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I've been using an old version of BIAB (2006, i think) on a Pentium M 1.66GHz laptop for drum practicing for years. Recently, I bought an Atom-based netbook and I've migrated everything onto it.

Now on the new netbook, song playbacks (just MIDI, no wav audio) will break up at random places. This is driving me nuts. I have nothing else running on the PC. The CPU load is low. So, the problem isn't CPU bound.

Config:
- Lenovo S10 netbook: Atom 1.6GHz, 1GB, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Home SP3
- "sound card": Roland UA-25EX USB audio interface. ASIO compatible.
- Using the default Windows MIDI Synth

I assume an older version of BIAB will be less resource hungry than a new one.
I have no idea how to tackle the problem...
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Try running your songs out via the headphone jack on the computer and see if that works any better for you.
Good luck.

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Yes, I have seen this same issue on our Netbook. It is frustrating, here is a post of info I found from another site>

This issue does apply to both Digital Audio and midi....

I brainstormed for a while last night and may have found another solution to this problem. Back in late December I recalled reading on another forum about a guy who had stutters on his home wifi, but didn't experience them when he brought his netbook to other wifi sources such as his school or at friends' houses. I did a little research into wifi routers causing audio conflicts and didn't find much. I decided to try turning off the wifi on the netbook, then unplugging my wireless router and letting it boot up fresh. Then I turned my netbook wifi back on and it has been working like a champ for over 12 hours. I use a dsl 2WIRE wireless router, and rebooting it seemed to have made all the difference. I don't know if some kind of static or interference builds up in some routers, or why it would only seem to affect audio on my netbook, but since I rebooted my wireless router all is well.
Try rebooting your modem and testing for stutters, or even take your netbook to another wifi location and see if the problem goes away. It seemed like a longshot, but I've got results.
Let me know how this works for you, and maybe we can attribute this problem to certain routers. This might shake up the laptop/notebook world a bit because there are quite a few brands/models of laptop that have had stutter issues that i've read about, and it would be hilarious if it had been routers causing many of these problems the whole time. Wasn't always in relation to wifi, but it could be useful to people who hadn't noticed that the problem is particular to when wifi is activated. I imagine my stutters will return eventually, but if simply rebooting my router fixes it, then I'll be more than satisfied with my netbook.

The other thing Ive been told is that there is a Bios update that you need to make with your Netbook. I tried to update mine by going to the Acer website, and I spent 2 hours trying to get the right update file!

Hope some of this info helps you,
Ed

Last edited by Edward Buckley; 07/28/09 06:45 PM.
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Thanks.

@Barry: It definitely makes sense to try headphone in order to remove the Roland audio interface from the equation.

@Ed: Great info. It's interesting that rebooting the wifi router will fix the problem. Now think about it, both wifi and bluetooth are on on the netbook. Maybe I should turn them all off to see what it'll do.
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Some updates.

My wifi router is Linksys Wireless-G. Pretty old. Probably 5 years old.

- I've tried rebooting the router. No difference.

- I've tried disabling bluetooth service on the netbook. No difference.

- I've tried disabling the wifi connection on the netbook. Now, this work!

The next question is: why? And, is there anything we can do to fix the problem?

Last edited by sciomako; 07/29/09 01:41 AM.
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I have an Acer Aspire, and can use all midi, or all RealTracks with no problem.

My older Sony Vaio required that I disable the wireless network, it was easy because it had a front switch.

That said I am running band in a box on an external hard drive that Band in a Box ships on.

And it works fine with both the onboard sound and a Roland external mp3+ usb gizmo.

I played for 4 hours yesterday, and didn't even have the powercord plugged in, just the netbook out to my Roland Keyboard amp with the melody and piano part muted while I played jazz standards on the accoustic piano.


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John,

Thanks for the info.

What OS is on your Aspire and Vaio? And do you let Windows manage the wireless on both laptops, or do you use a 3rd party wireless manager (e.g. Intel PROSet)?

I just found this: http://www.dubflash.com/20/808-Question-Audio-problems-on-VISTA-with-wireless-LAN-activated.html
If this info is correct, It seems Windows is the one to blame...
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Xp home on both machines. The vaio is quite old, broken hinge, and I don't regularly use it.

I have an HP quadcore 1 terabyte with 6 gigs of memory beside my Roland keyboard in the big family room. I run that into a Behringer power mixer with 15 inch speakers.

