Deleting original ebooks after adding to Calibre library

[fussygoat]

Hi,

I've been using Calibre for quite some time now only as a way to upload ebooks onto a mobile device. Recently I've decided to catalog all my ebooks, audio books and comic books, and found out that I could do it with Calibre. Great! I have 2 questions though,
1. When Calibre adds an ebook to its library, does it simply copy the ebook and create additional files (metadata and cover) onto another folder so that the ebook in the library is an exact copy of the original (no modifications)?

2. Is it safe then to delete the original ebooks once I've added them to Calibre's library? I want to free up some space on my hard drive so I'm planning to retain just the ebooks on the library.

Thanks in advance!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by fussygoat

Hi,

I've been using Calibre for quite some time now only as a way to upload ebooks onto a mobile device. Recently I've decided to catalog all my ebooks, audio books and comic books, and found out that I could do it with Calibre. Great! I have 2 questions though,
1. When Calibre adds an ebook to its library, does it simply copy the ebook and create additional files (metadata and cover) onto another folder so that the ebook in the library is an exact copy of the original (no modifications)?

2. Is it safe then to delete the original ebooks once I've added them to Calibre's library? I want to free up some space on my hard drive so I'm planning to retain just the ebooks on the library.

Thanks in advance!

Hard drives can go bad without warning
Malware can get past protections
Backups can end up corrupt before you discover that fact.
Your 'cloud' service goes belly up.

Define 'Safe'

Why not archive the 'Originals' to DVD/CD and store carefully, OFF SITE, on higher ground, not in a tornado/Fires path, away from a volcano...

You really can not have too many (managed) backups

[fussygoat]

Thanks for reminding me about backing up on DVD/CD. Earlier, I was really set on deleting the original files as soon as I confirm that the ebooks in the library are exact copies of the originals. All I was thinking of was not having duplicate copies and freeing up disk space

[spiralmind4]

I've faced this dilemma myself, fussygoat. What I decided to do is keep multiple backups of my original files as well as multiple backups of my library (on separate media of course). If I ever have an issue with my library (I doubt it) I can always go back to my originals.

Also, I've lightly compared the copied library file with the original source file and see no difference. I suspect it is just being renamed, although I did not do any sort of detailed analysis.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by theducks

You really can not have too many (managed) backups

That's been my motto since 1980 when my roommate deleted my 6 hour long class paper instead of saving it. It was not fun to recreate.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by fussygoat

Thanks for reminding me about backing up on DVD/CD. Earlier, I was really set on deleting the original files as soon as I confirm that the ebooks in the library are exact copies of the originals. All I was thinking of was not having duplicate copies and freeing up disk space

DVDs and CDs go bad, too. I had a whole batch go belly up. Bad news, very bad news. Fortunately I had other backups.

[Ripplinger]

I've been saving my original purchases, mostly in the event I ever really purchase a Kindle (although it's very unlikely). Books are then added into my Calibre Library, and that library is backed up on 5 hard drives between 3 PCs and a netbook. It's also in 3 places in cloud storage. I really should just delete all original purchases at this point, but ebooks really take up so little room, another 4GB gained if I do delete the original purchases isn't going to matter in my instance.

As far as DVD storage goes, the quality of the media used is the important factor in how long they'll last. And of course don't expose them to high heat, humidity, handle only around the edges so you don't get oils and acids from your fingers on them. Burn at slower speeds for best success. I've got some close to 20 years that still play just fine. Here's a good read about blank media quality to use for reference if you're unsure which to buy. I only use Verbatim DVDs and I have never had one fail yet. I bought some Memorex on sale once and never again, a lot of them wouldn't even burn correctly. I just wait until I see the Verbatims on sale and buy a 100 spindle.

[eschwartz]

There is also this handy tutorial for incremental backing up of timestamped instances of you calibre library (or other files, really) for file backup which can then be synced to multiple hard drives for physical media backup.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=244228

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

There is also this handy tutorial for incremental backing up of timestamped instances of you calibre library (or other files, really) for file backup which can then be synced to multiple hard drives for physical media backup.

Did you forget the link? This sounds like something I'd like to get organized...too many of my backups are here and there that I've actually forgotten where they are at this point.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Did you forget the link? This sounds like something I'd like to get organized...too many of my backups are here and there that I've actually forgotten where they are at this point.

Whoops.

I added the link, above.

[eschwartz]

Note that the tutorial uses rsync, a linux and OSX utility.

However, you should be able to make it work with a minimum of fuss on Windows using DeltaCopy or Cygwin or some other source for rsync compiled on Windows.

(As well as changing the bash syntax to a batch file.)

[Skydog]

SyncToy works extremely well on Windows systems.

[eschwartz]

And a few other programs as well. FreeFileSync is popular here on MobileRead. But all those use GUIs, and I naturally gravitate toward scripted solutions (which can be embeddded in calibre startup scripts), being a linux guy.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And a few other programs as well. FreeFileSync is popular here on MobileRead. But all those use GUIs, and I naturally gravitate toward scripted solutions (which can be embeddded in calibre startup scripts), being a linux guy.

FreeFileSync is a terrific program, does everything you could possibly want. I have it set as a task to run nightly to sync certain files to the other drives, including my Calibre Library.

[Userin]

Originally Posted by theducks

Hard drives can go bad without warning
Malware can get past protections
Backups can end up corrupt before you discover that fact.
Your 'cloud' service goes belly up.

Define 'Safe'

Why not archive the 'Originals' to DVD/CD and store carefully, OFF SITE, on higher ground, not in a tornado/Fires path, away from a volcano...

You really can not have too many (managed) backups

I was browsing the internet in search for an answer to the same question and somehow found this thread. Having read it, I registered an account to humbly present you with a prize as in my lifelong adventure with text I have never seen an answer to a question that would be as useless as yours. I still have no idea whether I can delete the duplicate from Calibre or not, but at least I had the pleasure of reading the response from fussygoat who told you in the most polite way possible where you can put this completely uncalled for advice of yours.