Hi everyone, I am really new here, about 10 minutes old. A friend is sending me Band in a box Pro 9 Windows edition. I can find nothing about this edition, how old it might be(2009?? maybe) and what it may include. I use windows 8.1 and hope this will run on my computer.
If I keep this, will I be able to upgrade to 2018? also I really like the idea of having band in a box on an external hard drive. Since I would be upgrading is it possible to add the Pro 9 to the upgrade on the upgrade's hard drive? Or is the upgrade even available on a hard drive? Or should I not keep this edition and just spring for the 2018 ultra pak or ultra pak+?

I play pedal steel, lap steel, resophonic, Ukulele, and beginning on a 5 string Ubass.
What has eluded me up to this point is to play my songs to a back up or backing tracks as I have played solo all my life with the short exception of playing in a praise band we started this year which is really helping a lot.

I just turned 77 this month so I am anxious to get with it.

appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks a bunch
Richard (Dick) Chapple Sr
Hardin Montana

Hi Rich,

Whether this will run depends on if it's version 9 or 2009.

Version 9 would be extremely old (late 90s), and definitely won't run on Windows 8.1. Version 2009 would mostly run, but would have some issues. You'd definitely want to upgrade to a newer version either way, to get full functionality.

Regarding upgrades, if your friend contacts us to transfer his license to you (and confirm that he's not still using Band-in-a-Box himself), you'll certainly be eligible for upgrade pricing. You then wouldn't need to use that version 9, you'd just use the 2018 version instead, which you'd be purchasing at a reduced "upgrade" price (owning any previous version would make you eligible).

The UltraPAK and Audiophile Edition are both available on hard drives.

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

Dick,

Welcome to the forums.

Good advice above from Kent.

I would not attempt to get version 9 running, I suspect it would be time consuming and very frustrating. I also guess that providing support would be quite problematic.

I would definitely look towards upgrading it to the latest version if this is an option for you.

Okay, thanks for the quick replies. The picture of the disk on his BIAB has "PRO9" on it, so maybe this is really old. Well he is sending it for me to look at, so I will know more when it arrives. He will take it back and even pay postage if I decide not to take it.
Dick

BIAB Version 9 is almost 20 years old. It is a 16-bit program, so it is not going to run on a Windows 7, 8, or 10 system (either 32-bit or 64-bit). Windows XP (32-bit version) supports 16-bit and will install it. I know that I installed all the pre-

BIAB got rid of 16-bit with version 2004 (so you had to go through version 9, 10, 11, and 12 before getting to 2004) and it went all 32-bit.

Hopefully, we'll soon see the jump from 32-bit to 64-bit. Hint, hint.

If your friend relinquishes his license (letting PGMusic know), and if money is an issue, then I would highly suggest upgrading to at least BIAB 2018 PRO (which is actually the entry-level version, not really a professional version, is the same basic program as all the versions, but with very limited MIDI/Audio content) or MEGA (same program, but more MIDI/Audio content) and then at the end of the year, when 2019 is released, you'll get a great price on upgrading to the ULTRA Pak (again, same program, but the most MIDI/Audio content) during the new release sale.

I don't believe we had to license our BiaB back then. It should be license free.

Mario, there is no license code; however, per Kent's original comment in response:



This ensures (at some level) that the product isn't being used by two people. Yes, up until a few versions ago, a lot of licensing was based on trust; this just solidifies the gentleman's agreement regarding the legal right to use the software.

I'm pretty sure the friend is not using it, since you would need to be running at least Windows XP, but was probably originally purchased in Windows 98 days. And it won't work at all on Win7 or above.

Exactly.

We've always had licenses (that's really what you buy when you purchase software), we just didn't use serial numbers to enforce them until 2014.

If someone owned an older version, then upgraded to a newer one, and gave the old one away, whoever they sent it to wouldn't be eligible for upgrades. We just need to confirm that that's not the case when ownership (and the right to purchase BIAB at a discounted upgrade price) is transferred from one user to another.

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

I sent the really old (1999) BIAB back today and purchased the 2018 audiophile package.
So now I will have a giant tool box. That way when I am ready to use another tool it will be in the toolbox. I have a computer dedicated just for it. I will just operate from the BIAB hard drive.
This old dog is ready to learn new tricks.

Enjoy, Rich.

There's a bit of a learning curve associated with BIAB because it's a big program and it seems pretty daunting at first. After a week or so, though, you'll be surprised at how simple it starts to become.

Ultimately, even though the software does a great deal, you only need to settle on those things that you need.

All the best,
Noel