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# Getting the Tools
## Where can I get the latest version of these free DRM removal tools?
Right here at github. Just go to the [releases page](https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases) and download the latest zip archive of the tools, named DeDRM_tools_X.X.X.zip, where X.X.X is the version number. You do not need to download the Source Code archive.
# Installing the Tools
## The calibre plugin
### I am trying to install the calibre plugin, but calibre keeps on saying that the plugin is invalid.
You might be trying to add the tools archive (e.g. DeDRM_tools_6.3.4a.zip) instead of the plugin. The tools archive is not a calibre plugin. It is a collection of various DRM removal tools which includes the calibre plugin. You must unzip the archive, and install the calibre plugin (DeDRM_plugin.zip) from a folder called “DeDRM_calibre_plugin” in the unzipped archive.
### I’ve fully unzipped the tools archive, but I can’t find the calibre plugin when I try to add them to calibre. I use Windows.
You should select the zip file that is in the “DeDRM_calibre_plugin” folder, not any files inside the plugin’s zip archive. Make sure you are selecting from the tools folder that you created when you right unzipped the tools archive and not selecting a file inside the still-zipped tools archive.
(The problem is that Windows will allow apps to browse inside zip archives without needing to unzip them first. If there are zip archives inside the main zip archives, Windows will show them as unzipped as well. So what happens is people will unzip the DeDRM_tools_X.X.X.zip to a folder, but when using calibre they will actually navigate to the still zipped file by mistake and cannot tell they have done so because they do not have file extensions showing. So to the unwary Windows user, it appears that the zip archive was unzipped and that everything inside it was unzipped as well so there is no way to install the plugins.
This is why we strongly recommend renaming the DeDRM_tools_X.X.X.zip archive (after extracting its contents) to DeDRM_tools_zip_X.X.X.zip. If people do that, they are less likely to navigate to the wrong location from inside calibre.)
### I have installed the calibre plugins, but now I get an error “Plugin not configured! Decryption unsuccessful. This may be the first time you’ve used this plugin (or the first time since upgrading this plugin). You’ll need to open the customization dialog (Preferences->Plugins->File type plugins).”
You have an old version of the plugin for Barnes & Noble ePubs installed. Make sure you remove all of the old versions of the plugins after installing the new all-in-one DeDRM plugin.
### How do I remove the old plugins?
* Open calibre
* Select the menu “Preferences/Change calibre behavior”
* Select “Plugins” (on the bottom row, green jigsaw-puzzle button)
* Check the check box “Show only user installed plugins”
* Click on the “>” arrow in the line: “> File type plugins”
* For each old plugin in turn
+ Click on the plugin to select it
+ Click on the remove plugin button
+ Click on OK button in the confirmation dialog
+ If there are more to delete, click on the “>” arrow in the line: “> File type plugins” to re-open the list.
* Click “Apply” (top left of dialog)
* Click “Close” (bottom right of dialog)
# Using the Tools
## I can’t get the tools to work on my rented or library ebooks.
Support for removing DRM from rented or library ebooks is not provided.
## I've unzipped the tools, but what are all the different files, and how do I use them?
Read the ReadMe files included in the tools folder. That's what they're for.
## I have installed the calibre plugin, but my books still have DRM. When I try to view or convert my books, calibre says they have DRM.
The DRM only gets removed when the ebook is imported into calibre. If the book is already in calibre, by default calibre will discard the newly imported file. You can change this in calibre's Adding books preferences page (Automerge..../Overwrite....), so that newly imported files overwrite existing ebook formats. Then just re-import your books and the DRM-free versions will overwrite the DRMed versions while retaining your book's metadata.
## I have installed the calibre plugin or I am trying to use one of the other tools, but I don’t know where my ebooks are stored.
Your ebooks are stored on your computer or on your ebook reader. You need to find them to be able to remove the DRM. If they are on your reader, you should be able to locate them easily. On your computer it’s not so obvious. Here are the default locations.
### Macintosh
Navigating from your home folder,
Kindle for Mac ebooks are in either Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content or Documents/My Kindle Content or Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content, depending on your version of Kindle for Mac.
Adobe Digital Editions ebooks are in Documents/Digital Editions
### Windows
Navigating from your My Documents folder
Kindle for PC ebooks are in My Kindle Content
Adobe Digital Editions ebooks are in My Digital Editions
## I have installed the calibre plugin, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed.
You must use the exact file that is used by your ebook reading software or hardware. See the previous question on where to find your ebook files. Do not use an old copy you have that you can no longer read.
