BIAB was silent but this happened on the last update too. Control panel playback devices showed that my default playback device was no longer selected.
just turned off sound as far as I remember - it had done it before so this time i was prepared. the default player was no longer default. simple fix as i knew what was going on this time
Just update Win10, ver. 1803, BIAB can not load WAS. The Window Audio session error:"Could not find device that matches the name.The error number is -9985 "
What version and build of Band-in-a-Box are you using?
The -9985 error was first noted after the initial release of 2018. The error was corrected in a later release. If you're using 2018, update to build 516. You can download it +++ HERE +++.
Also, if you haven't done this yet, right click on the Band-in-a-Box desktop icon, click on the "Advance" button and enable the "Run As Administrator" checkbox.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Windows 10, version 1803. I hope you have rolled back the update and your computer now works as it did before the update.
My computer still has Windows 7 so my computer was not affected by the update.
I did update windows 10 to latest build on two partitions on my main music computer and on a separate computer as well.
ALl went well enough though when I started biab no sound, clicked the sound icon on the taskbar and I think it was set to heaphones, changed to speakers again and all was well.
SO yes I think it is very possible it can change playback device.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
HI Mat Normally you get this hd sound driver for when the hd monitor is connected to the system by a HDMI lead , and as such it is part of that driver. As they assume you would want your sound and video to come from the same location for movies etc, I get over this in w7 as below This gives me the following behaviour :
If the AKAI audio interface is present and switched on at win start up this will be my default. as in pic.
If the AKAI is not present or off, but the HD monitor is in use that comes up next instead.and the sound comes from the 32” monitor.
If I am using the laptop away from my set up say as a portable, as neither the AKAI or the HD monitor is in use it falls through to the on board sound card and laptop speakers. As a standalone. All the above applies to the windows side of things
However I do have to make sure that BIAB knows which one I am using at any time As obviously it remembers my Audio settings and drivers. The same is true for most of my other music software unless it relies on using the current windows driver in use. Just my thoughts Mike
Thanks Mike. That makes sense when using an HDMI connection, I agree (I still uninstall it) but it also happens on my older Windows 10 PC not using HDMI.
Craig Anderson alerted us to this a year or so ago, and actually determined it made a difference in the performance of SONAR. I’ve been deleting the HD audio driver regularly ever since.
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’ve had this happen. No matter how often I uninstall it, Windows keeps adding back an HD Audio driver for my monitor. Why? It has also flipped my audio to the WAS driver which, on my system, doesn’t work well.
The HD audio driver keeps coming back after uninstalling it, and i have also disabled all RealTek audio on my mainboard's BIOS (ASUS x99). The only way to get rid of this persistent HD, and out of the way on my system, is: disable it in Device Manager, and leave the drivers be .. F
correct - just DISABLE, it stays disabled, but uninstalling just allows Win or AMD (or NVIDA or whatever Graphics card you have) to re-install and re-enable it.
I updated to the latest Win 10 feature update v1803 and was then unable to start BIAB.
The initial logo came on screen and then a small 'preparing to install' window appeared behind it, and that was that. I tried a few different ways to start BIAB but nothing worked.
I had this problem with a previous Windows feature update.
For now I have reverted to the previous version of Windows and BIAB is back working.
I've delayed the windows update for 90 days but eventually will have to install, so hopefully this problem will be sorted by then.
It got me in a rather strange way. BIAB was playing fine through my focusrite device. But I invoked the "song" wizard from an .mp3 to get tempo and a chord chart. Hit play and NO sound. BIAB ok, wizard dead audio. While on the phone with pgmusic support, they asked me to check my playback device. Sure enough, default Win10 sound card had become internal el cheapo card.
It might be consider a "bug". BIAB was still locked into focusrite, but wizard went to win10 default. But then again, hey Microsoft, pretty sloppy update actions to change settings without permission.
I’ve had this happen. No matter how often I uninstall it, Windows keeps adding back an HD Audio driver for my monitor. Why? It has also flipped my audio to the WAS driver which, on my system, doesn’t work well.
The HD audio driver keeps coming back after uninstalling it, and i have also disabled all RealTek audio on my mainboard's BIOS (ASUS x99). The only way to get rid of this persistent HD, and out of the way on my system, is: disable it in Device Manager, and leave the drivers be .. F
Originally Posted By: limestone
.... But then again, hey Microsoft, pretty sloppy update actions to change settings without permission.
You'll really need to turn off windows update in services, and if you (accidentally) updated your (1803 only?) with some manually downloaded KB#######, you will need to check/do it again as they pester you occasionally by automatically switching it back on ....
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