After going through this a number of times, it seems as though the program is waiting for BBW2.EXE, of which there is none in C:/bb or C:/RealBand. I have a feeling this is the problem. When I try to run RealBand 2011 Update--Build 2 (5 MB), it balks at trying to update BBW2.EXE, and I think it's because the file doesn't exist.
Recent force quit of RB got me this error message: "Access violation at address 006EB6A9 in module 'BBW2.EXE'. Read of address 0000000C at: 006EB6A9"
Any thoughts? Maybe someone could send me a healthy BBW2.EXE, but also tell me which folder it should be in?
Ctrl+Alt+Delete (task manager)
See if the file is running in the background and didn't get shut down correctly.
If so it will be listed in the processes tab. If so, 'End Process' after making sure neither BiaB or RB is running, then try again.
FWIW I don't have a bbw2.exe showing in those folders here either.
Are you running BIAB/RB from the USB drive or the internal hard drive?
Laptop. No USB drive. However, I've got Real Tracks and Real Drums on an external drive on my network.
FWIW, I got on here this morning and the Style Picker window was sitting there, ready to go. This after having Ctrl+Alt+Delete forced the shut down of RB last night. But the Style Picker still freezes RB. This is no good...
I've had a problem with Real Band in which the program seems to freeze... but when I press CTRL>ALT>DEL to get out of it, for a brief second before the program shuts down I see an open dialog box which for some reason remains in the background, but apparently with focus (which is why the screen I can see doesn't respond to mouse clicks or key strokes... focus is on the modal dialog box.)
For whatever reason, I can't ALT>TAB to the dialog box, and I can't minimize the foreground window if it is maximized.
However, I CAN drag the window out of the way to dispatch the dialog box IF the main window is sized but not maximized.
I must be initializing the dialog box somehow by clicking around exploring the new menus. It has happened about 3 times for reasons I don't understand yet.
But I mention this so you can try sizing your RealBand window... then if it freezes again, drag the foreground window out of the way to see if something underneath is waiting for input.
I just experienced the same problem... double clicking the style box* seemed to make the app freeze. This time the primary window would not drag to the side even though it was sized... but ALT>TAB brought the style dialog to the foreground, where I could close it.
Apparently, it is another case of a modal dialog box hiding behind the main window. Once I dispatched the style dialog, the program was fine.
I notice that this only happens the FIRST time I double click on the style box in a session. On subsequent double clicks the dialog box opens in the foreground as expected.
I have been able to duplicate this problem every time I start RB. Each time there is a brief message that says "initializing accompaniment functions... please wait"
(by "style box" I mean the text box where the name of the current style is shown, not the button beside it)
Okay, so I'm not crazy. I'm not quite in the same spot as you, but it varies. I don't double-click the style box, I just single-click it, and the app freezes. If I ALT>TAB, I don't see the style dialogue, but I have occasionally. Even in these instances, I haven't been able to ALT>TAB the dialog box into the foreground. I suspect that it's just re-a-a-al-l-ly slow, and if I wait long enough, like hours, it might work the same for me. I cannot drag the primary window, sized or not. I haven't been able to try this on subsequent clicks of the style box, because I can only Ctrl-Alt-Delete and never get a chance to try the style box twice. I do get the same brief message saying "Initializing accompaniment functions... Please wait...".
I'm wondering if bbw2.exe is conflicting with something else running.
Ah, now "bbw2 window" is showing up at ALT>TAB, and in Windows Task Manager (at Ctrl-Alt-Del), and it's status is "Not Responding" in Windows Task Manager. But, with RealBand main window sized, the bbw2 window, or Style Picker dialogue doesn't show up. Still no joy.
Now the Style Picker has just shown up this minute, and I can select the style. When I ALT>TAB, I can see the Style Picker dialogue, the "bbw2 window", and the main RB window. The bbw2 window is never visible. The Style Picker window is hour-glassing while I wait for it to expedite my style pick.
In the Style Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Delete), two bbw2 window icons show up, as well as the main RB window. The two bw2 window icons have a status of "Not Responding".
Okay, now the hour glass has gone away, and I can hit "Okay" in the Style Picker dialogue, but the main RB window has still not unfrozen. I think this is all just slow. However, waiting an hour to pick a style is not terribly acceptable. The bbw2 window seems to be the problem.
Okay, now I've got the Style Picker to work, but Generate Song is slowing things up.
Generating in RB is slower than BIAB because all the tracks need to be completely generated before playing begins. By comparison, in BIAB, the tracks only partially generate before playing begins and they continue generating while the song is playing.
What are you computer specs? (processor, RAM, operating system)
Yeah, but this whole scenario has taken hours. Generating shouldn't take half an hour for one song.
