I am pleased to share that my BIAB 2018 is running much much better now. My earlier posts contained tech complaints and pleas for help with my Windows 10 PC and BIAB 2018 UltraPlus pak, on an external USB drive. Here is a brief update. Hopefully my success will last. Maybe my experience will help other users.
Now BIAB is installed on my internal, secondary hard drive. There was something about my specific computer and the BIAB external USB drive that conflicted, and caused my PG Music drive to be completely erased. As BIAB became corrupted there were more and more errors and failures. We never could nail down the exact culprit but it always ended with ruined BIAB drives and frustration.
PG Music maintained that their drives weren't the issue. Dell verified that my PC was virus-free, spyware-free, clean and running efficiently. Each vendor's product seemed fine by itself. Somehow my lone computer had these problems.
As a trial run, I agreed to download the program onto my PC, taking the USB hard drive out of the equation. So far BIAB is running perfectly! There are no errors or freezes. It's still early days but I am really enjoying the program now. What a difference!
Has anyone else had problems with external PG Music hard drives getting erased? I ask simply from a troubleshooting perspective.
I'm grateful for your kind assistance here in the forum, and for quality time with PG Music's tech support & and customer service. I'm waiting to (hopefully) either verify continued success or document new complications when I follow up with tech support.
Meanwhile BIAB is playing music and making me happy. What a cool program!
I'm glad to read that all is up and running for you! I've never heard of and experience like yours before other than Norton Antivirus deleting BIAB files because it incorrectly determined that they were viral.
Out of curiosity, what antivirus software do you use?
Just to follow on from what Noel says above about Norton AV. Do you run any other cleaning routines on your pc like pc clean, clean sweep etc etc Anti mall ware ? That try to also clean attached drives . You can normally make exceptions on a program basis and some times at a drive level. Just a thought Mike
No trouble with PG Music drives ever, except a few years ago the drives they were using could become partially disconnected inside where the controller plugs in. It would apparently become loose in shipping. This caused the drive not to work at all until the connection was tightened. After that, all was fine.
But your problem, where a working drive erases data, has not been reported here to my knowledge. My money would be on malware rather than the drive.
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
I'm glad to read that all is up and running for you! I've never heard of and experience like yours before other than Norton Antivirus deleting BIAB files because it incorrectly determined that they were viral.
Out of curiosity, what antivirus software do you use?
Regards, Noel
Originally Posted By: Mike Head
Hi
Just to follow on from what Noel says above about Norton AV. Do you run any other cleaning routines on your pc like pc clean, clean sweep etc etc Anti mall ware ? That try to also clean attached drives . You can normally make exceptions on a program basis and some times at a drive level. Just a thought Mike
Hi Noel and Mike,
Everyone I've spoken with says the same thing: they just haven't heard of this situation before.
I do have Norton Antivirus, but we have been through all of my settings, history and quarantine sections. There are no hints of any BIAB or PG Music actions. I've used three additional antivirus / anti spyware programs to verify that my PC is clean. Dell used an online scanner, and combed through my computer searching for clues. No explanations were found. All devices and programs are pristine except BIAB.
Adding to the quandary, and making a diagnosis more elusive, is the fact that every other USB hard drive and flash drive I use works seamlessly. Only the PG Music drives had this happen. We've used multiple USB ports and multiple USB devices.
It defies logic, yet something about my computer is causing this problem, and no one has reported it before. The only issue my #$%&#$ computer has is with BIAB on a PG Music external drive. We all agree it's my PC but here we are: no explanation.
So far running the software right off my hard drive is working. I wanted to leave it on the USB drive and save my internal drive space, but so far all is running very well without the USB drive. Again, just to be clear, I have other USB drives that work beautifully and never encountered this behavior.
Hopefully I haven't jumped the gun and declared victory too soon. I'm just really happy to have everything functioning as it should be. My fingers and toes are crossed, praying for continued success.
Thank you both for your messages and suggestions. I appreciate your offers of help.
No trouble with PG Music drives ever, except a few years ago the drives they were using could become partially disconnected inside where the controller plugs in. It would apparently become loose in shipping. This caused the drive not to work at all until the connection was tightened. After that, all was fine.