If you cannot read the ebook on your current device or installed software, the tools will certainly not be able to remove the DRM. Download a fresh copy that does work with your current device or installed software.
## I have installed the calibre plugins and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed. It is a Barnes & Noble (nook) ebook.
Barnes and Noble changed the way they generate the decryption key for their DRMed ebooks starting in late 2014, with all accounts apparently being switched over to the new scheme by the end of March 2015.
There are currently two ways to get a decryption key for your Barnes & Noble (nook) ebooks:
1. Install Nook Study (Windows download, Macintosh download), and download your ebooks through that. The DeDRM tools v6.2.0 or later will pick up the decryption key from the Nook Study log files automatically.
1. Enter your Barnes & Noble account email address and password into the configuration dialog. The DeDRM tools v6.2.2 or later will use this information to retrieve the decryption key from the B&N servers. The email address and password will not be stored.
## I have installed the calibre plugin, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed. It is a Kindle book.
If you are on Windows 8 and using the Windows 8 AppStore Kindle app, you must download and install the Kindle for PC application directly from the Amazon website. The tools do not work with the Windows 8 AppStore Kindle app.
If this book is from an eInk Kindle, you must enter the serial number into the configuration dialog. The serial number is sixteen characters long, and is case-sensitive.
If this book is from Kindle for Mac or Kindle for PC, you must have the Kindle Software installed on the same computer as your copy of calibre.
If the book is from Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and you think you are doing everything right, and you are getting this message, it is possible that the files containing the encryption key aren’t quite in the format the tools expect. To try to fix this:
1. Deregister Kindle for PC(Mac) from your Amazon account.
1. Uninstall Kindle for PC(Mac)
1. Delete the Kindle for PC(Mac) preferences
* PC: Delete the directory [home folder]\AppData\Local\Amazon (it might be hidden) and [home folder]\My Documents\My Kindle Content
* Mac: Delete the directory [home folder]/Library/Application Support/Kindle/and/or [home folder]/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/ (one or both may be present and should be deleted)
1. Reinstall Kindle for PC(Mac)
1. Re-register Kindle for PC(Mac) with your Amazon account
1. Download the ebook again. Do not use the files you have downloaded previously.
## I use the Macintosh application, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed. It is a Kindle book it used to work before I reinstalled Kindle for Mac.
You need to delete the Kindle for Mac key that the Macintosh app has stored, so that it will generate the new key from your new installation of Kindle for Mac. You can do this in the application settings, or just delete the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apprenticealf.dedrm/Local Kindle Key.k4i (where ~ is your home folder).
## Some of my books had their DRM removed, but some still say that they have DRM and will not convert.
There are several possible reasons why only some books get their DRM removed.
* You still don’t have the DRM removal tools working correctly, but some of your books didn’t have DRM in the first place.
* You added your books to calibre in large batches. For some unknown reason, sometimes calibre stops using the plugin after a while on a single import. Delete the books that still have DRM and import them into calibre in batches of twenty.
* Kindle only: It is a Topaz format book and contains some coding that the tools do not understand. You will need to get a log of the deDRM attempt, and then send the book and the PID (shown in the log) for the book to Apprentice Alf, so that the tools can be updated.
If you are still having problems with particular books, you will need to create a log of the DRM removal attempt for one of the problem books, and post that in a comment at Apprentice Alf's blog.
## My Kindle book has imported and the DRM has been removed, but all the pictures are gone.
Most likely, this is a book downloaded from Amazon directly to an eInk Kindle (e.g. Paperwhite). Unfortunately, the pictures are probably in a .azw6 file that the tools don't understand. You must download the book manually from Amazon's web site "For transfer via USB" to your Kindle. When you download the eboook in this manner, Amazon will package the pictures in the with text in a single file that the tools will be able to import successfully.
## The tools can't see an ebook that was downloaded directly to my eInk kindle, although it's definitely there, and I can read it on the Kindle. I can't even try to import it.
Mostly likely, this is a book downloaded from Amazon directly to one of the newer eInk Kindles (e.g. Paperwhite). Unfortunately, it is probably in a new multi-file KFX format that the tools don't understand. You must download the book manually from Amazon's web site "For transfer via USB" to your Kindle. When you download the ebook in this manner, Amazon will send a single KF8-format file that the tools will be able to import successfully.
