# eInk "blotch" on the screen - causes? And best way to re-acquire books



## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi, everyone   I have a two-part question.

1) I'm sending my Kindle back.  It's got a blotch of eInk on the screen that will NOT go away, even with the device fully powered down.  Tried restarting the machine (power bar slid to right for 15 seconds), refreshing the screen, you name it.  Blotch is still there.  ARRRGH.  Any idea what caused this so I can avoid it in the future?

2) Apparently I'm going to have to re-download all my books and re-do my Calibre library.  To say that this sucks is an understatement.  Anyway, is there a way to re-download my books en masse, or am I going to have to just suck it up and download each item from the "Manage My Account" page, one-by-one?

Thanks!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Probably a broken screen, though hard to say without actually seeing it.

As far as I know, you'll have to re-download individually, though you can sync the new Kindle's archive with your first Kindle's, then grab them from the archive screens if you want. Personally, I found it easier to do from the web page (going from my K2 to K3).


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks, Nog. I'm thinking I'm just going to have to suck-it-up and re-download. Do you know if it's ALL books acquired through Amazon, or just paid ones? ie. the books I got through the public domain section - those, too?

Oh - and here are pics. Not the best, but it shows what I'm talking about. The blotch is to the right by about an inch of Ms. Stowe's nose (I'm a poet that didn't know it! ) The darkness on the screen-saver pic is accurate - the rest I didn't have as good of an angle so the glare makes it look lighter than it is. Lemme know if you'd like a close-up.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Can we assume you made sure it was not dirt on the surface? 

I'm not sure if free books can be copied directly from one device to another or not. Assuming they are non-DRM'd, I would guess so, but don't know so.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

NogDog said:


> Can we assume you made sure it was not dirt on the surface?


Pretty sure, yeah LOL I'd sure be thankful if it was 



NogDog said:


> I'm not sure if free books can be copied directly from one device to another or not. Assuming they are non-DRM'd, I would guess so, but don't know so.


Yeah. My new Kindle is supposed to be here tomorrow (Go, Amazon!) I think what I'll do is remove all my Amazon books from my Main Library, and then wait on my Classics Library. I'll "test" one of those and see if it makes me redownload first. Happy to report back one way or the other.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

You could also test tonight by copying from your Kindle to your PC if you have Kindle for PC installed.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Good plan 

Honestly, I don't think it will work. I tried to "convert" Peter and Wendy and it wouldn't let me - said it was DRMd. I'm thinking that means no on drag/dropping, too. Interestingly, one of the indie books I tried had no DRM on it so could convert. There's probably a decent chance it would let me just move it. To tell you the truth, though, I think it will take longer to cherry-pick items from my Amazon account for download than to just get in a zone and grab everything.


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## Bonbonlover (Oct 17, 2010)

I am new to Kindle life...and just figuring out how to download books and I guess I should "organize" my library I am gathering that a kindle library is very different from and iTunes library? With iTunes, when you get a new device, you simply sync the new device to your library and you are good to go... is the Kindle library nothing like that?


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Non-DRM'd files can be read on any Kindle. I have three libraries set up in Calibre. One for my K1 books, one for my K3 books and one, called Universal, where I keep all of my non-DRM'd books, so I can load them to either my K1 or K3.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Bonbonlover said:


> I am new to Kindle life...and just figuring out how to download books and I guess I should "organize" my library I am gathering that a kindle library is very different from and iTunes library? With iTunes, when you get a new device, you simply sync the new device to your library and you are good to go... is the Kindle library nothing like that?


I can't say if it's 'nothing like that' as I don't have any iThings. . . . .

In general, anything you purchase from Amazon is stored there. You can see and search all your Kindle content via Manage Your Kindle.

You can see everything you've ever bought from Amazon via 'Your Collection'. You can also search there and rate and make notes about them for yourself. For books you can note the day you read it; it already shows when you bought it.

Finally there's kindle.amazon.com which has all your Kindle content. . . .depending on how often you sync it'll have what you've read, what you are reading, etc. You can browse there as well. The additional thing via that page is that you can see your notes and marks and also see "popular highlights" that others may have done.

On the Kindle itself, you can sort your content into collections. You make 'em up yourself and, though they're stored at Amazon after you sync up, you can't manipulate them there. On the kindle you can place any book into any collection. But, since they're at Amazon, if you get a second device, you can import the collection titles you already have after you've loaded books and everything will sort automatically.

Many folks here use a free program called Calibre which allows more organization of your library. . .but that organization generally doesn't carry over to the Kindle. There are a lot of folks here who use it who can, I'm sure, say a bit more about what you can do with it.


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