Well this is the scenario from hell if I ever saw one.
I just upgraded to BIAB 2024 last week, installed it and used one of my 3 activation's to get it going.
Well last night I walked over to my desktop to turn it on, not knowing that it actually was in a sleep mode. Well with 30% humidity in the room and after walking across the carpet you can only guess the ending.
The spark from my fingertip blew out the CPU and one of the SSD's (my E drive) that just happened to have an image of my C drive from 2 days earlier.
I was able to verify the CPU demise using an identical spare motherboard.
I had planned to upgrade this 13 year old dinosaur in 2024 anyways. In the meantime, I restored a 6 month old image to my standby laptop using a bare metal install and it works just fine.
Now the C drive from the desktop is intact so the Ticket in Users-Public-Ticket is just fine and has both the the 2023 and 2024 full tickets and bin files are there.
But I am sure I just wasted one of the activation's since the crash happened on the desktop PC
My next step is to copy my entire BB directory to the C drive in the laptop including the files in the ticket directory but I will bet even money after this is done, it will show a non-activated status and I will have to use a 2nd activation to get back in business.
Keep this in mind during the winter months with very low humidity. Watch for static electricity build up on your person. I keep a full room humidifier in the room for acoustic instruments but it had been off for a few hours and with the heat on, the humidity dropped to a dangerous level.
When sparks fly, electronics die.
I wonder if PG Music would restore the used and needlessly wasted activation for me for a XMAS present.
BIAB2026 Windows 10 Pro (Never Windows 11!) WA6NCB
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
I keep a full room humidifier in the room for acoustic instruments but it had been off for a few hours and with the heat on, the humidity dropped to a dangerous level.
This can be an expensive problem during the Winter in cold climates as you are unfortunately finding out.
I like a "belt and suspenders" approach intended to prevent dry skin and in the bargain we've never had an ESD electronics failure.
Our first line of defense is a 5.6 gallon AirCare humidifier. I don't trust the adjustable humidistat for "automatic control" so it runs on a low fan speed continuously 24/7 in the Winter.
Our second line of defense is 2 stainless steel pots maintained with water that live on top of the wood stove. The hotter the stove, the higher the moisture output. This automatic control I trust.
The third line of defense is a small Honeywell cool mist humidifier suitable for a single room.
Years ago I figured out the one-time adjustments for all 3 for zero condensation on the windows.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I keep a full room humidifier in the room for acoustic instruments but it had been off for a few hours and with the heat on, the humidity dropped to a dangerous level.
This can be an expensive problem during the Winter in cold climates as you are unfortunately finding out.
I like a "belt and suspenders" approach intended to prevent dry skin and in the bargain we've never had an ESD electronics failure.
Our first line of defense is a 5.6 gallon AirCare humidifier. I don't trust the adjustable humidistat for "automatic control" so it runs on a low fan speed continuously 24/7 in the Winter.
Our second line of defense is 2 stainless steel pots maintained with water that live on top of the wood stove. The hotter the stove, the higher the moisture output. This automatic control I trust.
The third line of defense is a small Honeywell cool mist humidifier suitable for a single room.
Years ago I figured out the one-time adjustments for all 3 for zero condensation on the windows.
I do have a 5.6 gallon AirCare which you can see in the picture but I don't have a wood stove. I also have a small cool mist which I will pull out for the bedroom.
Looking in the bright side, there was nothing important on the SSD that went out and it is under warranty so I already have a RMA in progress to return it. AND I was planning to upgrading to a new system after having this old one for over a decade in January anyways. The only bummer is the fact that I lost 1 of my 3 activation's for the 2024 Upgrade and that was after only enjoying it for around 4 days. That's the bummer.
BIAB2026 Windows 10 Pro (Never Windows 11!) WA6NCB
............................................ The only bummer is the fact that I lost 1 of my 3 activation's for the 2024 Upgrade and that was after only enjoying it for around 4 days. That's the bummer.
I'm sure that if you contact PGM and tell them what happened they will deactivate that computer.
My boss calls me "the computer". Nothing to do with intelligence. I go to sleep if left unattended for 15 minutes.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
The fastest way calendar wise would likely be to use the Live Chat feature and explain your situation.
You still have two activation's left so you are probably not in that much of an emergency situation (thus emailing Support may be fine), but I concur with others; there is a good chance the Activation will be handled by support with little fuss .. the first time anyway.
If you try that a few times I suspect it would raise eyebrows though
In other words, I'd consider that the least of your worries right now.
For some reason, in my old memory, I *think* there is a way for you for you to deactivate a license in your PGMusic Store account yourself, but I couldn't provide detail .. I just seem to remember that there was a way.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
............................................ The only bummer is the fact that I lost 1 of my 3 activation's for the 2024 Upgrade and that was after only enjoying it for around 4 days. That's the bummer.
I'm sure that if you contact PGM and tell them what happened they will deactivate that computer.
I will contact them today, probably via chat since it is Saturday, and see if they will deactivate that computer for me.
BIAB2026 Windows 10 Pro (Never Windows 11!) WA6NCB
<...snip...> Our first line of defense is a 5.6 gallon AirCare humidifier. I don't trust the adjustable humidistat for "automatic control" so it runs on a low fan speed continuously 24/7 in the Winter.
Our second line of defense is 2 stainless steel pots maintained with water that live on top of the wood stove. The hotter the stove, the higher the moisture output. This automatic control I trust.
The third line of defense is a small Honeywell cool mist humidifier suitable for a single room.<...>
I never realized living in humid, coastal Florida was an advantage until now.
Well all and all it wasn't a total disaster at all. I got hold of PGMusic on the chat line on Saturday and they sorted the activation loss for me and was able to "deactivate" the now dead machine so I am back to square one on that. Kudos to PGMusic and their support team. Can't say enough for them.
I rebuilt my HP Envy DV7 laptop from scratch and now have it mirrored to the way my Desktop machine was and cabled my 27" monitor via a HDMI cable so my 70+ year old eyes wont be the next to go.
The big task is deciding which Motherboard, CPU, memory, fan and case I need to get. Any suggestions are welcomed. Since this build I am hoping will last another 10+ years, I need need to chose wisely, as they said in Indiana Jones movie.
Since I build my own, pcpartpicker.com was suggested to me and since I live equal distance from Kansas City and St Louis, MicroCenter has been visited by me many times before.
With 20+ CPU's and 50+ MB's to chose from, the end choice would be decided by both budget and reliability factors. Since I am an old AMD fan, I tend to lean towards them.
I am not really a gamer and tend to more productivity activities such as audio and video editing. Been looking into AI software that can separate old mono recordings into separate tracks so you can re-combine them into true stereo and that takes a fairly powerful processor.
And of course, one of the items will be purchasing then will be a anti-static wrist strap and mat.
BIAB2026 Windows 10 Pro (Never Windows 11!) WA6NCB
While I built all my PCs starting in 1983, I hired a local business to build the last one. There were too many changes I wasn’t familiar with, like NVMe m 2 drives. But I did specify what I thought was most important for digital audio especially BIAB, and the priority is as follows:
CPU speed CPU cores Storage drive speed Storage drive capacity Sufficient RAM Graphics Onboard audio
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.
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!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
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®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
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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.
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.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
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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)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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