## Do the tools work on books from Kobo?
If you use the Kobo desktop application for Mac or PC, install the obok plugin. This will import and remove the DRM from your Kobo books, and is the easiest method for Kobo ebooks.
Alternatively, for most boooks Kobo allows you to use Adobe Digital Editions. Once you have installed ADE, you must authorise it with an Adobe ID. (Failing to do that will link your DRMed ebooks to this particular installation of ADE, instead of to an ID that can be used with any new installation.) Do this before you try getting any DRMed ebooks loaded into Adobe Digital Editions. (Help menu/Authorize Computer… Choose Adobe ID for “ebook Vendor” and enter your Adobe ID and password. Adobe ID is usually your email address, and is free to register for with Adobe.)
OK, so now you have installed ADE and authorised it with an Adobe ID.
Your Kobo books are available online in your Kobo library at http://www.kobobooks.com/library/reading.html
Some are DRM free and have a blue button “DOWNLOAD EPUB”.
Some are Adobe DRM eubs and have a blue button “ADOBE DRM EPUB”
Clicking on the “ADOBE DRM EPUB” button downloads a ‘.acsm’ file. This is a link file used by Adobe Digital Editions to download the actual ePub, and it is at this point that the DRM gets applied for your installation of Adobe Digital Editions. Make sure your ADE is authorised to your Adobe ID before doing this next step.
Right-click on the ‘.acsm’ file and select Adobe Digital Edition to open it. It will open Adobe Digital Editions, and your ePub will download. See Where are my ebooks? to find the location of the downloaded ADE ePub. You can now use whichever of the ADE DRM removal tools is most convenient for you on this file to obtain your DRM-free ePub.
## I cannot solve my problem the DeDRM plugin, and now I need to ‘post a log’. How do I do that?
Remove the DRMed book from calibre. Click the Preferences drop-down menu and choose 'Restart in debug mode'. Once calibre has re-started, import the problem ebook. Now close calibre. A log will appear that you can copy and paste into a comment at Apprentice Alf's blog.
# I cannot solve my problem with one of the DeDRM applications, and now I need to ‘post a log’. How do I do that?
On Macintosh, the DeDRM application creates a log file on your desktop every time it is run. Copy the contents of that (it is a simple text file) and paste it into your comment at Apprentice Alf's blog.
On Windows, the DeDRM application creates a log file in your home directory every time it is run. Copy the contents of that (it is a simple text file) and paste it into your comment at Apprentice Alf's blog.
# General Questions
## Once the DRM has been removed, is there any trace of my personal identity left in the ebook?
The tools only remove the DRM. No attempt is made to remove any personally identifying information.
## What do some of my Kindle ebooks import as HTMLZ format in calibre?
Most Amazon Kindle ebooks are Mobipocket format ebooks, or the new KF8 format. However, some are in a format known as Topaz. The Topaz format is only used by Amazon. A Topaz ebook is a collections of glyphs and their positions on each page tagged with some additional information from that page including OCRed text (Optical Character Recognition generated Text) to allow searching, and some additional layout information. Each page of a Topaz ebook is effectively a description of an image of that page. To convert a Topaz ebook to another format is not easy as there is not a one-to-one mapping between glyphs and characters/fonts. To account for this, two different formats are generated by the DRM removal software. The first is an html description built from the OCRtext and images stored in the Topaz file (HTMLZ). This format is easily reflowed but may suffer from typical OCRtext errors including typos, garbled text, missing italics, missing bolds, etc. The second format uses the glyph and position information to create an accurate scalable vector graphics (SVG) image of each page of the book that can be viewed in web browsers that support svg images (Safari, Firefox 4 or later, etc). Additional conversion software can be used to convert these SVG images to an image only PDF file. The DeDRM and Kindlebooks tools from this site provide both versions of the Topaz ebook so that the user can choose which one to use. The K4MobiDeDRM plugin only produces the html version of the ebook. The html version can be manually cleaned up and spell checked and then converted using Sigil/calibre to epubs, mobi ebooks, and etc.
## I’ve bought Mobipocket ebooks from an on-line retailer without having to enter the PID of my copy of Mobipocket Reader, and I can read them in Mobipocket Reader. But when I try to convert them to another format, calibre says that they have DRM, but the tools say they don’t contain a PIDs, and I should open them in Mobipocket Reader. What’s going wrong?
