[mwb]

As I eagerly await the arrival of the K2 I've ordered, I've started thinking thinking about how I'll shift everything over from my K1, especially given between the Kindle memory and SD card I have 33 pages of books to move over.

I worry that just copying over via my computer everything in fell swoop will send my new K2 when it arrives into indexing overdrive. I remember some reports from others that dumping a tons of books into their K1's caused a lot of system slow ups and battery draining while they were trying to catch up with the indexing.

Anyone else with large sets of books dealt with such shifting between Kindles have any tips?

Since I've never transferred between Kindles I wanted to check my understanding of things was right. I gather you can have multiple Kindles authorized - which means they can all read any of your Amazon purchases. So since my K2 is already registered, when it arrives I can copy the files over from my K1 and they'll read fine. Then I can remove them from my K1, deauthorize it and then give it to a friend and it is no longer linked to my account at all (my friend will have to authorize it on their own amazon account.)

----------------

Listening to: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Mozart: Violin Sonata In G, K 301 - 2. Allegro
via FoxyTunes

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

All of that is correct.

I think if you move the books over in the evening, and keep your K2 plugged in, it can index all night.  Or, you could divide them into four or five groups and drag one group each day.  I moved a bunch of books (20 pages) on to an SD card, it took a while to index but it wasn't bad.  I just made sure I had Eleanor the Kindle plugged in.

Betsy

 

[nelamvr6]

I don't have nearly as many books as you guys, so I plan on just dumping everything from my computer onto the K2 in one shot.  If it takes a while to index that'll be OK, it will be charging so long as it's plugged into the USB port of my computer anyways...

 

[Leslie]

I think the easiest and fastest way to transfer a lot of stuff would be to use the USB cable. That way you could also transfer all your samples and stuff to the new Kindle in one fell swoop.

Or maybe that is what you are saying?

L

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

I think so; mwb's concern is that it'll take a looooonnnnng time to index.


Betsy

 

[DawnOfChaos]

For the stuff you purchased from Amazon, won't you have to re-download it from Amazon?  All those were purchased with a specific Kindle PID (which is associated with your first Kindle's serial number).  If you moved the files over to your computer, then copied them to the new Kindle via USB they theoretically won't be able to read it since it has a new PID (serial number).  For those with multiple kindles, Amazon has all your serial numbers so they set the purchases to be able to read off any of those PIDs.  If you could do that, there would be nothing to stop you from copying every book you own to a CD and distribute them to your friends with Kindles.

For all the books I have that weren't purchased through Amazon it is easy to move them over with a USB, because they're DRM free and will read on anything.

Or has anyone heard anything different?  

 

[thejackylking #884]

you'll be fine with the non DRM books. It does take some time to index a large number of books and it will drain the

Spoiler

crap

out of the battery. I have over 900 books on my SD card and it took almost a week for it to fully index and the battery never kept a charge for more than 5 or 6 hours. Every since it was done indexing I've had no problem with battery life.

 

[nelamvr6]

For the stuff you purchased from Amazon, won't you have to re-download it from Amazon? All those were purchased with a specific Kindle PID (which is associated with your first Kindle's serial number). If you moved the files over to your computer, then copied them to the new Kindle via USB they theoretically won't be able to read it since it has a new PID (serial number). For those with multiple kindles, Amazon has all your serial numbers so they set the purchases to be able to read off any of those PIDs. If you could do that, there would be nothing to stop you from copying every book you own to a CD and distribute them to your friends with Kindles.

For all the books I have that weren't purchased through Amazon it is easy to move them over with a USB, because they're DRM free and will read on anything.

Or has anyone heard anything different?

Your books are actually associated with your ACCOUNT, which is associated with your Kindle. Once you de-register your K1 and register your K2 you can move the books to your K2. You can also send them to your K2 wirelessly.

 

[DawnOfChaos]

Your books are actually associated with your ACCOUNT, which is associated with your Kindle. Once you de-register your K1 and register your K2 you can move the books to your K2. You can also send them to your K2 wirelessly.

Yes, but you have to do that through Amazon, don't you? They're talking about moving them from Kindle 1 to the computer then directly to Kindle 2. I would think you'd have to re-download them direct from Amazon to your newly registered Kindle.