But your problem, where a working drive erases data, has not been reported here to my knowledge. My money would be on malware rather than the drive.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for writing. I agree, my first thought was malware. It's the logical first place to look. However four programs and Dell show that my PC is clean. There is no other damage found.
With the exception of my BIAB drives (we've tried three) there are no other incidents. I'm not blaming PG Music, just reporting my experience and wondering if any one else has a similar tale.
Thank you for writing. I appreciate your continued responses and offers of help.
....few years ago the drives they were using could become partially disconnected inside where the controller plugs in. It would apparently become loose in shipping. This caused the drive not to work at all until the connection was tightened. After that, all was fine....
Hi Matt,
With direction from tech support, and troubleshooting instructions on PG Music's site, I unplugged and re-seated the cable to each USB drive, after opening the drive cover. It made no difference.
How about checking the cable itself? Try another. And try the drive on another port, and maybe another computer. In other words, isolate the problem as best you can.
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
How about checking the cable itself? Try another. And try the drive on another port, and maybe another computer. In other words, isolate the problem as best you can.
Hi again,
All good ideas. I tried each one multiple times, trying to isolate the problem as you suggest. Different cables, different USB ports, alternate computer. I tried everything I could think of. Rebooting, powering down completely. Unplugging the drive and re-attaching after each try. Switching ports and drives. Plugging the drive into another computer. Sadly none of these ideas solved my problem.
Connecting the BIAB drive to another computer didn't help either. It verified that each drive had become corrupted, as opposed to my primary PC having an issue reading and displaying files from a healthy USB drive.
We're all baffled. Although I've been posting here in the Beginner's Forum, I have many years' experience using computers and fixing problems. I've done computer support at work and for family & friends. I'm not saying I haven't made mistakes along the way, but normally I can solve most of my computer problems.
I've also learned the lesson of asking for help when I need it. I don't know what quirk my PC has that nobody else has reported. In the past I've run other versions of BIAB without any complications, on other computers.
While I never had a problem with my external BIAB USB Drive being erased, it did frequently disappear. I often would unplug it, and plug it back in and then it would show up. As this was annoying, I finally got around to figuring out what the problem was.
As it turns out the problem is in the power & sleep settings on Windows 10. There is a setting in the "advanced" settings for USB - USB Selective Suspend. What this setting does is shut down USB devices when the computer goes to sleep. When this happens, Windows can lose track of your USB external hard drive. Just set it to disabled and the problem goes away.
Jeff
BIAB 2019 for Windows Audiophile - user since 2011
Good call. Changing the Windows power settings is the first thing I do on a computer. Also, Windows updates tend to overwrite the custom choices you make, so you have to revisit it frequently. That USB Selective Suspend should be off, as well as any power saving scheme.
If that doesn't fix your problem, I'm stumped. If it were my computer, I would probably buy a different brand USB drive, test it, and ship it to PG Music asking them to load BIAB on it.
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
While I never had a problem with my external BIAB USB Drive being erased, it did frequently disappear. I often would unplug it, and plug it back in and then it would show up. As this was annoying, I finally got around to figuring out what the problem was.
As it turns out the problem is in the power & sleep settings on Windows 10. There is a setting in the "advanced" settings for USB - USB Selective Suspend. What this setting does is shut down USB devices when the computer goes to sleep. When this happens, Windows can lose track of your USB external hard drive. Just set it to disabled and the problem goes away.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
That's an option I did not know about. Following your suggestion, I adjusted my USB power setting. I don't think that was my issue, as other USB drives were fine, and the BIAB drives were powered on and spinning. The drives would have had to be powered on and connected in order for their contents to display, and for changes to be made.
I am taking your advice though, and made the change for future USB drive use.
.... If that doesn't fix your problem, I'm stumped. If it were my computer, I would probably buy a different brand USB drive, test it, and ship it to PG Music asking them to load BIAB on it.
Hmmm now that is something I hadn't considered. If / when my PC continues to run smoothly I might do that. Thanks Matt!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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."
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