Probably a stupid question (I have no shortage of those) but is it possible to purchase older versions of Band In A Box?

I was using version 10 until my computer crashed, now it's back online but the program just won't work anymore. My only option seems to be to repurchase the software, but at the moment I couldn't even afford the basic 2019 version.

So, is it possible to purchase older versions? Or am I just going to have to scrimp and save?

I think if you have a registered version you should be able to log into your account and download it. Go to the pgmusic.com web site log in then go to My Account - My Products and download what you have purchased.

Do you have an account with PG Music? If so, contact them via the support page, and see if they can give you a link to your original version download.

Regardless, I think they will be the ones to assist you to recover better than us forum members.

Yes, definitely contact PG Music.

Assuming you legitimately purchased and registered any version, PG will likely treat you right.

Unfortunately I never got around to registering the software

Hi

Version 10 is from cica 2001
So lets hope you registered it, or that it is in your purchase history on your account if bought from PG.
If you purchased from a third party then you should likely have a boxed version with enclosed installation media on disc or cd
even so if you registered it with PG I'm sure they can help.

Mike

Were you ever on PG Music's mailing list or ever purchased any product directly from PG Music? It's possible the third party you purchased from may have registered the sale with PG Music for you. PG Music keeps pretty good records on customers and potential customers. If you had any relationship with the company they likely can identify the sale.

As others have stated, you need to contact the PG Music sales department.

Good luck.

If you bought the software from PG Music originally, you will be on their books. It would still be worthwhile contacting them.

As others have said - if you bought direct from PG they will have your records and will be able to help you get the software. BUT, as somebody who has recently upgraded from 2007 to 2019, I would highly recommend the upgrade to the latest version.

I bought version 10 from a third party, and unfortunately, I never got around to registering the product. I have since lost the original installation disc.

Looks like I'll be without the program until I can afford an upgrade.

I don't think version 10, or 2010 required registration. I believe 2017 was the first.

HI



Well there is a lesson there if you want support buy from PG or a reputable reseller and register the purchase.

I notice you only joined a couple of weeks ago. If you came here hoping some one would give you a copy of an old version I am afraid you have come to the wrong place. Members here would not get involved in any illegal transfer of pg products.

If you own a PG music product then you can upgrade at a special price this means your licence is for the new product only, not the new and old version (my understanding)

So the only person that would have a transferable product (with help from PG),
would be someone who had bought all their products as a first time buyer at full price and not subsequently upgraded them. They would hold a full licence for each product.
You wont find many folk that spend that sort of money, most go the upgrade route

So you can see there is not much chance of some one giving you one unless they have an original full licensed version, that has not been used as the basis for an upgrade.

Just my thoughts
Mike

At no point did I ask for anyone to provide me with a free copy of the software, and I'm quite offended by the accusation that my intention was to acquire an illegal copy.

I am strongly against piracy of any kind and never steal any kind of media. If I'm unable to get something, I go without.

Just call PG. They'll hopefully sort it for you.

Hi
Let me apologise you seem to have misunderstood my post.

I did not accuse you of anything I said “if you came …..”
And then went on to explain why that would be difficult anyway if a person had a copy that was part of an upgrade chain.

The written word can often seem a bit harsh at times, but please don’t take my post as an attack on your integrity, this is not my way, and certainly not my intention.
Best Regards
Mike

As mentioned a few times, calling PGMusic may surprise you.
They are pretty good at satisfying customer situations, even if the 'proof' of prior purchase may be hard to find.

Probably worth your effort to make the call, may save some $$.

Yep, that's still my recommendation.

I have spoken to PG Music, but because I bought the software from a third party never registered the product, there's nothing they can do to help me.

Sorry to hear that Jack.

If you have an opportunity to save up a few dollars, you will be amazed at the features in the latest version.

Also, there may be some discounted sale offers available in December, so it's worth keeping that in mind.

Also, I don't know how badly broken your old version of BIAB is. If you still have most of the files, the chances are any additional styles etc. that you bought would still work. So if you are really strapped for cash you could buy the cheapest no add-ons version of BIAB and copy the stuff from your old version.

But as VideoTrack says, traditionally the next version of BIAB comes out in December and there are usually discount offers that include lots of stuff bundled in the package. So if you can wait, do.

