Glo PC Windows 7 cannot recognise Kobo Glo

[cakepuller]

Woe is me. I have a Kobo Glo (bought in 2012, now firmware 3.17.x) that now cannot be recognised by my PC Windows 7. I have tried USBDeview and deleted the "Kobo..." entries and still no joy.

- Launched USBDeview, deleted all "Kobo..." entries
- Connected my Kobo Glo via USB cable.
- The Kobo Glo seems to detect computer and says CANCEL or CONNECT. Tapped CONNECT. Kobo Glo says something like COMPUTER CONNECTED AND CHARGING.
- USBDeview doesn't show new driver installed.
- Tried with 2 different USB cables with same result.
- Tried with another Kobo Glo HD and Kobo Aura and both could connect successfully - Windows 7 could see the Aura and Glo HD and I could side load books on them.
- Did factory reset on Kobo Glo, but still cannot be recognised by PC Windows 7.
- Updated firmware to 4.x with same failed results.
- Funny thing is the Glo says COMPUTER CONNECTED, but nothing on Windows.

- Other than that, my Glo works fine -- I can read all the books that have been loaded.
- I know I can use Calibre to load books wirelessly, but then I can't load books wirelessly via Adobe Digital Editions when I borrow from the library.
- I used to be able to successfully connect the Glo to the PC, but can't remember when I last did it. Could be a coupla months back.

Anyone have any clues to restore the USB connectivity? Or am I out of luck?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by cakepuller

Anyone have any clues to restore the USB connectivity? Or am I out of luck?

I don't know how to restore Windows 7 USB connectivity, but I would try the Glo on another computer (with the same USB cable and – if necessary – a different one) to see if it connects there and to see if you have a hardware issue on the Kobo (or cable) or a software issue on your particular Windows 7 computer.

If you have a friend with a bootable copy of Linux Mint (or any of the "easy to use" distributions), you might boot into a live session on your computer and see if you can connect via Linux. If you can, then (again) it's a software issue in Windows 7. If you can't then it's probably a Kobo Glo hardware (or software) issue.

[starfly]

Funny, last week I discovered I had the same problem with my Kobo Glo, only on Windows 10. I also tried connecting to another computer, also Windows 10, and same issue.

It'll charge fine, but it will not initiate a data connection with the computer (i.e. windows doesn't recognize it as a USB device).

Might just be that our devices are reaching end of life. Could be that somehow the USB port on the Glo is defective or something. I'm also starting to have some other issues, so once it completely dies I'll probably just get a new one.

[stumped]

I had a similar thread and a solution, for my aura hd. The answer, from Google, was not to throwaway the device, or to go messing with Windows, but to connect via a usb hub instead of a direct usb port. Dunno why that works but it did that. Try it and report back for others to read

[cakepuller]

@rcentros, I had forgotten to say that I had 2 different cables and 2 Windows 7 laptops to try the various connection combinations on with no success. But the other 2 Kobos connected just fine as expected.

Thanks for the Linux idea too.

@stumped, I will try the hub trick when I find a USB hub and report back. It'd be funny if it did work Just wondering what it is in the hub that could make it work.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by cakepuller

@rcentros, I had forgotten to say that I had 2 different cables and 2 Windows 7 laptops to try the various connection combinations on with no success. But the other 2 Kobos connected just fine as expected.

Thanks for the Linux idea too.

@stumped, I will try the hub trick when I find a USB hub and report back. It'd be funny if it did work Just wondering what it is in the hub that could make it work.

I asked & never got the science explained, but many ( via Google) attest that it works.
& like you, before doing that i would see the "connected to PC" screen on the Kobo but nothing in windows, & nothing in Calibre. I have windows 10 but the issue is across all versions of windows and all or most of the Kobo range, I think

the alternative workaround suggested to me in my own thread on here. that I did not need, was to transfer via SD card instead of via USB. I did not have a card to hand to test with, though my aura HD does have a slot for one

[daldred]

As of last Friday, I have the same issue - my Glo isn't recognised by my Win10 PC when I connect it, though the device seems to think it is connected.

I'll try the USB hub idea - when I can find one - but it does seem odd that several people are having the same problem at the same time. I'm wondering whether the latest firmware contains a bug; I honestly can't recall whether I've connected successfully to the PC since the last upgrade.

[stumped]

it will not be any new bug in the latest kobo firmware - as it was happening to me on a reader that had been offline for 2+ years
the latest windows update though - ??? but the issue is reported with various windows versions in the "similar threads" at foot of page link - i see w7, w8, vista....

[Anak]

Not sure if it helps.
Open Device Manager > (Select) Show hidden devices.
Remove (old) Kobo drivers from "Portable devices" (or "USB devices").

Reconnect your Kobo reader and Windows should install 'fresh' drivers.

[Barbara1955]

Anak I did that when my PC Stopped seeing my Fires! CRASHED my PC & Ex-HD Lost ALL my Audio MP3 Books & Music & ALL my e-books Taking my PC Back to Factory didn't help it to see my Fires either. Only sees my Kobo & Kindle eReaders.

[daldred]

So I've tried with the Kobo via a USB hub, and it makes no difference. I've also cleared out all references to Kobo in USB devices in Device Manager and tried USBDeview - which shows no Kobo devices.

I've seen suggestions that factory resetting can help, but if I do that I risk being left with a device with no books on it, and no way of restoring the library. At least at the moment I can continue to read through what I've got!

Any other ideas, anyone?

[JSWolf]

Have you tried a different computer? Different cables?

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by daldred

So I've tried with the Kobo via a USB hub, and it makes no difference. I've also cleared out all references to Kobo in USB devices in Device Manager and tried USBDeview - which shows no Kobo devices.

I've seen suggestions that factory resetting can help, but if I do that I risk being left with a device with no books on it, and no way of restoring the library. At least at the moment I can continue to read through what I've got!

Any other ideas, anyone?

I took my Fires Back to Factory it Didn't help! So NO! Don't do it!

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Have you tried a different computer? Different cables?

I tried 3 Different New Cable on mine ...didn't help

[cakepuller]

Originally Posted by daldred

I've seen suggestions that factory resetting can help, but if I do that I risk being left with a device with no books on it, and no way of restoring the library. At least at the moment I can continue to read through what I've got!

Any other ideas, anyone?

Yeah, Factory Reset is a risk in this case. I'm the OP. I did it and lost all my books without a way to restore the content. boo hoo hoo. But there is a way to sideload books via wifi and Calibre. Basically you set up Calibre to be a server by pressing one of the "connection" buttons and it turns Calibre into some webserver and you can connect to it using the browser on your Kobo. Calibre will indicate the URL to connect to (basically the IP address of your PC and some port). The rest should be intuitive. But it's slow to load books that way. Better than nothing though.

I've given up on connecting my Kobo Glo to my laptop, although I have not tried the USB hub suggestion since I can't get hold of one. I'm just hoping that it'll miraculously fix itself (i.e. purge itself of gremlins obviously) if I leave it alone for a while...