Sync Not Working (Borders Desktop App)

[eli4672]

Hi,

Having lost my page in the .ePub file I'm reading for the 4th time (the Kobo doesn't seem to remember pages for some .ePub books) I decided to buy one through the Border desktop application and transfer it to my Kobo. I can read the book fine on the desktop app and when I hit 'Sync' is goes through a transfer process and, supposedly, modifies the SQLite file on the Kobo in some way. However, once I disconnect the Kobo I discover that the new book is not on it.

If I plug it back in and hit 'Sync' it once again claims to be transferring the same book. I can click 'Sync' all day and go through the same process, but the book is never there.

I just want to read a book I bought form Borders using the Borders Desktop App that was included with my Kobo that I also bought from Borders. I don't understand what the problem is.

Does anybody have any thoughts?

I have already tried resetting the device, both with the button and with the software option.

[Stinger]

(the Kobo doesn't seem to remember pages for some .ePub books)

FYI, this is a known bug. Doing a 'Sync' with the desktop app wipes your bookmarks (current page) of the books on the I'm Reading list.

Due to this pretty serious syncing issue, plus the fact that the desktop app is next to useless in other matters as well, I've been avoiding it like the plague. I've been downloading the ePubs directly to ADE (instead of using the desktop app). Then you can easily strip the DRM and use YOUR book however YOU want...
With the Kobo, you can just drag&drop the (stripped) ePub anywhere and it'll find and process it when you unplug.

If you don't want to bother stripping the DRM (I highly recommend you do, but I'll skip my anti-DRM rant, PM if you wanna discuss details), you can still try the ADE route. ADE does recognize the Kobo, so find the ADE ePub download link, load the book into ADE, and transfer it over using ADE. (NOTE: some books will be stuck at very small fonts this way, so you might be forced to strip the DRM to fix this in the long run, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there eh?)

Anyway, hope that helps.


EDIT: Hmmm, is the 'Borders desktop app' the same thing as the Kobo Desktop app that was packaged with the Kobo? (maybe just rebranded?)

[roguefan99]

Originally Posted by Stinger

EDIT: Hmmm, is the 'Borders desktop app' the same thing as the Kobo Desktop app that was packaged with the Kobo? (maybe just rebranded?)

Pretty well is, but instead of hooking into the Kobo Book store it will hook into the Borders Australian Bookstore. It has all the same quirks and bugs that the Kobo Desktop app has from what I've read.

[eli4672]

So to sum up:
*Can't buy books for it from Borders (who sold me the unit for this explicit purpose).
*Can't read other .ePub files properly unless I modify them.
*Even if I get it to read another .ePub file, it can't keep track of what page I'm on nor can it skip to a given page if I keep track of it myself. With each page turn taking 1-2 seconds, fixing this is a lengthy process to repeat so frequently.
*No PDF re-flow makes reading PDF eBooks impossible.
*Freezes randomly, it has frozen within the first 5 minutes of use two days in a row now, leaving me with nothing to read all day both days.
*Incidentally, has much worse batter life than advertised.

When I return this today, should I ask for a different unit or is everybody experiencing these problems?

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by eli4672

*Even if I get it to read another .ePub file, it can't keep track of what page I'm on nor can it skip to a given page if I keep track of it myself. With each page turn taking 1-2 seconds, fixing this is a lengthy process to repeat so frequently.

Just a tip that I came across regarding other readers, some do have an issue in keeping track of what page you are on when you close the book. One solution that seems to solve this in some cases is to rename the epub replacing all spaces with underscore "_" eg: "The Mysterious Island.epub" to "The_Mysterious_Island.epub".

Might be worth a shot. I dont have a Kobo so I can't be more specific in helping, sorry.

[Nicktheviking]

Yep pretty much all the same issues, except mine isn't freezing yet. Don't bother trying to email either Kobo or Borders (Australia) as you will only receive an auto reply.