Andy

HI Again

You don’t say if you still have the biab folder present on your drive.
Or if you lost every thing by re formatting the hard drive.
If you just reinstalled or repaired windows without reformatting the hard drive then the c: bb folder should still be there.
If it is but its just a case that it no longer runs , it may well help to download and install the last update for version 10
Band-in-a-Box® Version 10.0c Update (505 KB)
This patch will update Band-in-a-Box® version 10.0 - 10.0b to version 10.0c. Please note that you must have versions 10.0 to use the update. If you are using any other version, the update will not succeed.
You will find this at
https://www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm

scroll towards the bottom of the page to find this

You may also need to run the installer from the C: bb folder to install a couple of bits in your new copy of windows ( fonts etc )

Hope this is some help.
Mike

Lesson learned, always back up your system.

But that doesn't solve your problem. If none of the previous suggestions work then head to Ebay. They have a number of old BiaB versions available. If you purchase a newer version make sure that it comes with a registration number.

Good luck.

I managed to rescue the folder exactly as it was pre-crash, and thought that pasting it back in after recovery would work, but I get an error message saying that it is incompatible with the version of Windows that I am running. I have tried the upgrades, as well as every method out there to try to get it going, but nothing works.

There is still information missing here.

Do you have BIAB Version 10, or Version 2010? Go to Help, About.

What version of Windows are you using? Windows may have to be run in compatibility mode.

BIAB of any version will open the files made by BIAB of any version, unless there are perhaps plugins involved. We need to know details.

What was the exact error message, and what were the exact steps you took to get that error?

I am using version 10 (not 2010) on Windows 7. I have tried every compatibility mode but none of them work.

I don't know of any plugins being used.

The error message appeared after I had to factory reset my computer. I can't remember exactly what it says so I will let you know later (I am out using mobile data at the moment)

Hi
HI just a thought there are two versions with similar numbers
Make sure you get the update for the right version
Version 10 update A B OR latest C
As well as Version 10 links that I posted earlier there is another much later version from 10 years later this is

Band-in-a-Box® Version 2010.5 Build 308 Update (25 MB)

was the last version

This is available in the same place as all updates see my other link

Mike.
Sorry Mat missed your post

I have tried using these updates, but they didn't work either.

Biab was still 16 bit back then I believe. Does it mean anything????

HI as you have rebuilt windows7
I am fairly certain you will have to rerun the installer from your BIAB folder.
To set it up in Windows 7 with fonts and other bits
I would do this in compatibility mode for an older version of windows as it will be well pre W7

Not certain what the installer EXE file is called but you should be able to identify it by its name (do not try to use the ordinary bb.exe that is used for running the installed program.
Some one may be able to help with the installer name.
Mike

The exact error messages for the several errors you report will be very helpful.

When you said PG Music couldn’t help, what did you ask them?

Biab was still 16 bit back then I believe. Does it mean anything????

A brief recap of what lead me here and questions answered...

1. Running BIAB Version 10 on Windows 7 Home Premium with Service Pack 1, 64-bit.

2. BIAB would not load beyond welcome screen - in the Task Manager, it did not appear in Applications but did appear under Processes.

3. Ran check for viruses and malware, system clean.

4. Ran Disk Defrag which crashed system (would not boot)

5. Removed hard drive and rescued documents and programs. Reinstalled Windows 7.

6. Pasted BIAB folder back into computer and attempted to run. Received the error message:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computers system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

7. Have tried running all available compatibility modes, DOS emulators, software updates and all sorts of solutions that I found online to run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit system, but nothing has worked. I am unsure if this version of BIAB is 32-bit or 16-bit.

8. I cannot reinstall the program as the original installation discs were lost in a move a few years ago.

9. I contacted PG Music and asked them what my options were given the above circumstances. Given that the program was bought from a third party via eBay and I failed to register it, they were unable to help me.

10. I am ready to throw my computer out the window.

I could be wrong, but I also think BIAB was 16 bit at v10, so it's not going to work at all in a 64 bit OS.

One thing you can try, which should work, is to install XP Mode on Windows 7, if you haven't already (assuming XP Mode is still available) and then run BIAB 10 in an XP virtual machine. XP should be able to run 16 bit apps. Just don't install the Roland VSC-3 Sound Canvas, which won't work on XP.

