Sony eBook Library data lost.

[JasonB]

I reinstalled Windows on my computer a little while ago - and just realized that I didn't backup my eBook Library data. I've reinstalled the software but, of course, all purchasing history is gone and it doesn't know about my reader any more.

All of the books I've previously bought have been saved to a directory on my hard drive - so the books aren't lost - but Sony doesn't know that I've bought them. Plus, if I'm right, this means that I can't re-download them and get them licensed for readers other that those I had registered before.

I'm just checking to see if this is all correct - or if there's anything I can do to "recover" from this in some fashion. Does Sony itself keep records - or is it only the client installation of the software that does?

[JasonB]

Hmm. I think I may be okay. Sort of. It looks like the File > Import function will work to "restore" individual .lrx files into the library. (Hopefully it will restore all data and let the software know that I've already bought the book.) However, it doesn't seem to process subdirectories. It could take me a bit of time to do this for the books I've bought so far. (Only about 30 since I bought a reader for both me and my wife at the beginning of the year.) Still, I'd hoped that I wouldn't need to process each one individually.

Maybe if I do a find on all .lrx files and then copy those all over to a single directory...

[gwynevans]

The details of your purchases are kept by the server, so if you logged into your Sony account via the Sony software, you should be able to see & re-download your purchases via your 'Account' pages.

[Jill75]

You have an account with Sony and I for sure they have a history of your purchases. You can also call the CS for your purchased books since you still have the files of the books you purchased.

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

if you logged into your Sony account via the Sony software, you should be able to see & re-download your purchases via your 'Account' pages.

From all of my testing this is not the case. Well, to be more accurate, it may be the case - however, in the eBook Library software the list of books in my library was empty.

It was only after I'd imported all of my saved .lrx files that my library information was re-populated. There was no communication between a backend process on the Sony server and the eBook Library software that automatically repopulated this information for me - nor is there any menu item for such a function.

I didn't, out of curiosity, try the test of buying a book that I hadn't re-imported to the software and that I'd already purchased - just to see if Sony would stop me or not. I wasn't curious enough to spend money on buying it a second time if its data wasn't kept at Sony's end, but only kept locally on the client software.

In the end this is a minor point because I always back up everything I purchase to a different location - and re-importing it all was a simple matter.

From everything I can tell, though, it's not like Kindle / Amazon where thing truly are kept at the server side of things. I'd be willing to bet a fair bit of money that if you go to somebody else's computer, load up the eBook Library software from there, and then login with your Sony account - you will still see their collection of books, not yours. Because it's tied to software specific information on the client machine, not to the Sony account being used.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JasonB

From all of my testing this is not the case. Well, to be more accurate, it may be the case - however, in the eBook Library software the list of books in my library was empty.

Apples & Oranges - your "Library" <> your Sony account page

Originally Posted by JasonB

nor is there any menu item for such a function.

No menu item, no, however...

Run the software & go to the "eBook Store" section. Click on the "My account" link near the top, then sign in. You should see the "Account Overview" page, with, about 2/3rd of the way down a link saying "View and/or Download Books I Own (>)" - follow that...

Originally Posted by JasonB

I'd be willing to bet a fair bit of money that if you go to somebody else's computer, load up the eBook Library software from there, and then login with your Sony account - you will still see their collection of books, not yours.

I'll take that bet - pity you've already read my previous paragrah though!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JasonB

From all of my testing this is not the case. Well, to be more accurate, it may be the case - however, in the eBook Library software the list of books in my library was empty.

You can just go to your purchases and re-download them.

Log into your sony account in the software.
click on MyAccount
In the MyBooks section click on the View and/or Download Books I Own
Click the "Check all items" box at the bottom of the list
click "Download all checked"
You may have repeat this for each page of books.

BOb

[doreenjoy]

To get the eReader software to recognize your reader, you need to authorize it again on the Sony Store. Connect your reader to the computer, then run the software and connect to the Store. It should prompt you to authorize the device.

I saw this question in your original post and haven't seen anyone address it. Hope this helps.

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

You should see the "Account Overview" page, with, about 2/3rd of the way down a link saying "View and/or Download Books I Own (>)" - follow that...

I'll have to take a look at that when I get home.

I'll take that bet - pity you've already read my previous paragrah though!

