Glowlight Plus sideloading fails a lot

[hank]

Erased the Nook and re-registered it.
Didn't fix the problem though.
Erase one file; screen blinky blink; that file remains and all the others disappear.

Rebooting the Nook sometimes makes it find all the rest of the files.
Other times it declared everything sideloaded is corrupt and suggests erasing them all.

Still seeing the 'cannot read ... will be downloaded again' message too, for files that were sideloade not downloaded from BN.f

They didn't lay off the Nook OS programmers in the recent downsizing, did they?

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by hank

Erased the Nook and re-registered it.
Didn't fix the problem though.
Erase one file; screen blinky blink; that file remains and all the others disappear.

Rebooting the Nook sometimes makes it find all the rest of the files.
Other times it declared everything sideloaded is corrupt and suggests erasing them all.

Still seeing the 'cannot read ... will be downloaded again' message too, for files that were sideloade not downloaded from BN.f

They didn't lay off the Nook OS programmers in the recent downsizing, did they?

Try this: turn on the wifi. Open the library screen. Press the half-circle arrows at the top. Let 'em spin until they stop. This will sync the device. It updates / downloads any B&N content, and it also seems to clear the device's memory cache.

[HLS]

The Glowlight Plus been crap since they updated the software to match the new glowlight. Home button will not take me home now

[hank]

"... You can't eject the Glowlight Plus. It connects as an MTP device."

Say what? (I'm Macish). I can certainly eject the GL+ but that seems to be where the Nook OS gets screwed up.

Someone earlier suggested using Calibre. I can strongly second that advice.

Calibre can both add and remove books and can eject the Nook successfully.
So far I haven't noticed any problems with the Nook screwing up as long as I use Calibre as the interface for adding/removing/ejecting.

One thing I'm curious about -- where are the files on the Nook for the quotations sleep/screensaver? I'd like to copy the "Author" files off my old original Glowlight and use them on the GL+ which only has quotations and little line drawings.

I assume the Nooks hide those files somehow?

[RAH]

I have a Glowlight 3 and am having many of the problems mentioned in this thread. Even if I do NOT use a shelf, my sideloaded books keep disappearing.

As far as that "error opening book ... this book will be re-downloaded later" message, I got it on a book I PURCHASED from B&N using a PC on the internet. It opened fine in Nook for Windows, and even Nook for Android on a tablet, but I kept getting that error on the Glowlight 3. Syncing the device did not accomplish anything.

I did a chat with support, went thru the usual archiving, unarchiving, rebooting, etc. The only thing that solved it was resetting the device, unregistering the Glowlight, reregistering, etc. After this was all done, the book downloaded properly and I could read it.

So, in other words, you can get this "error opening book" even on purchased books. The solution for me was to reset the device - what a pain!

I have not sideloaded any books again (after the reset and start over). It seems kind of hopeless right now, so I'm just not bothering, reading any sideload books on my Kobo. Kind of a shame. Maybe I could try using Calibre, but if seems obvious that the Nook operating system is at fault (probably not the hardware, IMHO), so until they fix the OS, I think it will be a hit or miss thing. :-(

[barryem]

I tried resetting mine. It didn't help. I still have problems sideloading books.

If I put on 10 books it seems to work fine. Another 10 and a few get lost.

I haven't done anything about it yet because I'm reading a Kindle book at the moment and it's a very long one but my next book may be a sideloaded book and I'll probably reset the Nook again and just put the book I'm reading on it. That seems to work just fine. It's still an excellent reading experience and that's what it's really all about.

Barry

[RAH]

Barry, I think it is interesting and meaningful that your device is a Glowlight PLUS, not a Glowlight 3. I figured the problem was that the 3 is a new device and it was having growing pains. Since I was kind of assuming that it used a different operating system than any earlier Nooks, I figured that was where the problem was.

But if the Plus is having similar problems, it seems to mean that they share the same OS, or at least similar bugs if they have different operating systems. I think it definitely indicates that it isn't a hardware problem.