It worked fine before all of this happened, so I can't understand why it won't now.

Either way, I have tried your suggestion, but it did not work.

If I get a chance, I'll try to re-install my old BIAB 10 on Win7 and see what happens. Are you running 32bit Win7 or 64bit Win7?

64-bit.

Jack,

Have you always run Win 7 64-bit?

In the past if you had run Windows 7 32-bit, or an earlier Windows 32-bit version, the program may have worked and if you re-installed or updated to Windows 7 64-bit, this could have caused the problem.

Regards,
Noel

No, it was always 64-bit. At this point, I'm tempted to do another factory reset, this time on 32-bit, just to see if that would fix it.

If BIAB is an old 16bit program and you have updated to Window 7 64bit that may be the problem. Switching to Window 7 32bit might be easier. There are options to get a 16 bit program running on Windows 7 64bit. These might help..

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2045345/run-an-old-program-on-a-new-pc.html

https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_can_we_run_16_bit_applications_in_windows_7_64bit

But this looks like a lot of work. Probably finding a way to get a new version of BIAB would be the best route.

Andy

Yes, they are a lot of work, I've tried them both (and neither worked)

Then I think something must be corrupted in the BIAB installation. It may be some of the DLLs aren't in the right place, which might be fixable. Or it may be that some of the files are still corrupted despite you recovery. The "incompatible" popup could just as easily be caused by a corrupt executable that Windows just doesn't understand.

I think it is unlikely Windows is at fault if other things are running without a problem. So I don't think another factory reset will help.

You're probably going to have to resort to eBay or wait for the deals in December.

Andy

Jack,

When you say that you tried all the compatibility modes, how did you 'try' them?

The file that they need to be used with is BBW.EXE -- did you right-click on this file, select properties and then select a compatibility mode?

It would also be worthwhile trying 256 colors and using 640 x 480 screen resolution -- this might help.

Regards,
Noel

This is a long shot. I don't know if these files existed in your version. The fact that the program won't launch may be due to a corrupted configuration file(s).

Try this:

With BiaB shutdown, open your x:\bb\preferences\ folder. In that folder, rename the files intrface.bbw and Mysetup.dk (rename to anything, e.g. intrface_OLD.bbw).

(These files may be in the x:\bb\ folder depending on which version you have. You may need to search for the files: Mysetup.dk and intrface.bbw)

If you can find them, rename them.

Then try to start BiaB.

Good luck.

HI

Indeed Video Track’s advise is good . so give it a go.
As far as running 16bit progs on W7 64 goes.
A 64 operating system on a 64 bit pc can run 32 bit programs
Normally windows put 64 prog In Program files and 32 bit programs in Program files 86, and runs them from there.
Biab does not use these locations and normally put all its self into C: bb

So the 32 bit BIAB will run fine from here on a 64 bit PC W7.
However a 16 bit program Al la BIAB version 10, will have to be run in compatibility mode with at least XP.
It would also need to be installed in a 16bit compatibility mode as well, as the 16bit installer wont work in 32 bit mode. (don’t ignore this point).

Just some more thoughts on all this.
Mike

Also, make sure you did not install it to either of the "Program Files" folder location; Windows puts special protections on those folders that keep BIAB from running properly (mainly because BIAB wants to write back to its folder, whereas apps installed in "Program Files" generally write back to the registry instead.

Again, I'll try to install it this weekend and see what happens. But I agree. Version 10 is waaaaaayyyyyy old (the latest patch for it is from June 2001). It's come so much farther since then.

This is all too much for me to comprehend, I'm just going to give up on it all.

Thank you all for your help.

Well, we tried.
If you still wish to use BiaB, I suggest to wait until December and visit the PG Music web site. There may be some good pricing offers available.

You will also be impressed with the number of excellent new features that have been included since your version.

I just went through my old versions of BIAB and tried to install onto Windows 7 64-bit. It went as expected.

You cannot even install versions 8, 9, 10, and 11. They are 16-bit apps and will just not work on 64-bit Windows. That's why you get the error that it is incompatible with the version of Windows.

Version 12 will appear to install correctly (apparently the installer is 32-bit), however, it will not actually run BBW.EXE (because the main BIAB program is 16-bit).

