Have just purchased subject. Having Biab/RB on a HD pre installed is new to me. Need some hints,
#1 where is best to place files I work on? #2 is it ok to delete all the old program files? #3 When I am to upgrade my UltraPlusPak, does it mean that I need to replace the HD completely?
1. It always pays to install new versions straight over the top of previous versions. This way, you'll get to keep all the material that you might have collected on bonus paks from previous years. This material is not always made available again in the future.
2. On the USB drive, there's a setup program. That needs to be run. You get to choose what you want to install to your computer's internal hard drive.
* The program can be run entirely from USB * The program can be run from your computer but Realtracks and Realdrums are kept on the USB * Everything can be run from your computer (this is the option I prefer)
(As indicated above, I simply install everything over the top of the previous version and run all the wma Realtracks and Realdrums from my hard drive.)
3. Once you make a decision how to install, simply choose and wait for it to happen. A full install on your computer's hard drive will take around 1 hour.
#3. When you get an update/patch, you can install that to the USB drive, or to where you installed BIAB on your PC, or both.
Next year, for the full annual upgrade, they will send you a new USB drive anyway. I like to update the prior year's drive also, so I have a second copy. But I wait until the initial round of patches in December are complete.
The only reason you couldn't continue doing this is if more and more RealTracks are added and they go to using a larger USB drive.
Hope that helps.
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.
I guess I will be more enlightened when I try it out, if I understand you right I gather that I still install my main exe files in folders on my C-drive, where also PG patches will come to reside just as before but use the new HD for all the heavy wave files, or is that totally wrong?
* The program can be run entirely from USB * The program can be run from your computer but Realtracks and Realdrums are kept on the USB * Everything can be run from your computer (this is the option I prefer)
Like Noel said, I prefer the third option also. BIAB takes up 103 GB on my laptop. I install all up-dates to BIAB on my laptop and to the USB HD as well. Ray
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
As Noel stated, you need to decide how you want to run BIAB. Assuming that you already have BIAB installed on your computer and want to keep doing that, then just tell the installer that's what you want to do. You'll only need to know where BIAB (and RealBand) is currently installed, as well as where RealTracks and RealDrums are installed (assuming you may have installed them to a different folder and/or drive. Once you have this information, just point the installer to the same locations and do the install.
If you instead decide you want to run the program from your computer's hard drive, but keep RealTracks and RealDrums on the USB hard drive that you received, then you can choose that as well; however, if you have any bonus paks from previous versions you want to keep, it becomes a little more tricky to update those (doable, but you need to be careful not to overwrite any of the new files).
If you want to run the entire program from the USB drive, you can do that, but you still need to run the installation utility so that fonts get properly installed on your computer, but the files will all remain on the USB drive. That's the quickest install. However, again, if there are any legacy styles, RealTracks, and RealDrums you want to keep (that may have been a part of bonus paks not present in the new version), then syncing them up will be more difficult. Doable, but still tricky.
Don't know if that helps any; you'll see what your options are when you receive the USB drive.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
All good info above. About the BIAB installer, it should remember the drive letters you chose before. Double-check that, of course, each time you run it for updates.
I have the audiophile version, so I do all kinds of things that you might find different. The point is, BIAB allows me to do that. Some other programs force everything onto a boot drive - despicable, in this day and age.
I would not even be able to load the entire audiophile version to my 500 GB SSD boot drive, because the size of the files is about three times that! So, I install the fonts and a couple of other system files - the "minimal" install option - to my boot drive. I have the RealTracks on a large conventional hard drive all by itself. I have the RealDrums (small by comparison to RealTracks, large by comparison to anything else) sharing yet another conventional hard drive. I keep the supplied USB drive as a backup, but I also use that as a traveling copy on my other computers.
Lots of ways to make it fit.
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.
Have just purchased subject. Having Biab/RB on a HD pre installed is new to me. Need some hints,
#1 where is best to place files I work on? #2 is it ok to delete all the old program files? #3 When I am to upgrade my UltraPlusPak, does it mean that I need to replace the HD completely?
Strat
1. Fastest is a local drive, but USB drive can also be used until it fills up. One of the cool things about the drive is you can save your project to it, go to a friends, plug in the USB drive to his system, open your song and get to work on it. 2. Any important ones will be moved to a backup folder in BiaB/RB when you install the new version over the old one. It is safe to delete this backup folder once you are happy using the new version. 3. You don't have to, but it sure is nice. A year later the price of an additional backup (and eventually just extra drive space) is kind of nice. The way PGMusic offers upgrades, once you have UltraPlus you can just buy the program for the new features at upgrade time .. or just the realtracks .. etc. They do leave lots of options open.
Tips I would offer: IF your system has additional drive space there are optimizations that make a bit of difference. For instance, on my favorite machine I have 6 physical hard drives plus the USB drive. I run Biab and RB main executables from C: (and often save current projects there) I run Realtracks and Realdrums from E: I keep USB drive unplugged except to update occasionally. I also have my 'Temp Audio Directory' for RB set to F:
Reasons for my setup are below (if you are bored or interested)
C: drive is meant to run programs. Even though the only things that actually 'install' in the OS are fonts and PGMusic Plugins (DirectX FX), they take very little room and I just go ahead and install them. E: A local drive for Realtracks and RealDrums is faster than the USB drive for generating and loading (and Initiating Accompaniment, etc). Plus it is a current copy of the whole EverythingpaK USB drive (including accumulated add-ons), should anything happen to the USB drive. F: This is the one most people over look. Your Temp Audio Directory is where the system does all the hard drive work it needs to do. When you actually record Audio, it gets written here until you Save. When you make Edits, all the 'UnDo's are stored and streamed from here until you Save. I see a performance increase when the OS drive is not asked to do these tasks.
But that's just me. If one drive is running the OS and the program, plus generating Realtracks, plus writing any Audio for the session (including incoming tracks and Edits) it is likely jumping all over the place to read data. This can cause stutters, slow response, and other performance issues.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
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Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
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.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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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
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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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