# Kindle Collections Folders suddenly missing!



## airy0010

I don't even know what happened but I think I was holding the off switch on my Kindle 3rd generation for too long and caused a reset. When my kindle restarted ALL of my 85 folders were missing! My 1300 books were all still on the kindle but just totally out of the folders I had created for them!  

I tried updating the software and restarting it again but nothing helped. I called CS but they told me that a system upgrade would help which it didn't. I have started to re-sort and create new collections but am still wondering if it's possible to get the folders back. Is this a sign that the kindle is breaking? It's only less than 2 years old. 

Someone mentioned doing a de-register and then a re-registering but does that effect books that weren't purchased through Amazon? I have a ton of books that I found free and I don't want to lose them!! 

Should I just settle for the long haul and re-sort these folders or should I try the registering method? I only want to try that if there is no risk of losing my UNPURCHASED items. HELP!!


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## Betsy the Quilter

First, you can connect your Kindle with the USB cable to your PC or Mac.  When the Kindle appears as a drive on your computer, open it and then drag the Documents folder to your desktop to copy it.  If you've got 1300 books, it should take a bit to copy them all.

If you've got a PC, when it's done, eject the Kindle using the "Safely Remove Hardware" on the Task Bar or right click on the drive in the list under My computer and select "Eject."  Not sure exactly how to dismount the Kindle from a Mac.

Once the Kindle is ejected, doubleclick on the folder on your desktop and make sure your books copied.  Once you've done this, you can try the register-deregister.  It shouldn't remove your books, but backing them up will make you feel more comfortable, and is a good thing to do periodically for non-Amazon books.

Do you have Kindle for PC installed?  You can import your collections to the Kindle for PC; then, if you ever lose your collections, you can import them back to the Kindle.

Hope this helps.

Betsy


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## airy0010

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to wait till tomorrow to try anything. I did just download the Kindle for PC program but when I hook my kindle up and go to "add collections" it actually lists my missing collection folders but everything is empty. All of my files that were NOT purchased are missing. :\ Hmmmm Not sure what this means but I'm a little hesitant now.


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## Linjeakel

Just a thought, but you have still got your Home Page sorted by Collections - you didn't inadvertently change it to one of the other options, did you? That could make it appear that your collections are gone, when in fact they're still there. As I said, just a thought!


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## Ann in Arlington

airy0010 said:


> Thanks for the tips! I'm going to wait till tomorrow to try anything. I did just download the Kindle for PC program but when I hook my kindle up and go to "add collections" it actually lists my missing collection folders but everything is empty. All of my files that were NOT purchased are missing. :\ Hmmmm Not sure what this means but I'm a little hesitant now.


My initial reaction here is, "this is normal". If you didn't purchase from Amazon, and you didn't send them to your kindle via Amazon, they haven't any idea you own them so you won't see them as available to download on any other kindle app or device.

Also, the PC and Mac apps are not designed to allow you to send things to them via the Amazon cloud. My guess is they figure you don't need to send them if they're ON the PC. So even if you did send them via the cloud, they might not show up on the PC or Mac kindle apps.

I'm a little confused by your explanation of what you did, though. There's no need to 'hook up' your kindle to get the Kindle for PC program to work.  It's like making your computer a whole 'nother kindle. Or are you, separately, trying the back up that Betsy suggested?

I'd suggest that you go to your kindle, make sure it's well charged, make sure wireless is on and then go to archived items/cloud. One of the first options should be to import collections. Likely you'll see your same ones from before and can just import them. Alternatively, Using the PC app, you can do that by clicking the "+" next to 'collections'. If you first import your kindle collections to the PC, they'll always be there and you can re-import them to the kindle anytime

Linda's suggestion is also good. . . I'd play around a bit with the sorting options -- it's possible, with the restart, that the sorting was set to _not_ collections by default.


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## luvmy4brats

This happens from time to time and is almost always fixed when you deregister and re-register your Kindle. It won't affect the books you have on there no matter where you got them from. And no it doesn't mean that your Kindle is breaking. It just means that the collection file is corrupted. When you deregister and re-register, it downloads that file to your Kindle again.


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## Betsy the Quilter

Thanks, Heather, you ARE the collections Queen!

Betsy


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## airy0010

THANK YOU!!! I got it! I just went out on a limb and made sure my documents folder was backed up and then did the deregister/register method. I wasn't sure if my collections would come back since I had already started making NEW collections but they came back!!! It's a miracle!! I am so relieved. Thanks!! I will use this method again if it happens in the future!

Thanks so much!


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## Betsy the Quilter

Also, just for general informaiton, on the Paperwhite and the Touch, if you have changed the "View" for your home page from "All Items" to "Books," and the sort isn't currently on "Collections," your collections will not be available.

I can't change the view on my K4 to "Books" only so this isn't an issue on the K4; don't know if this is an issue on the Kindle Keyboard.

Betsy


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