Not a BIAB problem, but do any of you using BIAB with the Drum and RealTracks on a USB external drive sometimes have problems getting Windows 10 to recognize the disk? I keep that port powered, but this occasional nag of a problem seems to be happening more often. And, of course, if BIAB doesn't see that drive it defaults back to C: so I have to go back into Preferences and re-establish the path. Oh, it's on a pretty high end (at the time) Lenovo laptop for the past 4 years.

Yes that's a pain when that happens it takes ages to set it to the correct path AGAIN, I asked PG to have a recent drive list you can select.

Maybe get an SSD USB or get a lead that will use 2 usb ports, 1 form extra power.

Check the USB cable.

Then check the disk using Crystal Disk Utility. See if there are bad sectors developing.

If it's a question of drive letter, I set the external USB drive to drive letter J. That way, no matter what else I plug in or remove, the BIAB drive is always drive J.

Thanks Matt, doesn't seem to be a drive letter problem. When I check File Explorer the disk is just not there. When I see BIAB has loaded without seeing the disk I've learned to use Task Manager to kill BIAB so as to not update the path.

I see. I always use a utility called. USB Safely Remove. It makes sure the drive is closed down correctly, even if you have to do what they call Forced Stop because Windows somehow has some hooks still active. My experience is that, if a drive is not closed correctly, it greatly increases the likelihood that the next time, it will not be recognized.

LOL that's what I do !

Maybe not related, because my experience is dated, but one year my BiaB external hard drive was having intermittent connection problems and the PGMusic folks asked me to disassemble the hard drive cover and reseat the hardware connection between the drive and the case. Did the trick. Good luck!

In addition, if re-seating doesn't fix it, I would try swapping the the hard drive into a different enclosure if you have one lying around (perhaps from another BiaB purchase).

Also, set a drive letter for the BiaB drive manually (Windows key + X then press K, then right-click on the disk). For example, you could set it to "M", then if you have more than one USB device plugged in you know the drive letter will still stay the same.

You might also take a look at the advanced power settings - USB section. Is it happening when the laptop is plugged in, or only if on battery? It doesn't really sound like that's what the problem is though.

Have you tried another USB port?

Defrag your drives if you haven't done so in awhile.

Also, uninstall any software/crapware that you don't need.

Do you have the drive plugged into the computer or into an USB hub?
If it is plugged into a hub is it a powered hub?

And if It's not a hub, use a USB port on the back of the computer. They are the most reliable.

The drive is plugged directly into a powered port (laptop). This time switching ports with one I normally use for Focusrite audio interface made windows notice the drive.

That’s a bit odd, but glad it’s working for you. I assume the Focusrite works in the port vacated by the drive.

If you continue to have trouble, one trick is to View Hidden Devices in Device Manager and delete all the drivers for affected devices. Then reload the drivers and always keep devices plugged into the same port each time.

Another thing you can do if you have a DVD Rom you take it out by one screw underneath and put a hard drive SATA bay in there.