Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
G
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
G
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
Is there a procedure to install BIAB on a USB drive, so I can alternate between my laptop and desktop?

I have BIAB 2021 Mega and 2017 Ultra - far too much data to fit into my laptop 128 GB disk. I had considered a disk upgrade to 1TB, but it means opening up the laptop case and levering the keyboard off. I can do it, but it takes time and its a bit risky.

So I bought a USB 3.0 1TB drive just for BIAB.

One thing I'm unsure about is how to install BIAB on 2 pcs, but somehow keep the files synced. Also 2021 and 2017 versions seem to have quite different folder layouts - is it better to use the 2021 Download Manager to install 2017 Ultra sets?


EDIT: BIAB 2021 pops up error messages about partially complete Real Tracks, which make no sense. I'm using:

D:/BB
D:/BBData/Drums
D:/BBData/RealTracks

where D: is the external USB drive.

I'm a retired software developer, I have a feeling there is a glitch in the 2021 installer.
It insists on installing loops in D:/BB/RealTracks, instead of D:/BBData/RealTracks that I specified.

What I really need is the PG Music image used for hard drive products, just the option 1 minimal install, to add to my USB 3.0 drive.

Thanks
Paul


Last edited by grandad_paul; 07/29/23 11:39 PM.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
I have BiaB installed on a 2TB Thunderbolt 3 external SSD. I just did a standard install to D:/bb. /Drums and /RealTracks are folders under /bb. As far as keeping work on the desktop and laptop in sync, I'd just use the /Songs folder under D:/bb and move the USB drive between the desktop and the laptop. No need to have a separate install of BiaB on the desktop.

Also, I'm just wondering why you felt the need to use /BBData and not just go with the default file structure. It's not like you're trying to use two different drives and splitting BiaB between them.

I never liked the default of installing BiaB into the root of my C: drive. Not a problem now that I dumped my 120V desktop and bought a ThinkPad with the standard multi-voltage power brick when I moved to France. I have a 1TB internal SSD, a 2TB external TB3 SSD, and 2 external 2TB USB3.2 SSDs. Now my 17" ThinkPad with a 4K display and the Thunderbolt port extender is all I'll ever need.

EDIT: My first professional programming was in 12-bit octal assembler on a PDP-8e (that last one with a wirewrapped motherboard), a 1 MB 14" unsealed HD, an ADM3 terminal, the TED line editor and a 3-pass paper tape assembler. The PDP-8e had 32K of non-volatile core memory and the bootloader had to be manually entered via paddle switches on the front of the CPU box. We've come a LONG way! cool

Last edited by TheMaartian; 07/30/23 05:58 AM.

ThinkPad i9 32GB RAM 7TB SSD; Win11 Pro; PreSonus Studio 1810c; BiaB 2024 Ultra
Studio One 6 Pro; MuseScore 4; Melodyne 5 Studio; Acoustica Premium 7; Guitar Pro 8
Gig Performer 5; NI S61 MK3; Focal Shape 65; Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 770
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
As I understand it, the file structure of BIAB was substantially reorganized with version 2018, at the same time the new GUI option became available. There is a Cleanup utility in the menu system that will take an older installation and change everything to the current file organization.

I would think you should use only BIAB 2021 and install a minimal version of each computer. Copy only the RealTracks and RealDrums to the external USB drive. Add any older RealTracks from 2017 that aren't already there. Any copy utility won'ty overwrite a newer file.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
G
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
G
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
Hi,

I did my final year project at uni on a pdp8, using Fortran 4 and an external drive the size of a large pizza box.

I built a Z80 based system as a kit, with 2048 bytes of RAM and 1024 bytes of ROM.
As an apprentice I programmed the Commodore PET with 6502 machine code to talk to the IEEE-488 bus and read a voltmeter for an automated avionics test system.

Yep things have moved on.


I used BBDATA because I knew the Drums and RealTracks would take up 90% of the space and I could reuse that data if I wiped out the BB install.

Thanks for the tips, I'm learning.

