I have been trying to use BIAB since 8/2017 and it keeps locking up my computer. The whole process works like this. I build the song,(I have used 6 different styles, results are the same) get everything like I want it, save it as either a .SGU or .MSU and play it fine. I am not making any changes to style at this time. Okay, them I open the song back up, in BIAB, and load it. It will play. Now, if I try to change the tempo, lets say from 85 to 90 the sound becomes distorted and BIAB freezes/locks up my laptop. I have tried contacting BGMUSIC support, sent them 3 song files, and to date, they are unable to find an solution.
My laptop is runnning Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, Service Pack 1 AMD 1.30 GHz processor, 4.00 GB RAM, (3.60 GB usable). I did an virus check, nothing found, I uninstalled the anti-virus software to make sure it wasn't an issue, have no other programs running in the background when I use BIAB.
Thanks for any solutions you might think of that I can try.
Steel Crazy After All These Years K5DPK Amateur Radio Storm Spotter BIAB PRO 2017, RealBand, Sforzando,
The laptop is capable and yeah, I'm pretty sure there's no virus issues. It's likely drivers and settings causing the issue. Once you get them set correctly, it will work just fine.
Be sure your audio diver settings are 16 or 24 bit at 44.1k. You have audio and midi buffers so see where they are set.... write it down and start adjusting them larger to start with .... a little at a time. See if that solves it.
What sound card and driver are you using? If you are using a built in sound card and the default (usually MME) driver, that could be the root of the problem. If you are using the factory setup, I'd suggest heading to the music store and buying something like a USB based Focusrite that runs ASIO drivers. Most music stores have a 30 to 45 day no questions asked 100% return/refund policy if it doesn't work.
Next.... see if there's any other service packs (SP) available and if so, backup the config first, then load the available SP. I have found that some issues with certain software packages have glitches in some but not all functions and a SP upgrade often will fix it. I don't recall the exact software..... might be my Sonar DAW, but running on XP Pro requires at least SP2 to be installed. You can ask PG support what SP level is required for your OS. When in doubt.... just upgrade to the latest SP.
You might also need to have J-Bridge installed. I think.... not 100% sure.... but it bridges things between the 64 bit OS and the 32 bit applications. I don't use it because my DAW is still running a 32 bit OS.
Hope this helps point you in the right direction.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Right-click the icon on the desktop and select Run as Administrator. See if that makes a difference.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Instead of uninstalling your anti-virus, I would just exclude the BIAB folder from your anti-virus scanning (after first scanning it to make sure there are no problems). And as Trevor (Videotrack) stated, set your icon to run as administrator. Yes, you'll have an extra prompt when you launch it asking if you are sure, but so what?
Another thing to try is to turn off fast generation. On the song settings screen, there is a check box labeled "This song has playback problems. Turn off fast generation". Yes, it will take longer to regenerate your songs (as it has to do the whole song before playback starts, just like in RealBand), but that might help with your problem.
Also, make sure you didn't install BIAB to the C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) folder. This will cause problems as well. The default location is C:\BB, but you can install anywhere (I install mine to C:\Apps\PGMusic\BIAB).
Also, you didn't say if you were running BIAB from your hard drive or from the external USB drive. If the latter, you might want to try a different USB port (not all ports are equal). It could be that the port is not providing enough power to run the hard drive. Previously, they used to ship hard drives with dual-headed cables (one for data, a second to plug into another USB port for additional power, but that wasn't the case the 2017. Also, if you have any other USB devices that you can do without, you might try unplugging them so as not to overtax the bus.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
Noel96, No I have not tried to regenerate the song. None of the tracks are frozen. That is still too advanced for me until I get past the computer freezing up on me. I will give a regeneration of the song a try. Thanks for the reply.
Steel Crazy After All These Years K5DPK Amateur Radio Storm Spotter BIAB PRO 2017, RealBand, Sforzando,
Welcome to the forum and I'm sorry the advice so far is not helping.
Do you have DropBox, Box, 4shared or some other internet cloud storage location where you can store a copy of your song files and then post a link? It may prove useful to be able to download your song files so others can test your song files on their computer or look at them to see what's going on.
You can also set BiaB to always run as Administrator. Right-click the desktop icon, select Properties, and follow these steps:
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Jim, Thanks for the Welcome and the comments. Yes I have DropBox. I actually uploaded three files to the Customer Support and they couldn't fix the issue. I have gotten side tracked from working with BIAB lately. Once I get back to working with the program I will let you know and see about uploading some files.
Steel Crazy After All These Years K5DPK Amateur Radio Storm Spotter BIAB PRO 2017, RealBand, Sforzando,
Everybody is assuming your laptop is powerful enough to run Biab. It could be but give us the make and model of it so we can check out what it is. Also run Geekbench and give us the score. Here's the link:
That answered my question a few months ago when I tested my machine and came up with OpenCL of 3,765. That was a completely different number than I got using their old system and I had no idea what it meant. Now I know it's close to a new i7 Surface Book. The numbers are linear, they say doubling the score (from 4,000) indicates double the performance.
We'll have to figure out as time goes on if 2,000 for example is enough to run Biab properly.
Oh - thank you Bob. I'll get the new version and try it.
EDIT: just tried the trial version on my spare PC. I got a single-core score of 1856. This is about as expected for an old Core 2-DUO. That PC runs BIAB fine, although I have the speed options set for a slow PC in Options, Preferences, RealTracks.
Maybe I misunderstood your comment, because it still reports a ton of scores, including the two notable ones of single and multi-core.?
Last edited by Matt Finley; 10/11/1712:29 PM.
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.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
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!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
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!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
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)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
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!
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.