The ongoing issues with sideloading books onto the nook is making me rethink it.

[apastuszak]

My wife really likes the nook. She started with the original nook with the color screen on the bottom and has worked her way up through all the various nook models through her current Glowlight 3. All the models have given me no end of hell with side-loading books. When the Glowlight 3 came out, I was thrilled that Barnes and Noble FINALLY dumped mtp and went with simple mass storage. But every time there's a software update, it seems to mess with side-loading.

I own a Kindle and will side-load Amazon purchases onto her nook, if I have already bought the book an Amazon. Plus there is Amazon content you can't get on the B&N store sometimes.

That was the case this evening. I plugged the nook in, fired up Calibre, and converted my AZW3 purchase to ePub and tried to side-load it. Calibre said that the copy was done, so I ejected the device and patiently waited for the device to refresh, and the screen on the nook just kept saying it was still connected.

After 15 minutes of this, I just unplugged it from my laptop and the nook got all pissy and said my device was ejected prematurely and it wanted me to wipe my USB partition. Even though I resisted at first, a half hour later I gave in and let it erase the USB partition.

This, of course, wiped all the side-loaded books. But it also hosed the purchased content. All the purchased content gave an error and said the book would be "downloaded later."

When I plugged the device into my computer, sometimes it would mount on Windows Explorer, and sometimes it would not. When it did mount, if I clicked on the drive letter, Windows Explorer would ask me to insert the disk. Another 45 minutes of this madness, and I gave up and did an erase and deregister.

The erase and deregister seems to have fixed most of my issues with the device now. I can side-load with Calibre. Purchased content downloads and opens.

But I can't tell you how many times I have had to erase and de-register the device in its lifetime to fix side-loading issues.

Meanwhile, my Kindle has had zero issues with side-loading. It just works 100% of the time.

My wife really likes the nook, and doesn't want to switch to the Kindle platform, though I am tempted to get her an Oasis for Mother's Day and be done with it.

[rcentros]

I haven't had any side-loading issues with either Glowlight Plus or Glowlight 3. I'm beginning to wonder if Linux works better with Nooks than other OSes.

[apastuszak]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I haven't had any side-loading issues with either Glowlight Plus or Glowlight 3. I'm wondering if Linux works better with Nooks than other OSes.

My personal laptop is running Arch Linux. That gives me more problems than any other operating system in my house. I usually have to reboot my laptop and the Nook to get it to work.

And when I call B&N support, their answer is ALWAYS to do an erase and deregister. They won't even try something else until I do that. With the Glowlight Plus, they had me erase and deregister AND create an Adobe Digital Editoins account in order to get books to sideload again.

Sideloaded books are obviously B&Ns worst enemy, or they're using cheap flash storage that gets corrupted easily and needs a reformat to get it working again.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

My personal laptop is running Arch Linux. That gives me more problems than any other operating system in my house. I usually have to reboot my laptop and the Nook to get it to work.

Sorry to hear that. I'm lazy, I just use Linux Mint. So far none of my computers have ever NOT hooked up to an eReader. I have had trouble with Calibre and a Glowlight Plus, however. So I just drag the books to the Nook on that computer.

Originally Posted by apastuszak

And when I call B&N support, their answer is ALWAYS to do an erase and deregister. They won't even try something else until I do that. With the Glowlight Plus, they had me erase and deregister AND create an Adobe Digital Editoins account in order to get books to sideload again.

That doesn't sound good. Sounds like Microsoft's "reboot... reboot... reinstall" mantra.

Originally Posted by apastuszak

Sideloaded books are obviously B&Ns worst enemy, or they're using cheap flash storage that gets corrupted easily and needs a reformat to get it working again.

I guess I'm lucky, I haven't had these issues. But I don't put a lot of books on the Nook at a time, so that's probably why.

Good luck whatever direction you go. Sorry you're having so much trouble with the Nook.

[Pajamaman]

I rooted it and installed nookmanager. Much better. The Nook screen is lovely, but the software is poor.

Not for everyone. It requires a little IT knowhow.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/h...ght-3.3802331/
The 7.8" process is slightly different.

[rem736]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

I plugged the nook in, fired up Calibre, and converted my AZW3 purchase to ePub and tried to side-load it. Calibre said that the copy was done, so I ejected the device and patiently waited for the device to refresh, and the screen on the nook just kept saying it was still connected.

i noticed you did the transfer through calibre. have you tried using calibre just to do the conversion, then the transfer by using the computer's file explorer (drag and drop)?

my process is to use calibre to convert the file without the nook being connected while calibre is running. when i'm done with the conversion. i close calibre, connect the nook, navigated to the converted file, then dragged and dropped the converted file into the nook. i never had a problem with an epub file side loaded this way.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

My wife really likes the nook. She started with the original nook with the color screen on the bottom and has worked her way up through all the various nook models through her current Glowlight 3. All the models have given me no end of hell with side-loading books.

