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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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What is the best way to move BiaB from the External hard drive to the internal hard drive on my computer?

Why do I want to do that?

I'm doing a new Fake Disk, "The Real Book" and I'm trying to use only RealStyles. The problem is, I like to audition a number of different styles for each song to pick the best one, and it sometimes takes 15 seconds to load a style from the external HD.

After trying a half dozen styles per song, that adds up to a lot of time.

I'm guessing it's USB 2 speed limit. So it seems to me the solution is to put everything on the internal drive.

Should I uninstall and re-install? Or is there a better way to do it without losing the updates that have been added since the initial installation.

Thanks,
Notes


Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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I did that with a past version..... to get it running quickly I simply installed it with the minimum configuration initially, leaving the RT's on the external HD.

Later, when I moved it on board so it would load faster..... I believe I needed to do a reinstall to get the RT's on the computer and also edit the location it was looking for those files.


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Hi Bob,

You can just copy the BB folder to the C:\ drive by dragging it over in Explorer. Then you're good to go, by running the program from C:\BB\bbw.exe

There is an official install on the USB hard drive that does the same thing, but since you've already run an BB installer of some kind to get the fonts working in notation, simply dragging it over is what I'd do.

Make sure you have enough room on the C:\ drive, about 80GB or so to copy the whole thing.


Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
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Bob, I've been doing what Peter described for many years. After copying, don't forget to visit the Preferences, RealTracks and Preferences, RealDrums dialogs to ensure you are pointing to the new correct location of those.

Also, be aware that the RealTracks and RealDrums can be loaded onto a different internal drive if you like. I chose to do that because my boot drive is an SSD and is pretty small. So, I have the main /BB folder on the fast boot SSD drive C:/BB, but the RealTracks and RealDrums on a regular internal hard drive (F:/BB/RealTracks etc. in my case). Just go into those preferences as I mentioned and set it up.

The first update you run, you will have to specify the proper locations. After that, the updater should remember.


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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Thanks.

I never minded the delay until I started doing this fake disk.

The delay in auditioning a style isn't bad if I'm doing one song. So If I try 10-15 styles it's only a few minutes delay per song, 5 minutes at the most.

But the "Real Book" has hundreds of songs, so add a few minutes per song and multiply it times hundreds of songs, and we're talking some serious time.

I guess leaving everything on the external drive was just 'old school' from the time when internal drives got filled up too quickly and external archival memory was even more limited.

I remember the first external 40MB hard drive I bought. It was huge, bigger than an old phone book and about 4 inches tall. When turned on you could hear the disk spinning and accelerating up to speed. Wow! I'm glad those days are over.

I recorded audio on a Teac real to real with only 4 tracks, bouncing until the tape hiss got unbearable.

BiaB was very limited in those days too. As technology marches on, so is our capability to do more complex things.

It's a wonderful age we live in. These are the "good old days".

OK, I'll quit rambling and get back to work.

Thanks again for the help.

Notes


Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Hi
Another trick to save loading time is to use just a few bars...change the number of bars to about 8, with no repeats, and that will speed up loading time, but give you enough time to assess the style. Needless to say, don't save the song before moving to the next one!


Mike Laatz
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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.

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You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

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.

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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!

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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.

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