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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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Posts: 803 |
Hi, This problem needs a bit of background explanation.
I am trying to install BIAB 2016 and then install the BIAB 2018 upgrade files. I have the BIAB 2016 ultrapack. I got it on the external drive. I originally installed it to run from the external drive but the installer put some files on the C drive. So later the external drive started acting up so I copied everything to the D drive of the machine where I was running BIAB from. I fiddled around with it and got it to run from that D drive. So I had to reformat my C drive again and I am currently installing all the software (my image return failed). So I went to the D drive folder "D:\BIAB_2016_UltraPlusPAK" and clicked setup.exe. It told me it could not find the installers. There are four of them it complained about. So I did a windows find command on the D:\BIAB_2016_UltraPlusPAK folder and found the installers in the "D:\BIAB_2016_UltraPlusPAK\PGMusic\Installers" folder. I was thinking I would just run them directly from there in the same order that it was complaining about not finding them. However since it is lunch time :-) I though I would see if anyone has any cautions about going ahead with this idea or suggestions.
What I find interesting is if I click on the 'Band-in-a-Box.exe" file within the D:\BIAB_2016_UltraPlusPAK folder it actually runs and if I set up the associations I can click on my C drive BIAB song files and it actually plays them. I guess the association stores where the BIAB .exe file is located. Unfortunately when I close BIAB it aborts so I figure I may as well get it set up correctly. I am guessing it wants some windows registry entries.
Thanks for any help,
John
Last edited by bowlesj; 11/28/19 07:17 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,806
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Joined: Dec 2000
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If you bought 2016 from PGMusic, all the installation and content files should be in your account (accessible from the main PGMusic home page screen). If you have trouble installing, you could download the files and install that way. Assuming your RealDrums (Drums folder) and RealTracks (RealTracks folder) are still accessible on the external USB, you wouldn't need to download all that content. Just make sure they are copied to the correct location on your new hard drive. Then you can run the 2018 install to get everything up to date.
Just a thought.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2012
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Hi John, thanks for your response.
Yes I was informed a while back that after I log in to the PG music website I can navigate to a page that allows me to download my BIAB 2016 files and install. I just found my reminder database notes and I was once again able to do that. However I am trying to avoid that download approach since it takes a long time and I successfully copied all the external USB hard drive files over to my computer's D drive without issue.
Without issue means I did it in single copy which left all the external USB drive files (of the root directory and of the sub-directories) exactly as they were set up. I can not access that external drive now so it is lucky I did the copy when I did. I ran BIAB successfully from that D drive folder for a year or so which seems to confirm that the copy went well.
I was rather surprised when I discovered that executing the setup.exe file from the directory within my D drive did not work. I was surprised because I have downloaded at least 100 softwares over the years and the setup.exe (or equivalent file) was able to install properly 99% of the time. My pattern for executing this process is pretty much always the same. I download to the download directory and install from there. If I like and decide to keep the software I move the zip file to a folder with a long descriptive name so I can find the zip file later. All of these are stored under a common folder so I can find them easily. Inevitably I have to eventually reformat and do these installs again and they work again. So the setup.exe files don't care where they are located. Having done some windows dos scripting and a lot of unix shell scripting I understand basically how they are able to find the install source files. How they find the target locations I don't know. I say this because I always have windows on the C drive but I can't assume everyone does and some of the setup.exe files may be able to handle this.
I am thinking I will email support. They can go directly to the programmer(s) involved and figure out the easiest way to get BIAB and Real band installed from my D drive. I certainly don't want to move those files to the route directory of the D drive (trying to simulate how it was located on that external USB drive) and make it a mess since I have other stuff on that D drive too.
John
Last edited by bowlesj; 11/28/19 10:55 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803 |
I went back and did a more thorough review of the problems with installing from a D drive with the files under a folder I created. I was correct it seems. BIAB wants everything in the root directory. As mentioned above this would create a mess on my D drive and I confirmed that because MS-Backup has already claimed the root of that drive. I wish MS-Backup didn't do that. I have had other backup programs that did a great job which did not (the original MS-backup programs before WIn-7 and others too).
So I want to avoid putting it on C (limited space - already huge files going in there).
I want to avoid downloads if I can. Too slow. Internet could be down. Modem often cuts out which could corrupt files.
It is hard to get a 150 GB drive. Makes more sense to use the D drive which has the space available and this avoids using a USB plug (may be faster).
I emailed support asking if they have any setup files that can handle being under a user created directory. I don't think it is exactly that hard to whip up. I am guessing 1 to 3 hours. They may have already done that. Maybe it makes a lot of sense to install all their stuff under a directory on their hard drives or better yet make the setup programs smart enough to figure out where they are. I use to store all my setup programs on a D drive in a special folder but lately have moved them to the C drive under a special folder which is common with my other two machines making it easy to backup small updates during the day. Those setup programs can all figure out what drive they are on and what folder they are in.
Last edited by bowlesj; 11/29/19 12:18 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,022
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I emailed support asking if they have any setup files that can handle being under a user created directory. All of my downloaded setup files are stored under a user created directory, which at the present moment is ~200Gb in 823 files in 56 folders. I can find any download I need for any year. As for the actual BiaB install, my understanding is that BiaB does very little to modify/update/interact with the O/S itself, however, there are fonts (at least) that need to be integrated, and the Windows O/S is involved for this. You can install BiaB to C:\bb or D:\bb or X:\bb I've got one system (a laptop) with limited space on C: so I just installed on D: Everything about the installation is vanilla standard, except that the target drive is D: The actual install setup came from the downloaded setup files stored in my user created directory. Have I misunderstood your question?
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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Hi Video Track, Thanks for responding and giving me this info. I find your setup interesting. I am not sure I fully understand it.
Anyway, support emailed me with some questions. I started an email to answer them. One of the questions made me decide to try one last time to see if I could get my computer to recognize the external USB drive that 2016 BIAB came on. Luck. This time it worked where as yesterday my computer could not recognize it. So I did a 2016 BIAB minimum reinstall to my C drive off that external USB drive and it worked. So I unplugged that USB drive and I clicked on my old BIAB icon that pointed at the BIAB that is set up on my computer's D drive under the folder "BIAB_2016_UltraPlusPAK" I created. It worked. I am now running under BIAB 2018 from my folder. I get one new error popup which I asked support about. Other than that everything seems to be working fine. I have put that external USB drive in a sealed plastic bag and taken some notes as to how I managed to resolve the issue.
I may never need to do all this again. But maybe PG_Music will redesign their setup.exe files in the future to run from anywhere. That would make things easier I think.
John
Last edited by bowlesj; 11/29/19 07:23 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,674
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,674 |
Glad that you got it working.
We could probably allow it to install from a custom folder in the future, like you say.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
Expert
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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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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
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Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
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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®.
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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.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
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.
Watch the video.
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.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
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- 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)
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- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
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- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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