 

[mwb]

I think so; mwb's concern is that it'll take a looooonnnnng time to index.

Yup, that was my concern.

Copying between is not a problem (well versed with my friend the USB cable and PC and intermediary.)

Perhaps rendering my new Kindle next to useless for a long time due to indexing is.

 

[mwb]

Yes, but you have to do that through Amazon, don't you? They're talking about moving them from Kindle 1 to the computer then directly to Kindle 2. I would think you'd have to re-download them direct from Amazon to your newly registered Kindle.

I'm fairly certain that's not true. It sounds like the same system iTunes uses. It's based around the account and what devices are "authorized" or not.

I have transferred music purchased via iTunes with DRM between old and new computers by copying the files between the systems and "authorizing" the new, then "deauthorizing" the old with no problem. No re-download required.

The Kindle model appears to be exactly the same.

 

[durphy]

It's more work, but can you transfer a few at a time?

 

[SusanCassidy]

The way the DRM works on Kindle, you DO have to re-download from Amazon.  The DRM is set up per device, so you cannot copy from one Kindle to another, even on the same account.

 

[nelamvr6]

Yes, but you have to do that through Amazon, don't you? They're talking about moving them from Kindle 1 to the computer then directly to Kindle 2. I would think you'd have to re-download them direct from Amazon to your newly registered Kindle.

You do have to register and de-register through Amazon, but that's all that you have to interface with Amazon for.

Once you have de-registered your K1 and registered your K2 you can move your files via usb.

 

[nelamvr6]

The way the DRM works on Kindle, you DO have to re-download from Amazon. The DRM is set up per device, so you cannot copy from one Kindle to another, even on the same account.

That's incorrect.

From Amazon's FAQ:

I have a Kindle-will all my books and subscriptions be available on Kindle 2?

Yes, if Kindle 2 is registered to an Amazon.com account that has an existing Kindle library, you can access books and transfer subscriptions purchased from the Kindle Store to your new Kindle 2. You can also transfer your personal documents to Kindle 2 using the USB connection.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

I think the distinction is DRM content vs personal content.  DRM content is somehow tied to each individual device.  So you can't move from one device to another without going through Amazon -- they kind of have to o.k. the move:  verify the new device is registered to the same account, etc.

Other content you can move from one to the other freely via whatever works for you.

That's how I understand it anyway. . . .

Ann

 

[Shizu]

The way the DRM works on Kindle, you DO have to re-download from Amazon. The DRM is set up per device, so you cannot copy from one Kindle to another, even on the same account.

My understanding of Amazon ebooks is same as Susan. I think you have to re-download from Amazon.

Amazon says "You can also transfer your personal documents to Kindle 2 using the USB connection." But I don't think Amazon's ebooks are consider personal documents.

 

[nelamvr6]

OK, I'm afraid you guys have been misinformed.

Consider this, you can have two kindles on one account, and using the new "Sync" feature in the new firmware start reading a book on one Kindle and finish it on the other.  Even material with DRM.

We can wait and see once the K2s get here, but just remember I told you so! 

 

[mwb]

I think the distinction is DRM content vs personal content. DRM content is somehow tied to each individual device. So you can't move from one device to another without going through Amazon -- they kind of have to o.k. the move: verify the new device is registered to the same account, etc.

Other content you can move from one to the other freely via whatever works for you.

That's how I understand it anyway. . . .

I can see that but here's why I don't think that is what they mean. Right now when you (while have two kindles registered) I have three options in my Kindle Content library: Download to K1, Download to K2, Download to computer.

Now if the files were tied to the serial number of the kindle rather than your account then it would be download to computer for use of K1 and Download to computer for use of K2.

Download to computer ONLY works if the DRM is tied to your amazon account and you authorize your kindle for that account.

If it is the other way, then the longer you have a kindle and more amazon content you have the greater the difficulty in transferring content when you have to replace broken kindles or upgrade them. Amazon would be severely hurting itself in the long run to their biggest customers.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

Consider this, you can have two kindles on one account, and using the new "Sync" feature in the new firmware start reading a book on one Kindle and finish it on the other. Even material with DRM.

Yes, but I thought that WhisperSync works because both Kindles are registered to the same account. And the syncing of the DRM books is happening through Amazon. Or have I lost track of what the discussion is about?

Ann