Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[lkmiller]

@Wonder-Woman

I am on a Win 11 Pro desktop PC and I have imported the library using the option "Add books from folders and sub-folders" and then said "Yes" to the "Multi-file books" message that asks, "Assume all e-book files in a single folder are multiple formats of the same book?" and that lead me to getting all the books imported in the condition in the below pic, but Calibre is not reading them.

You should say no to that question. But don't do more than one book to start. Once that works, you might try a small batch and see if they work. Best practice is to keep up with DeDRMing as soon as possible after purchase so you never have to do too many at once and so you have the best chance of getting your books free before things change again.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

@JacquesQ
It was not a waste of time. When I upgrade to Win11, I may have the same problem and, lo, here is it is already solved.

The solution so you don't have a problem is to copy the settings directory and copy that to the new computer so you have all of the same settings. Going into a new calibre to configure it like you had is going to be a real annoyance and you'd have to figure out just what it is you previously set for calibre and all the apps. It's not worth the hassle.

[Jacques Q.]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The solution so you don't have a problem is to copy the settings directory and copy that to the new computer so you have all of the same settings.

thanks, I will gladly do that next time, but... how do i do it? (I think it is probably easy, except I can't find anything in the task bar giving that possibility.)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Jacques Q.

thanks, I will gladly do that next time, but... how do i do it? (I think it is probably easy, except I can't find anything in the task bar giving that possibility.)

Preferences => Miscellaneous => Open calibre configuration directory

Save the entire contents of that directory to flash drive or whatever, install calibre on the new computer, open the configuration directory, close calibre, copy the saved contents from the old configuration directory into the new installation's configuration directory.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Jacques Q.

thanks, I will gladly do that next time, but... how do i do it? (I think it is probably easy, except I can't find anything in the task bar giving that possibility.)

Why wait until next time? Why not get your settings now?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why wait until next time? Why not get your settings now?

Perhaps they are not planning on replacing their computer in the near future and so feel the next time such a replacement is contemplated would be a good time to save the settings?

[theducks]

Free File Sync allow me to back up multiple paths in a single job.

That backs up my books, The Calibre Configuration (Settings) folder: Which includes all installed PLUGINS and their settings.

That eliminates a LOT of work when it comes to recovery or simply moving to another device.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by theducks

That eliminates a LOT of work when it comes to recovery or simply moving to another device.

Indeed. I have gone one step further and am running Portable. Everything in a single directory and my backups are self-contained Calibre instances.

[odamizu]

It appears Amazon has killed Kindle for Mac 1.40.1. There are reports on MobileRead and GitHub that books will no longer download; instead, users are told to update to the latest Kindle for Mac in the App Store (7.x). I have confirmed this to be true on my Sonoma Mac; @booksies experienced it on Sequoia.

Question to jhowell: If someone is able to figure out the key to K4Mac 7.x (a BIG IF), will the KFX Input plugin be able to handle files from K4Mac 7.x as they are different from older K4Mac. I believe the main book file is xxxxx.azw8

• EndActions.data.B0xxxxxxxx.asc
• XRAY.entities.B0xxxxxxxx.asc
• xxxxx.azw9.res
• xxxxxxxx.azw9.res
• amzn1.drm-voucher.v1.xxx.voucher
• xxxxx.azw8
• xxx.azw9.md
• BookManifest.kfx-shm
• BookManifest.kfx-wal
• BookManifest.kfx
• StartActions.data.B0xxxxxxxx.asc

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Question to jhowell: If someone is able to figure out the key to K4Mac 7.x (a big if), will the KFX Input plugin be able to handle files from K4Mac 7.x as they are different from older K4Mac. I believe the main book file is xxxxxxxx.azw8.

I have tried to take into account the KFX file layout used by the new Kindle for Mac and iOS apps. If I missed something it should be an easy fix to make gathering the proper files work.

Unfortunately without DRM removal no book in KFX format, other than a personal document, can be imported into calibre. There are two potential issues with new Kindle for Mac DRM.

The first is obtaining the key associated with the app installation. The old app used a .kinf file much like Kindle for PC. It has yet to be discovered how the new app stores its key. Possibly in the keychain.

The second issue is the new DRM algorithms implemented since the last DeDRM release. Amazon has been hard at work adding new DRM algorithms lately. The latest Kindle for PC is unusable because of that.

[yoshi]

I tested v2.4.0 using "Sandboxie", and the forced update process began.

It's quite evident that the sole purpose of sticking with v2.4.0 or earlier is to retain deDRM functionality. I'm using "disable_k4pc_download.bat", which allows me to continue using v2.4.0. However, I'm concerned that Amazon might suddenly ban our user accounts due to a potential violation of the "Kindle Store Terms of Use".

> "You may not attempt to bypass, modify, defeat, or otherwise circumvent any digital rights management system or other content protection or features used as part of the Service."

The situation has been changed by the forced update, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this.

[DNSB]

So far Amazon has done forced updates multiple times and so far, it does not appear that anyone has had their account banned for using an older version. If Amazon gets serious about this, you will be getting a popup that you will need to update to a newer version to download books. Remember when you needed to update to download books newer than 2023-Jan-03?

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I have tried to take into account the KFX file layout used by the new Kindle for Mac and iOS apps. If I missed something it should be an easy fix to make gathering the proper files work.

Unfortunately without DRM removal no book in KFX format, other than a personal document, can be imported into calibre. There are two potential issues with new Kindle for Mac DRM.

The first is obtaining the key associated with the app installation. The old app used a .kinf file much like Kindle for PC. It has yet to be discovered how the new app stores its key. Possibly in the keychain.

The second issue is the new DRM algorithms implemented since the last DeDRM release. Amazon has been hard at work adding new DRM algorithms lately. The latest Kindle for PC is unusable because of that.

Thanks jhowell! I know the DRM piece is a huge hurdle, and I'm not holding my breath. But I'm heartened to hear that if a clever someone manages to figure it out, your KFX-Input plugin should be able to handle its part

[Leighlee]

I found out that some of the books downloaded from K4Mac 7.x can be converted while others can't. After dragging and dropping quite a few (about 30) books, I noticed that some are KFX, while others are the dreaded KFX-ZIP.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason which format a book is going to be, as some books I bought today are KFX and convert fine, and others that I bought months/years ago are KFX-ZIP and don't convert at all.

[yoshi]

Originally Posted by DNSB

So far Amazon has done forced updates multiple times and so far, it does not appear that anyone has had their account banned for using an older version. If Amazon gets serious about this, you will be getting a popup that you will need to update to a newer version to download books. Remember when you needed to update to download books newer than 2023-Jan-03?

I'm familiar with the forced updates. I've been using Kindle for PC since 2016.

In the past, even after K4PC updates, I was able to deDRM with the new versions. However, this time, I couldn't deDRM with the latest version. I can't use the newest version perhaps for ever. That's why I wrote "The situation has changed."

It's disheartening that we've become a minority. Amazon will be indifferent to the potential loss of profit, even if they decide to ban our accounts. It would be better if Amazon disabled 2.4.0 rather than banning users. (In that case, I might consider switching to taking screenshots instead.)

Regarding January 3, 2023, I didn't need to take any specific action because I could deDRM all books, including new ones, in Japan. Was that functionality limited to Japan only?