The books are downloaded without a PID, but still encrypted. Opening them in Mobipocket Reader causes Mobipocket Reader to create a copy of the ebook that contains with the Mobipocket Reader’s PID. This copy is stored in the My ebooks folder in your My Documents folder. It’s this copy that you must use with the DRM removal tools.
## Are the tools open source? How can I be sure they are safe and not a trojan horse?
All the DRM removal tools hosted here are almost entirely scripts of one kind or another: Python, Applescript or Windows Batch files. So they are inherently open source, and open to inspection by everyone who downloads them. The source for any compiled pieces are provided right inside the tools themselves.
## I have an old encrypted PDF file that won’t open in Adobe Digital Editions, how can I remove the DRM?
If your PDF ebooks cannot be read in Adobe Digital Editions, the tools here cannot help. They are probably encrypted using the Content Server 3 (or earlier) methods which Adobe no longer support, not even to allow conversion to Content Server 4 (AKA Adobe Digital Editions).
See http://www.adobe.com/products/contentserver/migrate.html for more details.
Adobe only allowed a nine month window (March-December 2009) for migration to Adobe Digital Editions after the Content Server 3 servers were discontinued.
You might be able to find tools to remove the DRM from other sites, but there are several different old encryption schemes for PDF files, and I’m unfamiliar with them. Tetrachroma’s blog http://tetrachroma.wordpress.com/ might be a good starting point for Windows users, as he’s done a lot of work on some PDF DRM scheme called ‘File Open’.
## What ebooks do these tools work on?
The tools linked from this blog remove DRM from PDF, ePub, kePub (Kobo), eReader, Kindle (Mobipocket, KF8, Print Replica and Topaz) format ebooks using Adobe Adept, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo and eReader DRM schemes.
Note these tools do NOT ‘crack’ the DRM. They simply allow the book’s owner (and only the book’s owner) to use the encryption key information already stored someplace on their computer or device to decrypt the ebook in the same manner the official ebook reading software uses.
Microsoft LIT format ebooks using Microsoft’s DRM scheme can have the DRM removed using ConvertLit from http://convertlit.com/.
## Why don’t the tools work with Kindle Fire ebooks?
Because no-one's found out how to remove the DRM from ebooks from Kindle Fire devices yet. The workaround is to install Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and use books from there instead.
## Why don't the tools work with Kindle for iOS ebooks?
Amazon changed the way the key was generated for Kindle for iOS books, and the tools can no longer find the key. The workaround is to install Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and use books from there instead.
## Why don't the tools work on books from the Apple iBooks Store?
Apple regularly change the details of their DRM and so the tools in the main tools archive will not work with these ebooks. Apple’s Fairplay DRM scheme can be removed using Requiem if the appropriate version of iTunes can still be installed and used. See the post Apple and ebooks: iBookstore DRM and how to remove it for more details and links.
## I’ve got the tools archive and I’ve read all the FAQs but I still can’t install the tools and/or the DRM removal doesn’t work
•Read the ReadMe_First.txt file in the top level of the tools archive
•Read the ReadMe file in the folder of the tools you want to use.
•If you still can’t remove the DRM, ask in the comments section of Apprentice Alf's blog, reporting the error as precisely as you can, what platform you use, what tool you have tried, what errors you get, and what versions you are using. If the problem happens when running one of the tools, post a log (see previous questions on how to do this).
## Who wrote these scripts?
The authors tend to identify themselves only by pseudonyms:
•The Adobe Adept and Barnes & Noble scripts were created by i♥cabbages
•The Amazon Mobipocket and eReader scripts were created by The Dark Reverser
•The Amazon K4PC DRM/format was further decoded by Bart Simpson aka Skindle
•The Amazon K4 Mobi tool was created by by some_updates, mdlnx and others
•The Amazon Topaz DRM removal script was created by CMBDTC
•The Amazon Topaz format conversion was created by some_updates, clarknova, and Bart Simpson
•The DeDRM all-in-one AppleScript application was created by Apprentice Alf
•The DeDRM all-in-one Python application was created by some_updates
•The DeDRM all-in-one calibre plugins was created by Apprentice Alf
•The Scuolabooks tool was created by Hex
•The Microsoft code was created by drs
•The Apple DRM removal tool was created by Brahms
Since the original versions of the scripts and programs were released, various people have helped to maintain and improve them.
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