Hi guys, been using linux more & more for surfing & listening to the spotify music channel.
Cn somebody please give me a simple step by step guide on how to run biab using wine ?
I'm almost a complete newb at command lines so thanks in advance for any help

I don't use Mint as my main desktop, (I'm a Ubuntu user) but the procedure is the same..

First of all, if you haven't already done it, look in your Software Manager and install WINE. Alternatively, even though you're a newbie at command line, you can open a terminal and type in sudo apt-get install wine

Once WINE is installed, simply place your BIAB CD in the drive and it should automatically ask you if you want to use the Windows Installer.

Then, after BIAB is installed, you might get lucky and find that everything works. However, my guess is that you're going to run into problems with sound i.e. getting MIDI to work.

I have BIAB installed on my Ubuntu system, but every time I do an on-line upgrade, something breaks and I have to go thru the trauma of getting MIDI to work again.

However, other than MIDI, everything else should work, so you can use it for printing lead sheets ec.

Graham,

My reccomendation to you is simple enough.

Don't do it.

Save yourself the grief.

This is not for the faint of heart, not for the hardcore technophobe, the real problem hear is typically drivers, drivers and drivers. Getting the hardware that we need to work, Audio, MIDI, etc. is problematic to put it mildly.

Use a Windows machine for BiaB and use the Linux machine for websurfing.


--Mac

Thanks Mac I'll keep biab ina different hd from windows. I normally just use Linux for surfing

Furry,

I’m glad to see that you’re following Mac’s excellent advice.

Linux, (in my case Ubuntu), is a great OS as long as all you want to do is surf the net and have a built in basic office suite , … and it’s free.

But if you want to do anything more than that, you need to go with Windows 7 or Mac, ... unless of course you enjoy spending countless hours looking for drivers only to find that what you need to use isn't supported.

I agree with Mac and Bob, at least for a beginner. However, as you use Mint, Ubuntu, or whatever distribution you choose, you may find some useful tools other the net surfing and Open Office ones. Some my favourite personal ones to which you might relate would be Audacity, Sound Recorder, and WinFF for your audio and video files and their conversions; the GIMP for advanced image editing and KolourPaint for simple image drawing and editing; BibleTime which has a great Bible search tool; Gnumeric for simple spreadsheets; and many more but I'm tired of typing with these 2 fingers. Just like you did with Windows, keep an open mind on available software possibilities and keep playing with the OS. Eventually, you will gain enough knowledge and technical skill to install and run Biab in Linux.

As long as you don't care about the RealTrack stuff, midi BnB styles work fine under Wine. Older versions of BnB work better than newer versions.

1. Install Wine
2. Install Qsynth
3. Install the soundfonts you want to use in Qsynth
4. Install Band In A Box under Wine

When you are ready to use BnB, you have to start Qsynth first, then start Band In A Box. Check the Options in BnB to make certain that Qsynth is selected as your Midi out. Then use BnB as normal.

If you want Realtracks to work, the simple fix is to convert all of the wma files to wav files.

Versions fo BnB up to 2016 work well. In later versions (2021)the song and style pickers are broken.