Actually, I'd still be right. <grin> Just logging in won't automatically refresh the list of books you see in the upper-left corner of the software interface. In fact, let's say I use somebody else's computer. This is what I'd expect:

1. I'd see their list of books, not mine.
2. I could then login under my own account and, if all 6 registered devices hadn't already been used up, register their computer under my account and go to download my books again. (Using the above, which I hadn't been aware of.)
3. Then, on their computer, the list of downloaded books would include both what they had downloaded before and what I just downloaded (again) myself.

(However, once I logged out of my account, the other person, under their account, would not be able to download those same books again themselves without paying for them. Nor, actually, could they transfer and use the books I just downloaded to their reader as the DRM would prevent it - unless I also registered their reader under my own Sony login.)

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You can just go to your purchases and re-download them.

This is good to know - especially if I lose my backup and/or I'm at some other computer.

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I saw this question in your original post and haven't seen anyone address it. Hope this helps.

Thanks. I'm not quite sure why I claimed that in my original post - looking back at it, it doesn't actually make sense...

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JasonB

2. I could then login under my own account and, if all 6 registered devices hadn't already been used up, register their computer under my account and go to download my books again. (Using the above, which I hadn't been aware of.)

No, I'm pretty sure you can't do this. They only allow a device to be registered to one account at a time. Otherwise people would do what you suggest and register several PC's to several accounts to share.

BOb

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

To get the eReader software to recognize your reader, you need to authorize it again on the Sony Store. Connect your reader to the computer, then run the software and connect to the Store. It should prompt you to authorize the device.

No, that is not necessary. The reader is registered to the "account" not to the "computer". As long as the reader wasn't de-authorized (and there is no reason to think is was) he will be good to go transferring from another PC.

BOb

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JasonB

In fact, let's say I use somebody else's computer. This is what I'd expect:

1. I'd see their list of books, not mine.
2. I could then login under my own account and, if all 6 registered devices hadn't already been used up, register their computer under my account and go to download my books again. (Using the above, which I hadn't been aware of.)
3. Then, on their computer, the list of downloaded books would include both what they had downloaded before and what I just downloaded (again) myself.

(However, once I logged out of my account, the other person, under their account, would not be able to download those same books again themselves without paying for them. Nor, actually, could they transfer and use the books I just downloaded to their reader as the DRM would prevent it - unless I also registered their reader under my own Sony login.)

That's how I understand it - although there's issues in that (AIUI,) you can only register a computer/reader to one account at a time, so there's possibly an extra step or so in there.

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

No, I'm pretty sure you can't do this. They only allow a device to be registered to one account at a time. Otherwise people would do what you suggest and register several PC's to several accounts to share.

Interesting. So it would have to be a bit of a shuffle. Unregister their computer / reader from their account, register it under mine, download the book (so that it can actually be read by them), then reverse the process. Doable but a bit more complicated than I would like.

FWIW: I did go home and re-download my purchases from my account just to see that function work. I discovered something annoying. All of the purchase dates got reset to the day that I re-downloaded. Additionally, I had duplicates of every book title.

So:

1. Import from back up. Purchase dates are preserved, but the books don't appear under "Purchased" in the software. (These dates are shown under "Library".)

2. Re-download. The books appear under "Purchased", but the original purchase dates are lost.

If you do both, you'll get duplicate entries.

I think I actually prefer the first option, as I like to know when I bought the books. (Although I left things, for now, with just the re-downloaded list without proper purchase history.) So long as the Sony site itself prevents me from re-purchasing if I'm stupid enough to do that (and I now believe that to be the case) I can live with the books only appearing under "Library" and not under "Purchased".

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JasonB

I can live with the books only appearing under "Library" and not under "Purchased".

"Purchased" is just a default collection[*], so all you need to do is, when viewing the "Library", select the books you want there and drag & drop them to the "Purchased" name.

/Gwyn
[*] You can create others via the '+' button at the bottom left

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

"Purchased" is just a default collection[*], so all you need to do is, when viewing the "Library", select the books you want there and drag & drop them to the "Purchased" name.

Really? Cool, thanks for that.

That's one more point in favour of just importing my backed up files then - as it will do exactly what I want. (Now, for the rest of the day, I'll be thinking about getting home from work to do this...)