# Sure but it doesn't work



## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

Borrowed a Kindle book from my library which can't be wifi'd down but has to transfer via usb. Instructions say

Transfer Tip: After downloading, use your USB cable to connect your computer and Kindle. Your Kindle will appear as a drive on your computer. Copy your downloaded file from your computer to your Kindle's documents folder.

Well I did and when I try to open it there is 'no compatible program to open it' according to fire. Tried opening with Kindle still no joy. Then the screen flashes off and on and I reboot and try again. Same joy.  So anyone usb'd a kindle and got to actually open it? If so how?


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

Evidently Kindle told Amazon I couldn't open the file because this cheery message showed up in my email: BUT the book is azw format so I'm still confused. Maybe I'll call CS on Monday.

Dear Customer,

The following document, sent at 08:43 PM on Sat, Feb 18, 2012 GMT could not be delivered to the Kindle you specified:
* Ghost-Wars-The-Secret-History-of-the-CIA-Afghanistan-and-bin-Laden-from-the-Soviet-Invasion-to-September-10-2001.azw

The Kindle Personal Document Service can convert and deliver the following types of documents:
Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
Rich Text Format (.rtf)
HTML (.htm, .html)
Text (.txt) documents
Archived documents (zip , x-zip) and compressed archived documents
Mobi book

Images that are of type JPEGs (.jpg), GIFs (.gif), Bitmaps (.bmp), and PNG images (.png).
Adobe PDF (.pdf) documents are delivered without conversion to Kindle DX, Second Generation and Latest Generation Kindles.

Adobe PDF (.pdf) can be converted to Kindle format and delivered on an experimental basis.

If the document that failed belonged to one of the above document types, please ensure the document is not password protected or encrypted. Note that the Latest Generation Kindles support password protected PDFs.

Helpful tips for personal document attachments:

The file size of each attached personal document should be less than 50MB (before compression in a ZIP file)
The email submitted should not contain more than 25 attached personal documents

You can learn more about transferring personal documents to your Kindle in our help pages:
http://www.amazon.com/kindlepersonaldocuments/

If you would like immediate assistance, please contact customer support at +1-866-321-8851 (US customers) or +1-206-266-0927 (International Customers).

Sincerely,
Amazon Kindle Support

Please Note: This e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.

Learn more about Amazon Kindle
Check out the Kindle Store

If you have further questions about Kindle, please visit the Amazon Kindle Help pages
The Help pages will provide you with answers to common questions and provide you with a direct link to Amazon Kindle specialists.
To contact Amazon Kindle Customer Service, simply click a button in the Contact Us box on the Help pages to receive assistance by e-mail or phone.

Reading your personal documents on Kindle is now easier than ever. Learn more about "Send to Kindle" at www.amazon.com/sendtokindle


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Are you sure you didn't accidentally borrow an ePub by mistake? 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Looks like it was an .azw - but are you sure you designated it was for the Fire and not a different device or app?


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

Meemo said:


> Looks like it was an .azw - but are you sure you designated it was for the Fire and not a different device or app?


Well I downloaded two other azw books at the same time with no problem. I returned the book and then downloaded it to with overdrive as a epub book. First time had an issue, second attempt worked so maybe there is an issue with the basic file.


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## NobodysFool (Feb 14, 2012)

n4uau said:


> Well I did and when I try to open it there is 'no compatible program to open it' according to fire. Tried opening with Kindle still no joy. Then the screen flashes off and on and I reboot and try again. Same joy. So anyone usb'd a kindle and got to actually open it? If so how?


Interesting. Generally, .azw files are for the eInk Kindles, not the Kindle Fire, which takes .mbp files. Doesn't look like that's what generated from the USB download, though. Going to the Manage Your Kindle page (http://www.amazon.com/myk), selecting the book in your library and re-downloading it might solve your problem. If it doesn't, go to the Books section of your Fire, find the book in the list, and see if you can download it from there.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

NobodysFool said:


> Interesting. Generally, .azw files are for the eInk Kindles, not the Kindle Fire, which takes .mbp files.


