BIAB crashes while "counting candidate plugins"

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Hi there,

I can't get my copy of BIAB 2012 to work. It looks like the program crashes on startup when it says "Counting candidate plugins..." in the top bar.
I'll have to restart my computer because I can't get BIAB to close (won't respond to End Task or End Process in Windows Task Manager either).
It seems to be the same problem as mike166 mentioned here: http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=359074&an=&page=&vc=1). I can't find the intrface.bbw file either so that can't be the problem then.

Help!

That interface file MUST be there, to my knowledge it's written to on load and perhaps when you quit.

it's called intrface.bbw,

delete it.

The problem must be an incompatible plug in. At least that's from me, I don't use 'em, so I might just be wrong.

Give it a try anyway!

YEs, I am pretty sure intrface.bbw must be there in the c:\BB main directory. Deleted it and it will regenerate with a fresh startup of BB

Kdvs, what operating system are you using? For some, you should run BIAB as Administrator. This would be done by right-clicking on your /bb/BBW.EXE file.

I could see it being a problem is one of the plugins does not have permissions. It would just hang. The though thing for any developer who codes is to deal with stuff that is not their own, being shoved into the software and expected to run fine. A very tough call for any code warrior. Puns intended.

Hi all,

right after I posted this message, I found intrf.bbw. Unfortunately, deleting it didn't solve the problem. After restarting my computer I tried to run bbw.exe as an administrator. Again, no luck.

I did find a file called PluginScanLog.log. If opened in Notepad it reads:

Plugin Scan Log

Calling Windows FFilterMapper2.EnumMatchingFilters...
... Windows FFilterMapper2.EnumMatchingFilters succeeded

Counting candidate plugins in the Enum...

Any ideas?

I'd copy it to another directory and try running the program again.

Barring that, someone on the left coast will arrive in the office soon, and might have something that sheds more light on this.

What was the last plugin you installed? Is it possible you can find the plug ins files and move that directory and see if the software will run?

You do have the latest build for your version right?

Hi kvds,

As I read through this thread, some questions sprang to mind that it would be useful for us all to know that answers to as the answers will help us try and pin point the problem.

1. Has the program worked at any stage for you?

2. What is your operating system and is it 32 bit or 64 bit?

3. Are you running the program from a USB drive?

4. When you installed the program, what install option did you choose when the setup procedure asked for a choice?

5. What directory (or folder) is the program installed to on your hard drive?

Regards,
Noel

The PluginScanLog.log file should tell us what the problem is.

With a successful scan, it will end with text like this:
"this is an error-free end of the log."

If it couldn't complete there should be some text indicating where it stopped.

What is the full text of the file?

Hi Noel,

1. No, it didn't (at least the 2012 version didn't, I used to work with a fully functional 2009 edition)
2. 64, if I'm not mistaken
3. No, I installed it on one my hard drives
4. I chose for a complete install
5. D:\bb\ to be exact

Hi Andrew,

All the PluginScanLog.log file says is:

Plugin Scan Log

Calling Windows FFilterMapper2.EnumMatchingFilters...
... Windows FFilterMapper2.EnumMatchingFilters succeeded

Counting candidate plugins in the Enum...

Hmmm... there's nothing else in that log? That's too bad...

In your bb folder, delete the files:
DXPluginList.ini
DXiPluginList.ini

And also in the bb\DX Settings folder, delete the file:
DefaultDXiSynth.tgs

Then, try to run Band-in-a-Box again and look at that log file again - let us know if it's different.

Hi Andrew,

I couldn't find those exact files, so I relocated the following files instead:

D:\bb
- dxplugexclude.ini
- P^DXPlug.ini

D:\bb\DX Settings
- Factory_DefaultDXiSynth.tgs
- Factory_DefaultDXAudio.tgs

and guess what... everything works like a charm again!

Thanks!

Quote:

Hi Andrew,

I couldn't find those exact files, so I relocated the following files instead:

D:\bb
- dxplugexclude.ini
- P^DXPlug.ini

D:\bb\DX Settings
- Factory_DefaultDXiSynth.tgs
- Factory_DefaultDXAudio.tgs

and guess what... everything works like a charm again!

Thanks!

So I thought...

After closing biab and starting the program again (even after deleting the files Andrew mentioned earlier that somehow showed up in the bb folder), biab crashed again during it's "counting candidate plugins" phase.

At least we're on to something...

Glad things got working... but I see it is recurring. This sounds like some plugin or synth that you have is causing problems (hanging while BiaB is talking to it).

BTW, that file c:\bb\DXPlugExclude.ini is one that should be kept, but its not important to restore it if things are working. That file is a text list, that you can edit, and includes names of plugins that DON'T work, or just hang when we are trying to get information from them. It's likely some interaction between our program and these particular plugins, we never know why it happens. Many of the plugins on the list are obscure (freeware/shareware), at least I haven't heard of most of them. Normally, if you are having a problem like you were having, the PlugInScan.log would tell you what plugin was the next to be scanned, and if that was the last entry, you would assume that that plugin was hanging, and you would add it to DXPlugExclude.ini list. If you need that dxplugexclude.ini file again, here's a copy of it, as shipped by us. http://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/jazzu/misc/dxplugexclude.ini

The error that you had (hanging during scanning plugins) is (fortunately) a rare event. At least I haven't seen messages about it on the forum.

There's another file, called c:\bb\dxplugexclude.ini that lists the plugins that have been found, though if you've never completed a successful scan, you might not have one of those.

Hi Peter,

thanks for your respons.

For some reason I thought that biab crashing could have something to do with my Nord piano begin hooked up (MIDI via USB) to my computer.

I tried to run the program before I turn on my piano and everything seemed to be working just fine. Could this have something to do with it?

Hi,

I faced exactly the same issue this week after I re-installed BIAB 2018 on my re-imaged Windows 10 Laptop.
I all the ideas in this thread and a lot of other stuff, but it did not work. Then some research gave me a hint that another malfunctioning DX component on my PC may be causing the hang of BIAB.

So I unplugged all USB devices from my Laptop and tried, and it worked fine.

By trial and error, I located it to faulty driver for M-Audio M-track. I repaired the driver using Windows, and after that the problem is gone.

I am posting it to this thread as it may help someone else who may be stuck like me. Please look for problem in the drivers for your add-on devices if you face a hang while scanning DX plugins.

Warm Regards,

Sanjay Jain