# Deleting all books from Kindle



## jheydt (Dec 16, 2008)

I just purchased a KT and presently have a K2.  I will be giving it away to either family or friends when I get my new K.  I will need to delete all the books on the K2 before giving it away.  What is the easiest and best way to do this?  I know I will have to deregister it which isn't a problem but I need to know how to delete all books without doing them individually.

John


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

You can reset to factory defaults.  Someone will tell you how to do that...

Betsy


----------



## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Reset to factory defaults: menu --> settings --> menu --> reset to factory defaults

Though it's never worked that way for me, some people reckon doing that also deregisters the Kindle - but I would check your account to make sure.


----------



## jheydt (Dec 16, 2008)

Thanx guys.  I have no problem going back to factory defaults.  However, I will deregister first and then do the factory defaults.

John


----------



## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

jheydt said:


> Thanx guys. I have no problem going back to factory defaults. However, I will deregister first and then do the factory defaults.
> 
> John


No, factory defaults first and then deregister, if it doesn't do it for you. Otherwise, I think you might lose one of your licenses on the books currently on your K.


----------



## Kubizo (Oct 2, 2011)

Guys, what about the good, old-fashioned solution? Connect to the USB, open the Documents folder and delete all files?

Ciao!


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Kubizo said:


> Guys, what about the good, old-fashioned solution? Connect to the USB, open the Documents folder and delete all files?


I don't think this will return the licenses to the account - although it may if the Kindle subsequently phones home.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Kubizo said:


> Guys, what about the good, old-fashioned solution? Connect to the USB, open the Documents folder and delete all files?
> 
> Ciao!


Not recommended because, as Elk suggests, it will not necessarily release the licenses. Now, if you're one person and won't ever have more than one Kindle, maybe that's not an issue. . . but even so, if you buy 5 Kindles and load 'em each up with the same books and never remove the books properly, you might get to your 6th or 7th Kindle and find the books won't load!

Best practice is to reset to factory defaults, then deregister.

But note: if you want to save the collections and such from your old Kindle, you should probably wait until you've loaded the new kindle and imported collections. . .once the old kindle is de-registered from your device the collection import won't be available.


----------



## jheydt (Dec 16, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Not recommended because, as Elk suggests, it will not necessarily release the licenses. Now, if you're one person and won't ever have more than one Kindle, maybe that's not an issue. . . but even so, if you buy 5 Kindles and load 'em each up with the same books and never remove the books properly, you might get to your 6th or 7th Kindle and find the books won't load!
> 
> Best practice is to reset to factory defaults, then deregister.
> 
> But note: if you want to save the collections and such from your old Kindle, you should probably wait until you've loaded the new kindle and imported collections. . .once the old kindle is de-registered from your device the collection import won't be available.


Ann - Would love to move my collections with books from my K2 to my KT. Would you do this thru your pc files? That would save me a lot of work. I just saw the information on another thread regarding this. Then my next question would be that I purchased the KT under my name but my K2 as well as my wifes K3 is under her name. I would think that I would have to reregister my new KT under my wifes account before I can do the transfer.

John


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

John--

Books from Amazon downloaded to a Kindle or any Kindle app are DRM-coded specifically for that device, so you cannot move them from device to device but must redownload them from your Amazon archive.  Books purchased from other sources, like Smashwords, that are DRM free may be moved between devices.

Betsy


----------



## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Just to add to what Betsy said...

If your are a sample collector, they are DRM free.  You can move those with a USB cable from one K to the other.  

Yes, in order to download from your existing library, the K will have to be registered to whichever account all the books are listed under.  So, you will need to deregister it from your account and register it under the wife's.  I would wait until you receive it to do this.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jheydt said:


> Ann - Would love to move my collections with books from my K2 to my KT. Would you do this thru your pc files?
> John


I'm not sure what you're asking.

Betsy and sebat are correct about how the books are coded to a specific Kindle, and that the Kindle has to be registered on a given account to download books from that account. AND, it can only be registered to one at a time.

If you get a new Kindle, you can import collections from another device on the same account. . . any books that were sorted on that old device will automatically sort the same way on the new device once you do so. I have no idea what effect switching registration between accounts would have.

FWIW, I don't do, and would not recommend, *any* file manipulation via the PC while the Kindle is treated as a USB drive. You could easily screw up the file structure and brick the device.


----------



## jheydt (Dec 16, 2008)

Insteresting conversation.  I guess in November I'll figure it out.  I definately have to reregister my Kt to my wifes account.  I don't look forward to downloading all my books individually (or in small groups) to my new KT.  Fortunately I don't have more than 75 books in my present K2.

John


----------