Intel Pentium M
processor 1500MHz
1.50 GHz, 512 Mb of RAM
XP Pro
Service pack 3
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Yeah, but this whole scenario has taken hours. Generating shouldn't take half an hour for one song.
Intel Pentium M
processor 1500MHz
1.50 GHz, 512 Mb of RAM
XP Pro
Service pack 3
Whereas those specs are fine for the older MIDI version of BIAB, the audio stuff does require more horsepower. Is your system maxed out on RAM? 512 mb is probably a deal killer for an app that's processing audio. MAC is the guy to weigh in on this... he really knows how to tweak an XP machine to work with audio. There are other XP gurus here too (but I'm not one of them)
Hang tight, somebody else will chime in.
Hi funkifized,
I totally agree with you that half an hour to generate one song is unrealistic.
Your computer specs correspond to the minimum hardware requirements listed for 2010.5 (and presumably 2011, although with the new stretching routine, a little more "grunt" might be needed). In fact, I believe that the computer that Peter Gannon road tests the programs on does not have all that much more horsepower than yours.
How much hard disk space do you have free? I have read a few emails on these forums where very slow song generation was the result of insufficient hard drive space. I'm guessing here but allowing for (a) Windows Virtual RAM, (b) sufficient room for generating a song and (c)keeping undo files on hand, 4 GB of free space (minimum) would probably be needed.
When you go to bed tonight, it might pay to put the disk fragmentation program on (under the Start Menu >> Accessories >> System Tools) and let it churn away during the night (this is what I do every couple of weeks).
As Pat has said, Mac is the man who know all this. Hopefully he will see this thread and respond.
Regards,
Noel
While you wait for one of the XP gurus to weigh in, here's a link to some info about tweaking XP for audio recording. If you google "tweak XP audio" you'll get a fair number of hits. The one I posted is just the first one I found, not necessarily the best one available. As Noel suggested, there are things you can do to eliminate a lot of known system bottlenecks
http://www.thefxcode.com/audio/tweakxp.htm
512 ram is certainly not enough.
You should try adding another 512 at least, to make it 1g - or better yet, go for 2g of ram.
Don't overlook the fact that XP machine is likely running DDR ram - which means that you should only add ram sticks in multiples that can be divided in half by the DDR - or you will force the system to revert to Single Density ram and that would actually be worse than before.
If the above doesn't ring any bells for you, do some websearching about DDR ram replacement, plenty of info out there, and do it before you ;urchase any sticks so you won't make any mistakes.
There may be some other issues you need to address, but that low ram count is certainly the first one. XP by itself can consume all of 512, leaving nothing left for any programs to use. Then the OS forces the slow disk-swap routine instead of RAM loading, which takes a long time.
--Mac
Most on the forum users have adapted their hardware in some way to keep up with the software requirements
Some have gotten great results by tweaking XP machines to make them optimized for audio recording
Others have bought low-end computers with dual core processors and a lot of ram for a fairly cost effective way to maximize the software without having to tweak the hardware
STill others have spent much more for custom-built PCs geared toward music production.
People in all 3 groups are getting results that meet their needs; But each group defines its needs differently. A good starting point is to define your own needs and compare it to your budget.
I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 that is a PIII 1.4 with 512 Ram. It will not run RB.
Plus did i not read above that you are running RB and BiaB on networked driver that is not directly attached to the computer? If so I am sure this is adding a degree of difficulty to the process. Certain things must be on the hard drive, and if it has to access a network to do a process the path is far more complicated.
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I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 that is a PIII 1.4 with 512 Ram. It will not run RB.
my previous music computer was a P4 Compaq laptop with XP and 1 gig of ram*. It ran RB 2009.5, but it was slow... Slow enough that in order to achieve the capability of the software I was willing to buy a new PC.
I hate spending money, but the cost of the new PC was less than the cost of the heart attack I would have had from PC rage.
*FWIW, it's worth mentioning that this computer was never tweaked for audio
update: immediately upon opening RB, if I DOUBLE click on the style box, the dialog initializes BEHIND the main window... but if I SINGLE click on it, it appears on top.
Note to self: "SINGLE click on it"
nevertheless, it is confusing to have hidden modal dialog boxes under any circumstance.
The first time that the Styles feature is used in a newly opened RB, the program goes into an initiation process with a Yellow Peril Flag to warn the user. The Flag disappears but the cursor shows as an Hour Glass. The Hour Glass changes back to a cursor and at that stage the Style Window should be displayed. The sub progam bbw2window in the Task Manager Display remains loaded to control future access to the Styles Window.
If you open up the Wndows Task Manager first and then load RB, the process is more obvious. I have created problems in the past by trying to force the display before the initiation process has completed. Even so a Freeze still happens from time to time.