Originally Posted by rcentros

I guess I'm lucky, I haven't had these issues. But I don't put a lot of books on the Nook at a time, so that's probably why.

I've only had the Simple Touch with Glowlight and the Glowlight Plus (6" model) and never had issues sideloading.

The Glowlight 3 though has been a pain in the tuchus since the update I mention below.

When the Glowlight 3 came out, I was thrilled that Barnes and Noble FINALLY dumped mtp and went with simple mass storage.

Actually, they still have it partitioned. When the Glowlight 3 came out, most of the storage was reserved for Nook content and only 1.5GB was available for sideloading.

There was an uproar and they released an update, swapping the two partitions. I think that is the issue with Glowlight 3 sideloading.

Originally Posted by rcentros

Good luck whatever direction you go. Sorry you're having so much trouble with the Nook.

Yeah, I think Nook hardware and screens are lovely and their software, while being mediocre works good enough. But I don't blame you if you decide to move on.

Incidentally, I have had an issue where it seemed like the sideloaded content wasn't on the Nook. But using search would find the book. For me at least, the Glowlight 3 just doesn't show the truly most recent books on the home screen.

[Strether]

I haven’t had any problems side loading to my Glowlight Plus, but you do have to wait a few minutes before unplugging. Watch the screen of the device and wait until it shows new side loaded books.

Jim

[RWTS]

Posts like this always tickle my curiosity: Why do some users seem to have nothing but problems with the Nook, while the Nook works great for others? Is it the operating system the Nook is connected to (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook) or the software used to transfer books (ADE, Calibre, drag and drop)?

I began with the Simple Touch, upgraded a few years ago to the GlowLight 3 for the light and splurged on the GlowLight Plus for the bigger screen. I've been very happy with all three. The older two devices are still used daily by family members.

It seems the two biggest issues are shelves and sideloading. I can't speak about shelves, since I don't use that feature. But I'm a heavy library user so I'm always sideloading. If I had issues transferring my books I wouldn't be a happy Nook user.

For what it's worth, I'm a Windows user and have used Nooks with XP through 10. I'm currently using 8.1 and 10. I use ADE 4.5 to authorize loans and to transfer the books to my Nook. I used to drag and drop books from sources like Project Gutenberg, but I now use ADE for that, too. I don't use Calibre, which seems very popular on this site. I open ADE, connect my Nook, transfer books, close ADE and then eject the Nook via Windows.

Or is it how we use our Nooks that trigger issues?

I load a few books on, read one at a time and then remove them. I'm the type that rarely reads a book a second time (or if I do, it's years later), hence why the library works for me. I don't have dozens or hundreds or thousands of books loaded on my Nook.

Is it that Nooks can't handle large libraries? Might that be why I haven't run into some of the issues others have experienced? No offense to those having problems, but I find the contrast in experiences fascinating.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by RWTS

I don't use Calibre, which seems very popular on this site. I open ADE, connect my Nook, transfer books, close ADE and then eject the Nook via Windows.

I also don't have any trouble with disappearing books on the Glowlight Plus (6", 2015) or the Glowlight 3. I use Linux. I've tried the Shelf feature to test it, but don't really use it either. What little I've used it seemed to work fine. For some reason Calibre and the Nooks don't get along, so (like you) I just drag and drop my books on to the Nooks. I wonder if the issue is a Nook/Calibre conflict of some kind?

[kyrilson]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I also don't have any trouble with disappearing books on the Glowlight Plus (6", 2015) or the Glowlight 3. I use Linux. I've tried the Shelf feature to test it, but don't really use it either. What little I've used it seemed to work fine. For some reason Calibre and the Nooks don't get along, so (like you) I just drag and drop my books on to the Nooks. I wonder if the issue is a Nook/Calibre conflict of some kind?

That is what it sounds like might be the issue. My wife had a Nook a long time ago, and I used to sideload to it for her as well. We had ZERO problems with it, and we only used ADE or direct drag and drop from Windows Explorer, never Calibre.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

That is what it sounds like might be the issue. My wife had a Nook a long time ago, and I used to sideload to it for her as well. We had ZERO problems with it, and we only used ADE or direct drag and drop from Windows Explorer, never Calibre.