Version 2004 is the first version that you can install and and should run in a 64-bit Windows 7 environment, but it didn't (at least initially). After a reboot, however, it did launch and seems to work. Also, as I recall, some of the add-in programs won't work, because they remained 16-bit.

From the BIAB 2004 user manual:



BIAB 2004 is also when we got DXi support, which allowed direct rendering of MIDI to WAV file.

That's where I stopped testing.

Well after all the info we provided I hope Jack decides to join the family. Version 10 is really useless in this day and age.

Hi all

What a waste of time this has all been.
I don’t see how the case stated in the opening post can be so.

It appears it never could have worked, unless we are really talking about version 2010.

Lots of folk spent lots of time on this, and I’m sure we can all accept what John says from his extensive test.
Version 10 don’t and never did work in this situation.

So where are we now?
Just what are we trying to deal with here?

Mike
Remember: "The Owls May Not Be What They Seem"

I knew that as well.Right at the start. Trying to be nice.

I also got hung up when he said it used to work on Win7 64-bit; I didn't see how that was possible, other than running it in a Windows XP VM (which I suggested, and which I have previously done successfully). So I tested it and confirmed my initial suspicions.

John, if I remember correctly I did have some 16 bit programs work in 64 bit Win 7 when I updated XP to Win 7. After a while I was having problems so I formatted the drive, installed Win 7 and then the programs would not load. There must have been something in the registry that allowed these program to run that was taken out when I did a fresh Win 7 install. I'm fairly sure about this but as I have CRS and this happened awhile ago I may be wrong.

From everything I've read, 64-bit Windows will not run 16-bit applications, because the 64 bit version of Windows does not include NTVDM (NT Virtual DOS Machine) or any support for a 16 bit subsystem. You can set up NTVDM to run in a 32-bit version using a virtual machine, or something like DOSBOX or vDOS, or enabling and installing NTVDM on a 32-bit version of Windows.

Perhaps your initial upgrade to Win7 was 32-bit?

I have generally used XPMode (which is a Virtual Machine version of WinXP) to run the 16-bit Windows apps (but not all of them work). They took XPMode out of Windows 10 when they released it.

Not too many folks used the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

So I'm a liar as well, am I? I'm so sorry to have wasted your time time, Mike, as well as everyone else's. Seeing as though I no longer have the software, I guess there's no point me being here, especially when I now feel unwelcome.

For goodness sake no one is calling anyone anything just trying to make some sense of all this.

Despite all that has been said here I am running an old windows 95/98 copy of Yamaha XG Works 3 (daw) that was updated to XP when I was running windows XP.

When I bought my W7 64 for BIAB Yamaha xg works would not install under any compatibility mode (not surprising ) as even the installer would not run.
However it soon got around the Yamaha Forums that if you had an installed copy on an old Microsoft XP build you could move the whole Yamaha folder to as under.
Note I made myself way back then:

These programs will not install in W7 even under compatibility modes.
Use this pre installed copy just copy the whole folder
To program files (x86) in W7.
Also copy font file to windows fonts.
Mike Head 16-7-12.

And don’t forget the music font from the old machine,

Since that time left undisturbed in its own folder it has run in both W7 64 and is currently running in W10 64 tonight.

I am beginning to wonder if this may be the answer but you would need a working installed copy of BIAB version 10 complete in its folder from the windows OS that supported it.
Maybe this in fact this is what you may have got from Ebay originally with instruction to copy to rather than install.

Mike

I have OCCASIONALLY seen clean retail copies on eBay that could be purchased and upgraded saving pretty substantial bucks. On the other hand there are lots of dodgy sources on eBay selling pirated good, "refurbished" versions with eDelivery. I'm amazed PG Music and other legitimate publishers don't go after eBay and make them halt this practice. I suspect a lot of unwitting purchasers send money to these clown only to find that they can't register their software once they've download it.

Sometimes your local brick and mortar music store or online stores like Sweetwater or AMS will have an older retail version of Band-in-a-Box left over when the new stuff is released. Typically it will be a boxed version of the Pro or Mega PAK released on DVD media with the serial number printed on a sticker attached to the white, DVD protective sleeve.

+++ HERE +++ is an example for a boxed version of the 2018 Band-in-a-Box for Mac Pro PAK.