I also think that you might experience problems with just one sideloaded book. I mean, with an intermittent problem like this, there's no telling what can happen. Funny thing is that I used a Simple Touch for years and never had any problems at all with sideloads, so it should be something easy to fix, you'd think. I am thinking about using the Simple Touch again till this bug gets fixed. :-(

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by RAH

Barry, I think it is interesting and meaningful that your device is a Glowlight PLUS, not a Glowlight 3. I figured the problem was that the 3 is a new device and it was having growing pains. Since I was kind of assuming that it used a different operating system than any earlier Nooks, I figured that was where the problem was.

But if the Plus is having similar problems, it seems to mean that they share the same OS, or at least similar bugs if they have different operating systems. I think it definitely indicates that it isn't a hardware problem.

I also think that you might experience problems with just one sideloaded book. I mean, with an intermittent problem like this, there's no telling what can happen. Funny thing is that I used a Simple Touch for years and never had any problems at all with sideloads, so it should be something easy to fix, you'd think. I am thinking about using the Simple Touch again till this bug gets fixed. :-(

As far as I know, Barry does have a 3, in addition to the Plus.

From what I read, the Plus and the 3 do share firmware, so the Plus may be having the same issues.

[barryem]

I do have a Glowlight Plus and a Glowlight 3. When I first found this problem on the Glowlight 3 I checked the Glowlight Plus and it had the same problem.

I don't recall if I did a manual update on the Glowlight Plus or if it updated itself. I was in the habit of leaving the Wifi on and also of doing updates as soon as they became available. On my Kindle and Kobo that's never been a problem. Now I leave Wifi off on my Nooks and I won't update them again until I've read that it's safe to do so.

The Glowlight 3 is a nice reading device and I'll use it on any non-Kindle books or even Kindle books that don't have X-Ray. I read a lot of older books so that includes a lot. I don't really mind only having my current book on board.

The Glowlight Plus, at least for me, was a waste of money. I've rarely used it except to loan books to neighbors. The Home button ruins it for me. It's right where I want to hold it and I find myself back at the Home screen every time I get too absorbed in the book to remember to avoid it. That is the dumbest design element in the history of technology. Well, maybe the diet pills that contained tapeworms were dumber.

Barry

[RAH]

Thanks for the info, guys. Interesting that they share the same firmware. Hope they fix it!

[dordale]

Seems ironic that B&N updated the firmware so that users would have access to more memory for sideloading only to have it create problems when more than 10 or so books are put on the reader!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by dordale

Seems ironic that B&N updated the firmware so that users would have access to more memory for sideloading only to have it create problems when more than 10 or so books are put on the reader!

It's not a universal issue. I have hundreds of books on my GL3 and haven't noticed any missing. For all I know, a few did disappear. But whenever I search the device for a book I know I loaded on it, it is there.

That's not to say it isn't a real problem. I'm sure the current firmware is buggy. I'm just saying if you buy a GL3 it doesn't guarantee you will have the same issues.

[RAH]

What directory are you using, @ZodWallop? I keep getting different recommendations on what to use. So, just to be sure:

1) the Nook root (for example, e:\)
2) e:\My Files\
3) e:\Nook\
4) e:\Nook\My Files\
5) e:\Nook\My Files\Books\

I've been using 4 (e:\Nook\My Files) but I would like to know what others recommend specifically.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by RAH

What directory are you using, @ZodWallop? I keep getting different recommendations on what to use. So, just to be sure:

1) the Nook root (for example, e:\)
2) e:\My Files\
3) e:\Nook\
4) e:\Nook\My Files\
5) e:\Nook\My Files\Books\

I've been using 4 (e:\Nook\My Files) but I would like to know what others recommend specifically.

I use Calibre to both sideload my books and eject the device. I don't remember what directory it saves to. I can check when I get home, I guess (the better half is reading Ghost Story on the Nook, so I don't have it handy).

[Strether]

Calibre puts them in the Nook>My Files>Books folder.

Jim