On the other hand, I've only used Calibre with my Nooks and had zero problems, except with the Glowlight 3.

Honestly, I think the database on my 3 is corrupted. I've erased and deregistered it twice and I still have problems.

But several Nook STs and the 6" 2015 Glowlight Plus are problem free, exclusively using sideloading from Calibre.

[apastuszak]

I had a lot of problems with previous Glowlight models timing out on copying books. It would start the book copy and then hang. After 15 minutes I would just unplug it and the database would be corrupted.This happened on Mac, Linux and Windows.

B&N tech support would always have me erase and deregister and it would usually fix the problem for a little while. Then one day, a rep told me I needed to create an Adobe Digital Editions account and set it up on the nook. That fixed a lot of my sideloading issues on the previous nook (a GlowLight Plus, I believe).

Then I got the Glowlight 3, and I was thrilled to learn that is now used MSC instead of MTP. It worked well for a while, but something in the last 2 months has made it a pain to sideload books. The Erase and Deregister worked this time. But it only has 2 books on it now. I need to use Calibre to sync over a bunch of other books and see how well if works with a lot of books loaded on it.

One of my wife's friends had a Kindle, and she recently got a Kobo and REALLY likes it. My wife has been thinking about that.

But there are two things that I need to deal with:

1. My wife has an Oberon Design case for her nook that I bought her YEARS ago. She REALLY LOVES that case. When I got her one of the first Glowlight readers, she was VERY disappointed it would not fit in the case. I contacted Oberon, and sent the case back. They replaced the leather straps with elastic straps and she was able to use it again. That same case has worked for every Glowlight update. Oberon Design now only makes cases for the Kindle.

2. My wife reads herself to sleep at night. She'll fall asleep while reading and the nook stays in bed. In the morning she looks through the covers to find it. She's been doing this since the very first nook I bought her with the color screen on the bottom, and we have yet to have a screen break, which kind of surprises me.

I think Iwon't be able to do anything about the case. But I do need to find an ereader as durable as the nook seems to be.

[kyrilson]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

I had a lot of problems with previous Glowlight models timing out on copying books. It would start the book copy and then hang. After 15 minutes I would just unplug it and the database would be corrupted.This happened on Mac, Linux and Windows.

B&N tech support would always have me erase and deregister and it would usually fix the problem for a little while. Then one day, a rep told me I needed to create an Adobe Digital Editions account and set it up on the nook. That fixed a lot of my sideloading issues on the previous nook (a GlowLight Plus, I believe).

Then I got the Glowlight 3, and I was thrilled to learn that is now used MSC instead of MTP. It worked well for a while, but something in the last 2 months has made it a pain to sideload books. The Erase and Deregister worked this time. But it only has 2 books on it now. I need to use Calibre to sync over a bunch of other books and see how well if works with a lot of books loaded on it.

One of my wife's friends had a Kindle, and she recently got a Kobo and REALLY likes it. My wife has been thinking about that.

But there are two things that I need to deal with:

1. My wife has an Oberon Design case for her nook that I bought her YEARS ago. She REALLY LOVES that case. When I got her one of the first Glowlight readers, she was VERY disappointed it would not fit in the case. I contacted Oberon, and sent the case back. They replaced the leather straps with elastic straps and she was able to use it again. That same case has worked for every Glowlight update. Oberon Design now only makes cases for the Kindle.

2. My wife reads herself to sleep at night. She'll fall asleep while reading and the nook stays in bed. In the morning she looks through the covers to find it. She's been doing this since the very first nook I bought her with the color screen on the bottom, and we have yet to have a screen break, which kind of surprises me.

I think Iwon't be able to do anything about the case. But I do need to find an ereader as durable as the nook seems to be.

Hmm. Oberon does make very nice cases. I will point out that converting from ePub to azw3 format is very easy in Calibre and Calibre plays very nicely with kindles. A PW4 is a pretty hardy gadget and would likely stand up to being knocked around in bed I would think. Something to consider, anyways.

[apastuszak]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

Hmm. Oberon does make very nice cases. I will point out that converting from ePub to azw3 format is very easy in Calibre and Calibre plays very nicely with kindles. A PW4 is a pretty hardy gadget and would likely stand up to being knocked around in bed I would think. Something to consider, anyways.

I would LOVE to get her a Paperwhite 4. I have a Paperwhite 3 and she has used it every time her nook gets hosed and i have to put my IT skills to use, and she just doesn't like it. Why, I don't know.