EPUB, short for electronic publication, is a prevailing eBook format. As one of the most widespread eBook formats, EPUB files can be opened in most e-book readers, including the B&N Nook, Kobo eReader, and Apple's iBooks. However, it is a pity that you cannot open EPUB files directly in Kindle devices or App. What's more, many people asked the way to open EPUB files on Windows 7 or Windows 10 since they have found that Windows cannot open EPUB files directly, neither. I'd like to list some solutions on how to open EPUB files on Windows here for reference.

Part 1: Why can't we open EPUB files on Windows?

Actually, the reason why we can't open EPUB files on Windows is that there is no app programs which can read EPUB files installed on Windows or the EPUB files are legally protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) which restricts the purchased EPUB files from being opened or copied. Usually, even you install the app programs such as such as Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions, iBooks, EPUB File Reader, etc. which are compatible with EPUB on Windows, you can only open free EPUB files without DRM protection.

open EPUB files on Windows

The DRM-protected EPUB files typically cannot be opened on programs or devices beyond the authorized ones. The way to remove DRM and open an EPUB file on Windows 7 and other Windows systems will be needed. DRM protected EPUB files cannot be opened on Windows until you remove the DRM from the files and convert DRM-protected EPUB to DRM-free format readable on Windows with the help of useful software.

Part 2: How to convert EPUB to the format compatible with Windows with Prof. DRM

Leawo Prof. DRM is a powerful DRM removal software and all-in-one media converter which is dedicatedly designed to remove DRM and convert DRM protected files to DRM-free files in different formats, including convert DRM-protected iTunes M4V video to DRM-free MP4, convert M4P music to MP3, convert M4B audiobook to MP3, etc. as well as convert eBooks from Amazon kindle, Kobo, Adobe to DRM-free epub, mobi, azw3, txt so that eBooks can be read freely on any operation systems and devices. Namely, Leawo Prof. DRM offers you convenient solutions to remove DRM and open EPUB files on Windows 7 and other Windows Systems as well.

After you download Prof. DRM and install it on your PC, you can follow the guide to remove DRM and get DRM-free EPUB files. Take Adobe Digital Editions for example. You may purchase and read your beloved eBooks from Adobe Digital Editions. Get to know exactly how to open an EPUB file on Windows freely under DRM protection, you should remove DRM beforehand.

Step 1: Login into Adobe Digital Editions

Launch Adobe Digital Editions and login into the program with your Adobe account to authorize your computer.

login adobe

Tip: Check whether the EPUB files you will remove the DRM protection has been downloaded in the library of Adobe Digital Editions.

login adobe

Step 2:Add the EPUB files to Prof. DRM

Click "Add Files" to see the "Adobe" button on the left sidebar. And then click the refresh icon to show all the downloaded books on your Adobe Digital Edition library. Select the eBook files you need and click "Add" to import the files to Prof. DRM.

add file from adobe

Step 3: Choose EPUB as the output format

Choose an eBook file and click the "edit" button to check epub as output format from the drop-down list. Meanwhile you can select "Apply to all eBook file" option to set all the files output in EPUB format.

set output format

Step 4: Save the DRM-free eBook

Click "…" button at the bottom of the interface to choose a proper output directory for saving you DRM-free eBook.

set output directory

Step 5: Remove the DRM from eBooks

Click the blue "Convert" button at the bottom to remove DRM-protection from Adobe eBooks and convert the selected files to EPUB. And then you will get the DRM-free EPUB eBook in seconds. 

Remove the DRM from eBooks