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
G
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
G
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
Matt,

Thanks for the advice. BIAB 2021 starts ok from the USB 3.0 drive - I'll copy the desktop links.

CleanUp seemed to help, although I got merge errors for content I don't own.

The change in file structure after 2017 explains a lot of the problems I had.

BIAB 2021 Mega installed fine. I hand installed the 2017 Ultra drums and tracks. Not all, mostly rock, country rock, pop, Reggae, blues, metal, punk and New Orleans.

Talking about New Orleans, there's nothing like standing at a corner on Bourbon Street and hearing 4 different bands play. Wild, intoxicating and lawless - I loved it!

EDIT
I'm thinking of new post like "I'm and engineer and can't write lyrics, but..."
CHATgtp4 is amazing.

Last edited by grandad_paul; 07/30/23 06:45 PM.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
I first used a mainframe in 1967. For a few decades I taught COBOL. Yes, a few things have changed.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
Originally Posted By: grandad_paul
Matt,

Thanks for the advice. BIAB 2021 starts ok from the USB 3.0 drive - I'll copy the desktop links.

CleanUp seemed to help, although I got merge errors for content I don't own.

The change in file structure after 2017 explains a lot of the problems I had.

BIAB 2021 Mega installed fine. I hand installed the 2017 Ultra drums and tracks. Not all, mostly rock, country rock, pop, Reggae, blues, metal, punk and New Orleans.

Talking about New Orleans, there's nothing like standing at a corner on Bourbon Street and hearing 4 different bands play. Wild, intoxicating and lawless - I loved it!

EDIT
I'm thinking of new post like "I'm and engineer and can't write lyrics, but..."
CHATgtp4 is amazing.

I went straight from BiaB 2014 that installed from a floppy to 2021 Ultra. I wiped 2014 before installing 2021, so I never noticed the change in file structure. I just stuck with the defaults. When I moved from a desktop with a massive HD to a laptop, I just installed BiaB on my external TB3 SSD sample drive, still using the default file structure.

Back in the '80s, I spent a lot of time in New Orleans. I managed systems engineering for Amoco's SCADA group and had a lot of product installed both on-shore and off. I avoided the name hotel chains on Canal and always stayed at the Bourbon Orleans hotel in the quarter. The Old Absinthe bar was just down the street. It was my favorite hangout. I quickly developed a method for getting one of the few stools at the bar. I'd find a group of tourists who'd arrived early and snagged a stool or two, with the rest standing behind them, all drinking Hurricanes. I'd stand just to the side of one sitting on a stool. Like clockwork. one of the group sitting down would take a drink and just keep on going backward onto the floor, unconscious. I would slide onto his stool before he hit the floor. The group always had to deal with that and never noticed me. laugh

The Old Absinthe always had great live music. One of my favorites was Blind Brian Lee, a blind but excellent guitarist and singer. He would always come up with a cool name for his band. One night, it would be "The Delta Five". The next night, it would be "The Smokin', No Jokin' Band". Sadly, the place turned into a fern bar. The stage and some tables were in the low-roofed building attached to the Old Absinthe House.

Here's the original before it was converted into what I remember.



Here's the bar I remember.



And here's a YouTube channel that posts a lot of videos of New Orleans street musicians. I really like Tuba Skinny.

RaoulDuke504 YT Channel

Last edited by TheMaartian; 07/30/23 07:16 PM.

ThinkPad i9 32GB RAM 7TB SSD; Win11 Pro; PreSonus Studio 1810c; BiaB 2024 Ultra
Studio One 6 Pro; MuseScore 4; Melodyne 5 Studio; Acoustica Premium 7; Guitar Pro 8
Gig Performer 5; NI S61 MK3; Focal Shape 65; Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 770
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,374
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,374
Quote:
I went straight from BiaB 2014 that installed from a floppy to 2021 Ultra. I wiped 2014 before installing 2021, so I never noticed the change in file structure.

I doubt BiaB 2014 came on a floppy disk distribution. My first encounter in the 1990's did, and that was for Atari. Are you sure it was 2014 that used floppy disks?


BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,877
That must be a typo, the 2014. It’s been hard drives for decades.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
G
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
G
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
In 1992 I had the 3 1/2in floppy disk version and had a weekly guitar lesson.


Tuba Skinny is also my favourite N'Orleans band - I found them on You Tube. The girl who plays trumpet and leads the band is also a great blues piano player, with a bit of boogie woogie. If I was younger, well........

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 328
Originally Posted By: AudioTrack
Quote:
I went straight from BiaB 2014 that installed from a floppy to 2021 Ultra. I wiped 2014 before installing 2021, so I never noticed the change in file structure.

I doubt BiaB 2014 came on a floppy disk distribution. My first encounter in the 1990's did, and that was for Atari. Are you sure it was 2014 that used floppy disks?

I picked 2014, but it could have been an earlier version, like 2012, but it was definitely 2012 or later. I built my house in Flagstaff that year, moving in in the Spring of 2013. I acquired BiaB after that. It was the Pro version, or whatever the minimal version was back then. Could have been 2 or more floppies. Definitely not a hard drive. I don't remember if I bought it or if it came with a purchase of something else. I do remember that it also installed a limited version of T-RackS that bugged me so often to buy other components that I uninstalled it. That put me off of IKM for a long time. I didn't buy AmpliTube until v4 and I also now have Syntronik 2. I tried Samplitude 4, but it has to have one of the worst UI's ever.

I just did some Google'ing and found images of some BiaB distribution disks on 5.25" floppies. Couldn't tell what year/version they were for. It's also possible that I downloaded BiaB and saved it to floppies myself. That was 10 years ago. The old Sony VIAO desktop I was using then has been in a landfill for at least 8 years.

If anyone from PG Music sees this: was BiaB ever distributed on 3.5" floppies? If so, what year(s)?

Last edited by TheMaartian; 07/31/23 07:11 PM.

ThinkPad i9 32GB RAM 7TB SSD; Win11 Pro; PreSonus Studio 1810c; BiaB 2024 Ultra
Studio One 6 Pro; MuseScore 4; Melodyne 5 Studio; Acoustica Premium 7; Guitar Pro 8
Gig Performer 5; NI S61 MK3; Focal Shape 65; Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 770
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
G
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
G
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
The external HD seems to be settling down now:

Cleanup...is essential for some 2017 content. When time began BIAB stored styles in the BB folder, that soon clutters the folder so a new folder Styles was created. Cleanup moves styles from BB to BB/Styles

Rebuilding StylePicker is essential,

TrackPicker option for Show RealTracks that are N/A helps a lot.

Options - What add-ons do I have? gives an overall install definition.

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,326
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,326
Can't you simply connect the external drive to your computer and then do the install, specifying the minimal install with all the real tracks on the external?

Then simply repeat the same install on the other computer. It might ask you if you want to overwrite the external.... if you can get around that do it, or simply let it run and go do something else for a few minutes. When you use one of the computers, just plug in the external drive and you're golden.


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®

The Bob Doyle Media YouTube channel is known for demonstrating how you can creatively incorporate AI into your projects - from your song projects to avatar building to face swapping, and more!

His latest video, Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box, he explains in detail how you can use the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box with ACE Studio. Follow along as he goes from "nothing" to "something" with his Band-in-a-Box MIDI Melodist track, using ACE Studio to turn it into a vocal track (or tracks, you'll see) by adding lyrics for those notes that will trigger some amazing AI vocals!

Watch: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box


Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!

Paket | Was ist Neu

Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!

Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!

Learn more about this free update for PowerTracks Pro Audio & download it at www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_pt.htm#2024_5

The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!

The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!

Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.

This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245

The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option

Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!

Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!

For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.

Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.

Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!

Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.

Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.

Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!

Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!

With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!

Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.

A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."

"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."

"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,660
Posts735,516
Members38,528
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
gman97040, kadju, theyearofjess, OlvaJownDay, Tranner Track
38,527 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 173
DC Ron 103
dcuny 88
WaoBand 74
rsdean 72
Today's Birthdays
David Robinson, louiep, Ozkar, Timothy W. Cook
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5