a file of the same name. That prevents an update from being downloaded. Kindle for PC will still ask if you want to download the new update each time it is restarted, but it will not be able to do so.

I have created a simple Windows batch file to preform this change. See attached.

------

Update: Oops, I accidentally used the wrong folder in the first version of the batch file. I apologize to anyone who downloaded this previously.

The current version of the batch will fix the broken folder created by the previous version, but you will need to re-register Kindle for PC afterwards. Sorry!

Thanks. That worked for me. I had to do several things:

* Install Kindle for PC version 1.24.3 or less. DO NOT UPDATE
* Disable automatic updates for Kindle. DO NOT UPDATE.
* Create empty text file [KindleDirectory]\update (no extension)
* Delete or rename file [KindleDirectory]\application\render-test.exe
* Install Calibre 4.23 or less. DO NOT UPDATE to version 5.
* Install Apprentice Alf's DRM plugin from https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/

Apprentice Alf's DRM plugin is not currently compatible with Calibre version 5

I wonder how long we will be able to get away with not updating Kindle for PC v1.24.3? Amazon is already trying to force you to update.

**What will we do when Amazon stopps supporting Kindle for PC v1.24.3? Any ideas?**

I think that covers it.

[SeaBookGuy]

Are we certain there won't be anything further from Harper/Alf?