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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Will an external ssd drive help speed up clunky Bbox performance? If so where should I store program and song files.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

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It's really hard for anyone to say if it would help without more info.
Have you tried running from the included external drive?
Have you tried running the BiaB program from C:\ drive (just the program, leaving RTs and RDs on the external drive?

How 'clunky' is the performance?
Cutting out? Just taking a long time to generate?

What version of BiaB?


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If your computer only has one internal drive and that drive is almost full then moving the program and all the BiaB content to an external drive and deleting all the PG Music program and content from the internal drive will speed up BiaB.

There are users that run Band-in-a-Box (BiaB) on an external drive. If you do my first suggestion is to have the program and content all on the same drive. However before you do perhaps you want to explore why your current BiaB installation is clunky because my guess is the program will run clunky from the external hard drive.

If you have a Windows computer try using the Disk Cleanup routine to get back more drive storage space.

What programs and apps are running as background tasks?

My laptop is old enough that it began with the Microsoft Vista operating system. It now uses Windows 10 but the Band-in-a-Box program runtime is still smooth.


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I think that we need a lot more information in order to give suggestions.
Things like how much ram do you have? What is the speed of your internal hard drive? What operating system do you have? What is your CPU speed? What do you have running in the background? Info like that will help a lot.

[edit] - I forgot to add how full is your hard drive?

Last edited by MarioD; 11/19/24 05:48 PM.

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64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Thanks for the quick response. I have used Bbox for many years and was thinking the program itself needs a newer set of hardware as it grows in size and complexity. Will try suggestions and post details. I also thought that speedier drive alone might help.

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Originally Posted by dpresley
... I also thought that speedier drive alone might help.
Maybe it will, that depends on your USB speed, which is why I asked if you had tried the external HDD that BiaB comes on.
If that appears a little better, maybe an SSD would make even more difference.
It all depends on where, exactly, your bottleneck is that's causing the performance issue.

I hesitate to suggest a solution until the problem is defined.

Last edited by rharv; 11/19/24 06:16 PM. Reason: Added an 'r' ...

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dpresley,
"Will an external ssd drive help speed up clunky Bbox performance?"
It's a strange question, but lets try to decipher. Do you have a spinner hard drive as your main drive?

What year is your BIAB version?
The reason I ask is that, since 2024 (current) track generation was sped up several folds.

USB ports 3.2? 3.1? or something slower?

Bottom line, If you have one of the ports above and 2024 Ultra Pack which is shipped on a fast ssd drive, regardless of how old your computer is, you should see significant difference in track generation / re-generation speeds, even if you run RTs/Rds from external hard drive.

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Yes, upgrading to BIAB 2024 could help a lot. We need more info to give meaningful help.

Absent that, my first reaction is that CPU power is far more important to performance in BIAB than is the drive you run it on


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The disk cleanup seems to have greatly improved performance. I am running 2024 version an Intel 5 and 12 gig of ram. The 1 tb is now about 2/3 full.

Thanks for the helpful responses!

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Could you define ‘clunky’? One possible cause of audio hiccups is programs running in the background. For a quick test, download and run the free DPC Latency Checker. Let it run several minutes and look for red bars.

Note: it isn’t updated for Windows 10 or 11 but it works fine; just consider 1000 as zero.


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe

This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.

Watch the video.

You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

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  • MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
  • Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
  • Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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  • Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!

Video: New User Interface (GUI)

Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!

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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!

Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.

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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!

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Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!

Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.

Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!

Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!

In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

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