Upstairs I use the wife's netbook, she works and just uses it for email. Ii sit it on the piano and plug in the hard drive and run a jack from the headphone connection to a Roland 60 Cube Amp. Never had a problem with the Acer and XP home, however I am unhappy with Microsoft for they made the Acer reboot this morning, and you don't get a choice. That just drives me nuts. I'm sure their intentions are good but.....

I have a newer Vaio in my study, and it runs Ubuntu. I use it the most, and hope that the Mac port of Band in a Box can be compiled for Linux...that would be awesome.


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I should mention that the HP digital workstation downstairs is running Vista 64. The only issue is that the Roland Dxi syth won't work with it, but I'm using a Ketron SD2 on that so it works fine.

The only thing is...don't get a blackberry anywhere within 20 feet of it, you can hear the messages coming in, sounds almost like a telegraph at a higher frequency.


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Quote:


16. Why is my playback jerky in Band-in-a-Box?
Stuttering can occur if your machine is doing something else and hogging the CPU, like writing a big file to the hard drive or checking a Net connection, or if other programs are working in the background. Anti-virus programs are sometimes the culprit. Troubleshoot this by closing as many background programs as possible.

On Windows 2000/XP, look for icons in your task bar next to the computer clock, and close/exit/disable these programs. You can also troubleshoot by using the Selective Startup feature. Go to Start | Run, type msconfig, and press OK. Click on 'Selective Startup', and uncheck 'Startup items'. Press [Apply] and restart the computer. Note: Windows 2000 doesn't have the system configuration utility.

On Windows 98/ME:

Hold down Ctrl and ALT on your keyboard, and press DEL once. This brings up the Close Program window.

Click on any item listed in this window except for "Explorer" or "Systray" and press [End Task]. If another window pops up saying that the program is not responding, press [End Task] again.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each item listed in the Close Program window, EXCEPT for "Explorer" and "Systray".

Note: Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del twice in a row will restart your computer. If you restart your computer accidentally during this process, most of the background programs will likely be loaded again. You can configure which programs load at startup in the Windows System Configuration Utility (go to Start | Run, and typing "msconfig").

An improperly installed MIDI interface or sound card could also be the problem. Reinstall the sound card/interface, using the latest drivers available from the manufacturer. After you do this, reset Band-in-a-Box to the factory settings by deleting the 'intrface.bbw' file from the C:\bb folder.

Another issue might be that the PCI bus is being locked out by the video driver. This can be caused by accelerated video drivers taking over the system for 50ms or more. The solution is to disable accelerated video. On Windows 98/ME, go to Start | Settings | Control Panel | Display | Settings | Advanced | Performance. On Windows 2000/XP, go to Control Panel | Display | Settings | Advanced | Troubleshoot. Turn the Hardware Acceleration slider to none.






Try the trick I highlighted in bold type first.


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Mac,

You suggested disabling video acceleration as a solution another issue I was having at the time. While it appeared to work, I have always wondered whether it applies if you have a dedicated video card. Isn't the purpose of the card to take over video processing instead of having the CPU do so?

Signed,
Just Curious


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Quote:

Mac,

You suggested disabling video acceleration as a solution another issue I was having at the time. While it appeared to work, I have always wondered whether it applies if you have a dedicated video card. Isn't the purpose of the card to take over video processing instead of having the CPU do so?

Signed,
Just Curious




Onboard video solutions typically don't have their own ram memory onboard, so they must share RAM with the OS and everything else, typically by reserving a certain amount, sometimes up to 256m by default, for the video card. For DAW work, I recommend going into the BIOS and backing that allocation up by a goodly amount, as the DAW software doesn't really need a whole lot of video ram to function well, for example, on my laptop when I use it as a DAW, I have it backed up to 16mb instead of the default 256mb.

For the desktop, the same thing can apply if all you have available is the onboard video card.

Installation of a separate PCIe video card with onboard ram of its own is certainly a better situation, especially for the DAW user who is also a gamer or the like.


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Thanks guys. I'll check out the video settings.

By the way, I did a bit more research (i.e. googling). I found it's a common complaint that the Windows Zero Configuration (WZC) wireless manager causes latency issue because it periodically polls for the presence of other networks even though you're already connected to one. What some people do is turn it off once the connection is up.

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Tried various other things including turning off the video Hardware Acceleration. None of them makes a difference. I think I can now safely conclude wifi is the sole factor causing stuttering on my netbook.

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I always disable the WIFI on my lappie when producing or DJing... it just frees up system resources, makes everything run a bit more smoothly.. And my laptop has a lot more power than a netbook will.

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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.

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  • MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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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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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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