I'm not sure what you base that on.  AZW is definitely a supported format for the Fire. In fact, I don't see MBP listed under 'content formats supported' on the product information page.


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

NobodysFool said:


> Going to the Manage Your Kindle page (http://www.amazon.com/myk), selecting the book in your library and re-downloading it might solve your problem.


Using File Manager I find the book in my documents on the 'sd card'. It is azw format but when trying to open it I am told "there is no 'handler' for this format available on our server". Telling it to open with Kindle gets the Fire malfunctioning with the screen flashing on and off and requires a shutdown to get back to normal operation.

OH AND when opening the epub version in Overdrive I find it is a Penguin book. Penguin had been anti ebooks to Kindles as I recall so maybe it is a result of that. 'Cave Penguinum' as the Romans said.


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## Vicki G. (Feb 18, 2010)

hmmm....  When I had to go the USB route to get a Penguin library book, I did this.

1.  'Sent' to my computer
2.  Plug in Kindle to computer
3.  Find the file on computer
4.  'Copy' file
5.  Open Kindle drive (K: or whatever name your computer recognizes the Kindle as)
6.  'Paste' file in Kiindle Documents folder
7.  Eject Kindle from computer
8.  Go to Kindle and open book


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Vicki G. said:


> hmmm.... When I had to go the USB route to get a Penguin library book, I did this.
> 
> 1. 'Sent' to my computer
> 2. Plug in Kindle to computer
> ...


It definitely needs to be in the 'documents' folder -- when the Kindle/Fire is plugged into a computer and viewed as a drive. Even on a Fire, for whatever reason, the Kindle app will only find it if it's there. And you can't force it to open even a compatible file in a different folder.


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

Vicki G. said:


> hmmm.... When I had to go the USB route to get a Penguin library book, I did this.
> 
> 1. 'Sent' to my computer
> 2. Plug in Kindle to computer
> ...


Yup been there and done that!! The Amazon directions say that and also :_ This will save your Kindle Edition to the default downloads location. To begin reading, first make sure your Kindle is connected to this computer via USB. Then, copy the downloaded file to the "documents" folder of your Kindle. It will appear on your Home screen._

This additional note from the Amazon site for this book:
_Due to publisher restrictions, some titles may not be wirelessly delivered to your device and instead require USB transfer from your computer to your device. These restricted titles also may not be accessed on Kindle reading applications._

the book does NOT show up on the doc page nor the home page nor the book page. It can be viewed, as I've noted, with File Manager but is not recognize as a Kindle book! Maybe it will work on my Kindle Touch and maybe Fire's Kindle is just a reading app.

*I'd be interested to see if anyone else can check this book out of their library and actually read it on a Fire. Meanwhile I'll pass the info to my e-librarian.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 [Kindle Edition]
Steve Coll (Author) *

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!!


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

THAT'S IT!! The book downloads fine to the Touch. So the reader on Fire is considered a Kindle reader app. Note when selection to USB download it wants to know which device it is to be read on. My iphone, ipod are greyed out. Guess my Fire should have been too.


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## taligator (Aug 31, 2011)

You are correct. Some publishers have forbidden the usage of wireless to transfer their content (meaning you must use USB transfer) and from non-Kindle devices reading their books. It's pretty obnoxious actually.  Random House Digital is one of them, I haven't found all of them yet.


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

Color me red!  I found the book. Books are sorted by Recently on my Fire and new books show up at the top of the list when wifi'd down. I just happened to scroll to the bottom of list of all my books and there it is.    So I guess it did download but then hid on me. On the Touch it behaved as it should have!


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

NobodysFool said:


> Interesting. Generally, .azw files are for the eInk Kindles, not the Kindle Fire, which takes .mbp files. Doesn't look like that's what generated from the USB download, though. Going to the Manage Your Kindle page (http://www.amazon.com/myk), selecting the book in your library and re-downloading it might solve your problem. If it doesn't, go to the Books section of your Fire, find the book in the list, and see if you can download it from there.


mpb files are the bookmarks in an azw book.


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