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Hello,
I've got BiaB 2020 on a Dell XPS 18 (a maxi-pad) with Windows 10 that I use on a digital piano and that I carry around.
I plan to buy BiaB 2025.
My computer's SSD is only 256 GB. It already contains more than 75 GB taken by various programs and files and so I will not be able to install on it Biab 2025 which is about 180 GB.
I do not want to carry BiaB on a disk connected to my computer with a cable, whether it is an HDD or an SSD.
Since my computer has a slot for an SD card, I plan to buy a 512 GB SD card with a speed of 150 MB/s (example: SanDisk Ultra) and install the Realtracks on the SD card since, unless I am mistaken, the BiaB installation procedure allows you to install the RealTracks elsewhere than on the C:\ drive
But PG Music advises me against it, reporting many problems encountered by SD card users.
What do you think? Have you encountered or heard of problems resulting from the installation of RealTracks on an SD card?
Thanks in advance for your opinion.


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LB.

a m.2 with enclosure is 50 bucks.
hooks up to usb c eg.


merry x.

om


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Originellement posté par justanoldmuso
LB.

a m.2 with enclosure is 50 bucks.
hooks up to usb c eg.

om

Maximum weight = 10 grams


Biab Audiophile 2025 11.28 Win
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Originellement posté par MoultiPass
Originellement posté par justanoldmuso
LB.

a m.2 with enclosure is 50 bucks.
hooks up to usb c eg.

om

Maximum weight = 10 grams

Thanks for your suggestions, but with the SSD there is a cable that connects it to the pad and the SSD dangles when you place the pad on a lectern: it is neither very practical nor very safe ... and it does not look very professional.

And if you leave quickly and forget the SSD or the cable it can be a pain... ;-)

While an SD card is in the computer and is carried with it.

Maybe it is better that I see if I can replace the 256 GB SSD of my computer with a 512 GB SSD!


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"Maybe it is better that I see if I can replace the 256 GB SSD of my computer with a 512 GB SSD!"

That would be the best option. Don't do it on the SD card, you will be crying.

There are several disk cloner software titles available. Free ones too. I use a free one. Usually cloning takes about 1-2 hours. Plus you will have a mirror of your original system as a backup. Don't forget to buy external enclosure (for cloning). Cheaper ones are $10 - $15.

Last edited by Rustyspoon#; 12/05/24 11:44 AM.
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Originally Posted by Lazy Bird
Maybe it is better that I see if I can replace the 256 GB SSD of my computer with a 512 GB SSD!

Don't stop there, go to a full TB and beyond if you got a few extra bucks.


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Hi -
I don't think you will have good results using an SD card. I know you don't want an external drive, but you might reconsider, as you can get the BiaB 2025 UltraPAK on a 256 GB SSD drive (option provided in the shopping cart). This can attach to your USB-C port on that computer with a short cable (only a few inches), and the drive itself is very small - smaller than a credit card, so this is much different experience than carrying around the standard 2.5 HDD with a long cable.


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I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but in any case everyone seems to agree that the SD card solution is not the right one ;-) ...

Thanks to all !


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Although I concur, the half-organized tests that we did on this are older news now. It's been several years. I do not know for sure anymore that it won't work on a new speed 10 flash drive.

I would always be guided by whatever Andrew says.


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Originally Posted by Lazy Bird
I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but in any case everyone seems to agree that the SD card solution is not the right one ;-) ...

Thanks to all !

Have you got an M2 slot in your laptop ?

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Originally Posted by Rustyspoon#
"Maybe it is better that I see if I can replace the 256 GB SSD of my computer with a 512 GB SSD!"

That would be the best option. Don't do it on the SD card, you will be crying.

There are several disk cloner software titles available. Free ones too. I use a free one. Usually cloning takes about 1-2 hours. Plus you will have a mirror of your original system as a backup. Don't forget to buy external enclosure (for cloning). Cheaper ones are $10 - $15.

Doing that on a Dell XPS 18 that could be an iffy situation.
I'd get the lay of the land before proceeding (opening it and looking at what I had to work with; you're gonna have to open it eventually anyway to do it). Reasons:
*All in one
*some models have parts not user replaceable (soldered etc)
*some have custom caddies to support the drive being replaced (could be notebook HDD or regular HDD or SSD, best to know what you are replacing)

Many on this forum are capable, but not knowing OPs skill level I don't want to give any advice without more definition of what he has to work with. Then we can guess if it's worth it.


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Originellement posté par musocity
Originellement posté par Lazy Bird
I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but in any case everyone seems to agree that the SD card solution is not the right one ;-) ...

Thanks to all !

Have you got an M2 slot in your laptop ?

No idea: I'd have to open my computer !

And I'd better leave that to a professional: before you asked and I looked it up on Google, I didn't even know what an M2 slot was 😊!)

Thanks for alerting me to this point though!


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Originellement posté par rharv
Originellement posté par Rustyspoon#
"Maybe it is better that I see if I can replace the 256 GB SSD of my computer with a 512 GB SSD!"

That would be the best option. Don't do it on the SD card, you will be crying.

There are several disk cloner software titles available. Free ones too. I use a free one. Usually cloning takes about 1-2 hours. Plus you will have a mirror of your original system as a backup. Don't forget to buy external enclosure (for cloning). Cheaper ones are $10 - $15.

