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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10 |
I am attempting to transfer my existing BIAB 2018 to a new PC and am running afoul of activation and licensing. The prompt box says to use menu-Help, Activation. This activation feature is itself not activated (!!!) and I'm unable to find any way to get this relatively simple task accomplished. Trying the live chat help for PG Music is useless since they're apparently too busy to respond.
I have released the license, restored it, tried all of the multiple Activation buttons, poked around in FAQs here and at PG Music and tried every available button or option. I'd appreciate any suggestions and thanks.
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"We know what we are, but not what we may be"
- Noted bluesman Blind Will Shakespeare
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944 |
Hi,
You should first install the latest 2018 build.
To activate on a different PC you just need to go to Help | Activate (Not "restore", that is for re-activating a license on the same PC). If not working, what is the reason given / error message?
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10 |
I transferred all BIAB files last night from my old PC. In attempting to test BIAB, I get a prompt box stating
"Some features are disabled. Menu-Help-Activation to activate Program is not activated. Reason is: You can only use this copy of the program on one computer. If you want to use the program on a new computer, choose Menu Help Activation or Menu-Help=Restore".
So I read this as I'm being told to do something that the same prompt box said was not even activated. A search of the topics and index of the "help" doesn't even turn up any hits on the word "Restore" either, so I would appreciate a little help in what should have been a simple task and thank you.
***********************
"We know what we are, but not what we may be"
- Noted bluesman Blind Will Shakespeare
***********************
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944 |
It sounds like you also copied the activated license 'ticket' files from your old PC. To fix this problem, (on your new PC) go to C:\Users\Public\Ticket and delete the bb*.ticket and bb*.bin files. Do that with Band-in-a-Box closed, and when you next launch it you should be able to activate.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10 |
I have downloaded and installed BIAB as suggested above. I got what build was available from my account Downloads section, ran the .exe file and am still getting the same issues.
Anyone? Thanks.
***********************
"We know what we are, but not what we may be"
- Noted bluesman Blind Will Shakespeare
***********************
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944 |
Did you follow the instructions in my last post?
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 10 |
Thank you, Andrew, your advice worked perfectly. Tell your boss I said you are underpaid.
Cheers,
Ed
***********************
"We know what we are, but not what we may be"
- Noted bluesman Blind Will Shakespeare
***********************
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,680
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,680 |
It sounds like you also copied the activated license 'ticket' files from your old PC. To fix this problem, (on your new PC) go to C:\Users\Public\Ticket and delete the bb*.ticket and bb*.bin files. Do that with Band-in-a-Box closed, and when you next launch it you should be able to activate. Hmm, I may have to do something on my setup for this. At present I'm building a lot of songs on my desktop PC, because I have a comgortable place to use it and two screens. The PC I'll use when I'm playing will be a small notepad ... it's about 12" diagonal wide-screen, so not really convenient for the job of building songs. The obvious first issue is that I was under the impression I could install and use on multiple PCs, but your post suggests I'm mistake, unless I can flip back-and-forth with that restore. If that's the case, I presume I must remember to release the license on the desktop PC and reactivate the notepad, before I go to a session or I'll be stuck with no license on the notepad. Help->Utilities in the manual refers to: "Special Options for Activation/De-Activation" but that isn't present on my Desktop. I thought I'd activated the notepad, but I appear mistaken. The other issue appears trivial ... I plan to keep both PCs synchronised and obviously I need to exclude the license .bin and .Ticket files ... I presume licenses are fingerprinted to the particular PC.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944 |
Help->Utilities in the manual refers to: "Special Options for Activation/De-Activation" but that isn't present on my Desktop. I thought I'd activated the notepad, but I appear mistaken. The manual may need updating, since the system is simpler in Band-in-a-Box 2020. You just go to the Activation dialog and click Deactivate Online. This would deactivate the program on that PC and free up that one activation for another computer, using a single activation. To restore it, you can just click on "Activate Online" again (this was previously a separate button/dialog called "Release/Restore"). Activations are "per computer" and there are three available. The license files are stored in the C:\Users\Public folder.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,680
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,680 |
Activations are "per computer" and there are three available. That's what I thought I'd read, but failed to find it when I looked. So I can licence both the Desktop and the notepad. Excellent. The license files are stored in the C:\Users\Public folder. Oh, right. I wouldn't be synching that anyway. Incidentally, my notepad copy is working OK, presumably with features missing, and I'm well past 30 days on it chronological. Is it use on 30 days, not necessarily continuous, or should it have complained by now? Thanks Andrew. BTW, FYI: BIAB seems to work _quite_ well in a VirtualBox under Win7 on Linux. My main reason for switching to a Win10 bootup was that I had too little space in the VM for the UltraPAK. I probably could have put that on the fileserver, but elected against. Obvious shortcoming: the audio has occasional clicks, presumably related to time-sharing and possibly tuneable. USB connections from hardware to VM are very patchy, so a MIDI keyboard is difficult, at best, to use. I may even have activated it there, prior to upgrading to the UltraPAK.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,944 |
If it wasn't activated properly you would definitely know about it. Also, you should see that it says "activated" in the About dialog.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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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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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
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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)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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