OneDrive for Library Sync Between PCs?

therealTOEBEANS · 05-07-2024, 04:53 AM

Hello, all!

I may be stupid. However, pressing forward, I saw a spooky entry in the FAQ, here, which says that I shouldn't use networked drives, and, interestingly, that "file syncing tools" should be used with caution.

Now I'm *fairly* new to Calibre, but I do in fact have my Calibre library on OneDrive from my desktop PC to make the books and things in my Calibre library available on my android devices, etc, just by downloading them from whichever folder in a pinch... and NOW I'm thinking about just connecting that folder to another download of Calibre on a different laptop PC when I'm not at home. They're all Windows PCs, if that helps??

I'm scared now that accessing my Library on another PC with OneDrive will make me lose some of my precious, precious books! Eek! Does anyone have any clever words of wisdom for a rather silly little guy? I don't want to lose anything!

Cheers, everyone! You guys are awesome regardless, these forums are great! Hope everyone has a great day!

Sirtel · 05-07-2024, 08:14 AM

Yes, there's a risk of data loss if you use Calibre with the same library on several different computers. I lost some books years ago with OneDrive in that way. After that I ditched OneDrive and moved to Dropbox, but even then I occasionally had conflicts in the database (and I never synced anything with Calibre running). I knew how to fix those and accepted the risk, but yes, it can and will happen. Be warned.

The best practice is to only use Calibre with a strictly local library on a single computer, and keep a back-up copy in the cloud. FreeFileSync can do incremental mirror (one-way) syncing between the master library and the cloud copy. Calibre is not designed for simultaneous access on several machines; it's best not to keep an active library in the cloud if you plan to access it from other devices.

therealTOEBEANS · 05-07-2024, 10:10 AM

Hey, I didn't think about FreeFileSync! I even have it installed!

It's good to know that it's not a great idea. Thank you so much for your insight here... Cheers.

DNSB · 05-07-2024, 08:31 PM

It made my tiny heart grow a couple of sizes to read from someone who didn't wait to have their library corrupt before asking. Thank you for making my day!

As long as you sync from your computer to OneDrive while calibre is not running, you shouldn't have any issues. I do that as one of my backup procedures.

05-07-2024, 04:53 AM	#1
therealTOEBEANS Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2024 Location: Sunny California, USA Device: Android - KOReader - S22 Ultra	OneDrive for Library Sync Between PCs? Hello, all! I may be stupid. However, pressing forward, I saw a spooky entry in the FAQ, here, which says that I shouldn't use networked drives, and, interestingly, that "file syncing tools" should be used with caution. Now I'm fairly new to Calibre, but I do in fact have my Calibre library on OneDrive from my desktop PC to make the books and things in my Calibre library available on my android devices, etc, just by downloading them from whichever folder in a pinch... and NOW I'm thinking about just connecting that folder to another download of Calibre on a different laptop PC when I'm not at home. They're all Windows PCs, if that helps?? I'm scared now that accessing my Library on another PC with OneDrive will make me lose some of my precious, precious books! Eek! Does anyone have any clever words of wisdom for a rather silly little guy? I don't want to lose anything! Cheers, everyone! You guys are awesome regardless, these forums are great! Hope everyone has a great day!

05-07-2024, 08:14 AM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,322 Karma: 225099840 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Yes, there's a risk of data loss if you use Calibre with the same library on several different computers. I lost some books years ago with OneDrive in that way. After that I ditched OneDrive and moved to Dropbox, but even then I occasionally had conflicts in the database (and I never synced anything with Calibre running). I knew how to fix those and accepted the risk, but yes, it can and will happen. Be warned. The best practice is to only use Calibre with a strictly local library on a single computer, and keep a back-up copy in the cloud. FreeFileSync can do incremental mirror (one-way) syncing between the master library and the cloud copy. Calibre is not designed for simultaneous access on several machines; it's best not to keep an active library in the cloud if you plan to access it from other devices. Last edited by Sirtel; 05-07-2024 at 08:22 AM.

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05-07-2024, 10:10 AM	#3
therealTOEBEANS Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2024 Location: Sunny California, USA Device: Android - KOReader - S22 Ultra	Hey, I didn't think about FreeFileSync! I even have it installed! It's good to know that it's not a great idea. Thank you so much for your insight here... Cheers.

05-07-2024, 08:31 PM	#4
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 36,126 Karma: 145735366 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	It made my tiny heart grow a couple of sizes to read from someone who didn't wait to have their library corrupt before asking. Thank you for making my day! As long as you sync from your computer to OneDrive while calibre is not running, you shouldn't have any issues. I do that as one of my backup procedures.