HELP! Have lost ability to read epubs, not only with Calibre's viewer, but with Adobe

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One video driver issue is that Lenovo is very conservative with their video driver updates. My current desktop has a NVidia T1000 8GB card and Lenovo's supplied driver is about 4 months older than the conservative driver from NVidia's site. Before that update was added to Lenovo's site, they were about 9 months behind NVidia's conservative driver.

Though the portable version of calibre working and multiple programs being unable to open ePub files suggests something in your Windows setup and not a driver issue.

Well, I just posted that the problem with Calibre is resolved and wasn't a Windows issue. Did you download the driver on NVidia's site? My knowlege is pretty minimum thus I've stuck to letting Lenovo decide what needs to be updated.

[theducks]

Your old PC might have had a HD starting to fail, thus corrupting the Calibre config folder, you simply brought the corruption over to your new PC.

Or
You got a Malware infestation.

IIRC You can NOT just copy Kindle or Adobe (files) to a new PC.
They are made specific to the PC on import (I tried restoring my Kindle stuff after a video driver issue faked me out. Not allowed, everything had to come from my Amazon account )

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by lburg801

Well, I just posted that the problem with Calibre is resolved and wasn't a Windows issue. Did you download the driver on NVidia's site? My knowlege is pretty minimum thus I've stuck to letting Lenovo decide what needs to be updated.

I downloaded the driver file from NVidia's site. Unlike my laptop where the two video chipsets are on the motherboard and work together using the same builtin display and external video ports, the desktop has a separate video card so no need to wait for Lenovo to supply the driver.

[lburg801]

@kovidgoyal, @theducks, @Sirtel, @Martinoptic, @JSWolf, @PeterT

I forgot I was running 3.48. When I upgraded I was once again the problem returned. I loaded ver 5.44 and everything works. Happy but very confused camper.

[Sirtel]

It's also possible to use the latest Calibre (7.17), but the viewer of an earlier Calibre version. Just install the portable version of that earlier Calibre and the regular version of the latest Calibre, associate your epubs with the viewer of the earlier portable (right-click on the file, Open with..., Choose another app ->More apps, navigate to the viewer in the portable folder and select it). Then uncheck epub in the Preferences -> Behavior of the current regular Calibre. Now whenever you open your epub in Calibre, it will open in the older viewer.

This way you can use the latest Calibre for conversion and library management, but the viewer of the earlier version for reading your ebooks.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's also possible to use the latest Calibre (7.17), but the viewer of an earlier Calibre version. Just install the portable version of that earlier Calibre and the regular version of the latest Calibre, associate your epubs with the viewer of the earlier portable (right-click on the file, Open with..., Choose another app ->More apps, navigate to the viewer in the portable folder and select it). Then uncheck epub in the Preferences -> Behavior of the current regular Calibre. Now whenever you open your epub in Calibre, it will open in the older viewer.

This way you can use the latest Calibre for conversion and library management, but the viewer of the earlier version for reading your ebooks.

I've saved this for future reference. Right now I am simply exhausted and think I will escape into my latest book ... or books. There is always more than one!

I love this community and calibre and how it enables me to manage my books, read and to be read, and the ease (again, at last) of reading them.

Thanks so much.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by lburg801

I've saved this for future reference. Right now I am simply exhausted and think I will escape into my latest book ... or books. There is always more than one!

I feel ya. It's always exhausting when something doesn't work as it should and you search, test and troubleshoot and still no dice. I've also had various issues with both Windows and my current computer (a Dell) over the years. Some were solved by an update a loooong time later... some have never been solved and I just had to manage in other ways.

Personally I never had any issues with Lenovo and Microsoft Surface devices. My latest daily driver is a Dell, however (chosen for several reasons, but mainly its screen ratio 16:10) and this beast has been extremely capricious in many ways. The screen is gorgeous, though, and I need the 16:10 ratio.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I feel ya. It's always exhausting when something doesn't work as it should and you search, test and troubleshoot and still no dice. I've also had various issues with both Windows and my current computer (a Dell) over the years. Some were solved by an update a loooong time later... some have never been solved and I just had to manage in other ways.

Personally I never had any issues with Lenovo and Microsoft Surface devices. My latest daily driver is a Dell, however (chosen for several reasons, but mainly its screen ratio 16:10) and this beast has been extremely capricious in many ways. The screen is gorgeous, though, and I need the 16:10 ratio.

I had to look up 16:10. For a specific need?

I have a large monitor on a swing arm mount (AirDesk) beside my recliner with my PC on a shelf nearby. When I uprooted years ago to move near my kids to help with grandkids I gave up my old Dell desktop and bought the Lenovo ThinkPad. Loved not having the noisy fan. When I found the AirDesk, I parked the ThinkPad on a shelf, tent style, essentially using it as a desktop! No only did was I able to use a larger monitor, I no longer had to deal with a hot lap! The ThinkCentre I'm using is also super quiet. At any rate, having a much larger monitor is great for these old eyes.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by lburg801

I had to look up 16:10. For a specific need?

It's the best of both worlds - for document and calibre work, and for watching an occasional movie or editing a video. I've had both 16:9 and 3:2 screens - the first is only suitable for movies and videos, not enough screen real estate for any other serious work; 3:2 on the other hand is not suitable for videos or movies. From now on I want 16:10. That's what Apple uses on their MacBooks, and I think it's an excellent decision. But I don't want a Mac; I'm a lifelong Windows user. Unfortunately there are very few Windows devices with that screen ratio.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's the best of both worlds - for document and calibre work, and for watching an occasional movie or editing a video. I've had both 16:9 and 3:2 screens - the first is only suitable for movies and videos, not enough screen real estate for any other serious work; 3:2 on the other hand is not suitable for videos or movies. From now on I want 16:10. That's what Apple uses on their MacBooks, and I think it's an excellent decision. But I don't want a Mac; I'm a lifelong Windows user. Unfortunately there are very few Windows devices with that screen ratio.

Good info. I had no idea of the differences and what was available. If my current monitor fails, I'll keep that in mind. Moving around when my grandchildren were young, my life had to be portable. That is when I bought my laptop and then found the AirDesk. No matter how tight my living quarters, I could create a "work station", even if, as now, it was from a chair. Occasionally, it was by a bed! Thus my purchase of monitors became separated from purchase of a PC. So when faced with the need to replace my ThinkPad (a true workhorse in terms of longevity), I opted for the refurbished ThinkCentre for $200! It was a challenge getting some of my old software that harkened back to Win5 days to work, but I found workarounds. And, as you have witnessed, I've faced other challenges of late with software and OS incompatibilities that terrific communities of knowledgeable people help to resolve or sometimes commiserate. Back in the day I worked with a number of SAS software products with massive manuals; also had a DOS manual which was quite small in comparison. Moreover, if one called tech support, the person on the other end of the phone was likely on the team that had developed either the hardware or the software or both!