Doing that on a Dell XPS 18 that could be an iffy situation.
I'd get the lay of the land before proceeding (opening it and looking at what I had to work with; you're gonna have to open it eventually anyway to do it). Reasons:
*All in one
*some models have parts not user replaceable (soldered etc)
*some have custom caddies to support the drive being replaced (could be notebook HDD or regular HDD or SSD, best to know what you are replacing)

Many on this forum are capable, but not knowing OPs skill level I don't want to give any advice without more definition of what he has to work with. Then we can guess if it's worth it.

Thank you for alerting me on this point!

As I don't know much about all these technical points, I will contact a professional if I change my SSD 😊


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The issue with the SD cards is mainly the file system. The RealTracks and RealDrums have a huge number of files (100,000+), which means a huge file system. Windows drives and SSD use NTFS and they are designed expecting rapid access to huge numbers of files. SD cards we have tested in the past are much too slow in this regard. You can tell this by trying to copy an entire RealTracks folder using wu diss explorer and watch the slow speed as each file is copied and then an entry is added to the file system.

Band-in-a-Box accesses the drive during playback, and any drive slowness can result in audio glitches or silence (this is the case for any DAW, which is why fast drives are important.

The SD cards are getting better, and some use NTFS or can be formatted to do so. If anyone has had success with a new SD cards for use as a drive on a DAW or other digital audio program, please let me know.


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Originally Posted by Lazy Bird
...No idea: I'd have to open my computer !

And I'd better leave that to a professional: before you asked and I looked it up on Google, I didn't even know what an M2 slot was 😊!)

Thanks for alerting me to this point though!
If you can post the full specs of the Dell model, I can have a look as the M2 drives just plug in easily, if you have a DVD rom slot you can use that for a SATA SSD bay to give an extra internal hard drive.

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Originellement posté par musocity
Originellement posté par Lazy Bird
...No idea: I'd have to open my computer !

And I'd better leave that to a professional: before you asked and I looked it up on Google, I didn't even know what an M2 slot was 😊!)

Thanks for alerting me to this point though!
If you can post the full specs of the Dell model, I can have a look as the M2 drives just plug in easily, if you have a DVD rom slot you can use that for a SATA SSD bay to give an extra internal hard drive.

It is very kind of you, musocity, to offer me this help.

Unfortunately, apart from the model name (Dell XPS 18), I do not have the detailed specifications of my device.

Also, there is no DVD slot: the Dell XPS 18 is shaped like a maxi pad (18-inch screen) with a separate keyboard and is therefore very thin.

This is a model that Dell manufactured ten years ago, but which has been discontinued for several years (which is a shame because it was a very original product and ideal for a pianist ☹) :
https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-us/servicetag/0-Ukd0blN6NlYxZDFRb29mcy9DVDZyQT090/overview


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Originellement posté par PeterGannon
The issue with the SD cards is mainly the file system. The RealTracks and RealDrums have a huge number of files (100,000+), which means a huge file system. Windows drives and SSD use NTFS and they are designed expecting rapid access to huge numbers of files. SD cards we have tested in the past are much too slow in this regard. You can tell this by trying to copy an entire RealTracks folder using wu diss explorer and watch the slow speed as each file is copied and then an entry is added to the file system.

Band-in-a-Box accesses the drive during playback, and any drive slowness can result in audio glitches or silence (this is the case for any DAW, which is why fast drives are important.

The SD cards are getting better, and some use NTFS or can be formatted to do so. If anyone has had success with a new SD cards for use as a drive on a DAW or other digital audio program, please let me know.

Thank you very much, Peter, for these details that will surely interest many Band-in-a-Box users.

But I will probably not be the first to experience installing Realtracks on a high-speed SD card formatted in NTFS: if it is possible with my maxi tablet, I will rather choose to replace my 256 GB SSD with a 512 or 1000 GB SSD.


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>>> But I will probably not be the first to experience installing Realtracks on a high-speed SD card formatted in NTFS: if it is possible with my maxi tablet, I will rather choose to replace my 256 GB SSD with a 512 or 1000 GB SSD.

Yes, it would be great if SD cards have improved for speed and file handling. I'd love to hear from anyone that has tried one of the new ones with BiaB. And if so, let us know make/model.


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It should have an M2 SSD slot, if not the hard drive is easy enough to upgrade, you just need to clone the old drive to the new bigger one.
You can use a USB 3.0 to SSD adapter to clone from your SSD to new bigger SSD.
You also have USB 3.0 M2 adapters, you can plug into USB 3.0 and tape it to the back of the pad or use double sided tape.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Dell+XPS+18+HDD-SSD+Replacement/103769

M2 SSD slot:
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Here is a link to download the free DiskGenius software.
https://www.diskgenius.com/

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USB 3.0 M2:
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Last edited by musocity; 12/09/24 04:56 PM.
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Originellement posté par musocity
It should have an M2 SSD slot, if not the hard drive is easy enough to upgrade, you just need to clone the old drive to the new bigger one.
You can use a USB 3.0 to SSD adapter to clone from your SSD to new bigger SSD.
You also have USB 3.0 M2 adapters, you can plug into USB 3.0 and tape it to the back of the pad or use double sided tape.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Dell+XPS+18+HDD-SSD+Replacement/103769
Here is a link to download the free DiskGenius software.
https://www.diskgenius.com/
USB 3.0 M2:

That's so kind, musocity ;-)
Maybe I should have tried it myself, but I preferred to entrust my machine to a professional, and I now have an SSD that will allow me to install Band-in-a-Box 2025.
That being said, with all the information and illustrations you provided me, I'm sure I will be able to do it myself when Band-in-Box exceeds 512 GB ;-)
Thanks again!


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