My entire Calibre library and all the books have disappeared!

jookieapc · 09-22-2021, 06:29 PM

Hello all,

I've been browsing similar topics on this forum and I'm still stumped. I had a folder called Books on my main drive and yesterday, when I checked, the folder is entirely blank. It used to contain all of my electronic books in various formats and also the output of all Calibre conversions were saved there.

The folder was shared on the network, but I'm totally baffled about what could have happened.

I used windirstat to find out if the files were accidentally moved by me or another user - no joy.
I have searched all my drives for files with ebook extensions.
I checked Windows Defender log files
I tried to check the Event Viewer, but I'm pretty much clueless on how to search through it -there's so much data there.
Scanning the drive shows no errors.

Any other suggestions? Would Calibre delete book files under some circumstances?

I will have some files stored to my kindles but still this is a big concern to have so much important data suddenly go missing.

Thanks,
jookieapc

theducks · 09-22-2021, 06:42 PM

Well, that is bad news.

While not exactly what you did, this FAQ still applies as the remote might have done it.
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq...rked-drive-nas

Calibre (GUI) is not designed for multiple access. For sharing, run the content server, with the PC being the host (and control).

Just to Clairfy. YOUR PC drive was where Books was?
The folder is still there? Do you still have 'Rights" to the contents (might just be hidden)?

Sirtel · 09-22-2021, 06:56 PM

Calibre will delete files from a folder if you have set it to automatically add books from that folder. But in that case you should have the files in another location (the calibre library). Unless this other location is also on a network drive, in which case something may have gone wrong.

TL;DR Don't keep any folder associated with Calibre on a network or cloud drive.

jookieapc · 10-15-2021, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Well, that is bad news.
Just to Clairfy. YOUR PC drive was where Books was?
The folder is still there? Do you still have 'Rights" to the contents (might just be hidden)?

The location was on my PC drive, so it was E:\Books\ and the Calibre Library was in there too. EVERYTHING disappeared and I can't imagine at all how that happened.

Is there any other default location where Calibre could have picked up and taken my books? Eg. application data or similar?

kovidgoyal · 10-15-2021, 04:45 AM

calibre never completely deletes its library folder. Search your computer for metadata.db, a calibre library folder is identified by the presence of that file in the folder.

jookieapc · 11-15-2021, 09:14 AM

thank you kovid. I created a new folder, and called it books.new in my D drive. I recently upgraded to Windows 11, but haven't installed calibre yet. And you'll never guess what happened?

The new folder is completely empty again! What is this madness??

I checked for metadata.db and it's in my original books folder - D:\Books\Calibre Library\

theducks · 11-15-2021, 09:30 AM

Your Preferences folder tells Calibre what folder to use as the Current Library.
That is also (like Libraries) not deleted, even if you uninstall Calibre.

You have a rogue app running (amok):

Disable any Cloud/NAS auto sync (calibre Library and Configuration should NEVER be 2-way. Mirror really should only be done when Calibre is shut down)
It maybe trying to put things back . (time keeping differences might confuse. Common with Win vs Linux)

You have an Anti-?? that thinks your book formats are bad

You are running a 'cleaner' that detected that the only registered app is gone and is tossing 'useless trash'

gtriever · 11-15-2021, 10:17 AM

You have my sympathy; been there, done that years ago. Now I make it a point to keep two backup copies of my library and calibre user files on different drives (f: and k: in my case).

jpijper · 11-16-2021, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtriever

You have my sympathy; been there, done that years ago. Now I make it a point to keep two backup copies of my library and calibre user files on different drives (f: and k: in my case).

ALWAYS backup ...

09-22-2021, 06:29 PM	#1
jookieapc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: elkitab	My entire Calibre library and all the books have disappeared! Hello all, I've been browsing similar topics on this forum and I'm still stumped. I had a folder called Books on my main drive and yesterday, when I checked, the folder is entirely blank. It used to contain all of my electronic books in various formats and also the output of all Calibre conversions were saved there. The folder was shared on the network, but I'm totally baffled about what could have happened. I used windirstat to find out if the files were accidentally moved by me or another user - no joy. I have searched all my drives for files with ebook extensions. I checked Windows Defender log files I tried to check the Event Viewer, but I'm pretty much clueless on how to search through it -there's so much data there. Scanning the drive shows no errors. Any other suggestions? Would Calibre delete book files under some circumstances? I will have some files stored to my kindles but still this is a big concern to have so much important data suddenly go missing. Thanks, jookieapc

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09-22-2021, 06:42 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,952 Karma: 55705602 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Well, that is bad news. While not exactly what you did, this FAQ still applies as the remote might have done it. https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq...rked-drive-nas Calibre (GUI) is not designed for multiple access. For sharing, run the content server, with the PC being the host (and control). Just to Clairfy. YOUR PC drive was where Books was? The folder is still there? Do you still have 'Rights" to the contents (might just be hidden)?

09-22-2021, 06:56 PM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,404 Karma: 225537496 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Calibre will delete files from a folder if you have set it to automatically add books from that folder. But in that case you should have the files in another location (the calibre library). Unless this other location is also on a network drive, in which case something may have gone wrong. TL;DR Don't keep any folder associated with Calibre on a network or cloud drive.

10-15-2021, 04:45 AM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,000 Karma: 22669822 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre never completely deletes its library folder. Search your computer for metadata.db, a calibre library folder is identified by the presence of that file in the folder.

11-15-2021, 09:14 AM	#6
jookieapc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: elkitab	thank you kovid. I created a new folder, and called it books.new in my D drive. I recently upgraded to Windows 11, but haven't installed calibre yet. And you'll never guess what happened? The new folder is completely empty again! What is this madness?? I checked for metadata.db and it's in my original books folder - D:\Books\Calibre Library\

11-15-2021, 09:30 AM	#7
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,952 Karma: 55705602 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Your Preferences folder tells Calibre what folder to use as the Current Library. That is also (like Libraries) not deleted, even if you uninstall Calibre. You have a rogue app running (amok): Disable any Cloud/NAS auto sync (calibre Library and Configuration should NEVER be 2-way. Mirror really should only be done when Calibre is shut down) It maybe trying to put things back . (time keeping differences might confuse. Common with Win vs Linux) You have an Anti-?? that thinks your book formats are bad You are running a 'cleaner' that detected that the only registered app is gone and is tossing 'useless trash'

11-15-2021, 10:17 AM	#8
gtriever Addict Posts: 282 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	You have my sympathy; been there, done that years ago. Now I make it a point to keep two backup copies of my library and calibre user files on different drives (f: and k: in my case).

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