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Will have to get an External Hard Drive for my Laptop for Biab RealTracks and RealDrums. Can you recommend one. (Speed and memory needed) What I don't understand about PG's hard drive is why do you need two usb inputs. I need my usb inputs on my laptop.
Last edited by botma; 08/16/09 07:37 AM.
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***Check the pgmusic supplied hard drive to see if there is also a DC jack on it. If so, you can pick up a wallwart power supply for it, at a place like Radio Shack, and run it from that and only one USB plug.
***If you are upgrading to the new 2009.5 version, check it out carefully, but I understand that pgmusic is shipping them on a newer and larer 160mb drive that comes with its own wallwart power supply.
If you still want to buy your own drive, you have literally hundreds of options these days to choose from, any good quality mfr choice should work just fine for this purpose. Don't buy the cheapest but don't waste money on the most expensive either. The stuff in the middle pricerange is my choice in things like this.
--Mac
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You do realise that you can get 'extension' USB ports if you need them? They plug into one single USB port and give you another 4 or 8 ports...
Actually, if your system is good enough, you don't really need to plug both of the ends of the Y cable into your system. One will suffice in most cases
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Understand now. Of course, we are talking about an external Hard Drive. It would need power. I have a WD External Hard Drive that has it's own power supply. It is 300 GB. I don't want to use it because I use that drive to keep my computers backed up with Acronis. What speed should I look for?
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AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!
I have several USB HDDs - one of them is a 500GB unit that I keep all my tracks on for gigs.
Iomega are very good and very reliable in my experience
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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The second USB plug is to help with the power supply to the drive. Some systems supply enough juice using one port, many need both.
I have some that it will run just fine with one USB conenction, others that need both for it to even turn on.
For music, especially recording, it is probably better to use an additional internal drive and keep the externals for backup, as you are doing now. IF you have the room inside..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Quote:
AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!
I have several USB HDDs - one of them is a 500GB unit that I keep all my tracks on for gigs.
Iomega are very good and very reliable in my experience
+1 for the iomega ext hd. I could not get the pgmusic hd to work so I sent it back. They said it worked fine there. It had the y usb cable and I was using a powered hub at the time. One problem that I have with the iomega though is if I have it powered up at boot time, the laptop won't boot. Just a small inconvenience.
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Check your boot order - F10 on system boot should put you into the BIOS. I'll bet you have a boot order that has USB ahead of the internal
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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I guess I will be OK with my laptop. I have all my music programs installed .Biab, Real Band, Jammer Pro 6, Real book, 75 Fake Books, and all but the summer pack real tracks and real drums that are in the mail. I have 2GB left on the laptop.
Searching for an external fire wire drive they all seem to be for Mac’s. You have to reformat for PC. The one I was interested in all reviews complained about the fan noise. I don’t think a musician will have that problem.
Now that I checked my memory on the laptop I am in good shape to go with just that. After installing the summer pack I should still have a GB left. Thank you all for the info you gave.
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2gb is not enough freespace on a hard drive. You can eventually get into trouble like that. Basic rule of thumb, you want about 10-15% of total capacity to remain as free space on any hard drive.
USB drive will work with BIAB Realfiles just fine. There are combination USB/Firewire enclosures to be found out there that are class compliant and will work on both PCs and Macs, I have several. But you don't really need Firewire to run BIAB and RealTracks at all, especially if you aren't running Audiophile Edition all WAV tracks. USB will fun just fine.
But I do recommend that you pick up a USB drive and move all your RealTracks/Realdrums to it, then point the program there. Leave plenty of free space on your laptop's internal drive, or run the risk of suddenly losing it all.
--Mac
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I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Woops!,
Where did I get that? I have 200gb LEFT. Age I guess. Still that's good advice Mac and I think I will go with an external drive anyway.
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Wow, that's a large internal hard drive for a laptop, he said enviously...
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I wouldn't run anything off-board if I could help it but i do agree with keeping 20%+ free on the internal HD. Then again, I am a firm believer in laptops. My current one is an HP EliteBook 2.80GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU with 4GB RAM and a 17" screen!
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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With all the troubles you have had with lappies I am surprised to hear you say you are a firm believer in them.
I'll tote my full desktop around and keep it in a hidden corner. I really dislike laptops. Maybe it is because I am not comfortable with any given unit.
With a desktop, I can sit down at the library and feel comfortable on a foreign machine. With lappies I always feel like I am struggling to make the thing operate, nothing 'feels right'.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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First time I took a laptop out to record onlocation, I felt the same way, rharv.
Time, experience and practice changes those feelings.
Make new friends but keep the old and all that.
--Mac
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Bob, I have 4 of them (lappies I mean). All HP - I won't consider anything less. I have an OmniBook (now really only used for internet radio), a Compaq (for work), a 510 (primarily a DAW) and the latest is an HP EliteBook 8730w with 2.80GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB RAM, 300GB HDD and a 17" screen plus a full size keyboard and more ports than you could ever need. It is HP's top model and certainly replaces a desktop! The latest one is now, of course, my baby and the 510 is now #2... BTW, I now have the lappie back that committed a kind of suicide at a gig in April (seemed to wipe its own HDD). Turned out the problem was not the lappie or XP but Norton GoBack. GoBack is a pre-loader and it had corrupted itself so could not load and neither could anything else. Everything is now back again after a full restore from a Ghost 10.0 backup and GoBack has been removed.
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 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.
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
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In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
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Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 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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