Install Manager FAQ and Troubleshooting

Q. Can I choose any location for the downloaded files?

The default is the 'BBDownloads' folder in your home folder (i.e. /Users/<username>/BBDownloads), however you can choose other locations on your internal Mac hard drive, or an external hard drive if you wish. We suggest not using the regular 'Downloads' folder for your downloads, as this is protected by the TCC privileges system on Mac OS 10.15 and higher which can in certain situations cause the downloaded files to be inaccessible to the install helper program.

Q. The files were downloaded successfully but the installs failed.

Assuming you have enough hard disk space, this problem may otherwise be caused by the installer program being unable to access the downloaded package path and/or install location. If there is no error message onscreen, you can check the log file - it may have a detailed explanation for the failure. You can find the log files by going to Help menu | Show Logs in Finder.

You should check to make sure that the 'Band-in-a-Box Install Manager' is added to the Full Disk Access area in System Preferences | Security & Privacy. More details. On macOS 10.15 and higher, some folders are protected by TCC privileges - this includes the Downloads folder, Documents folder, Desktop, and Removable volumes. If your Download or Install folder is in one of those locations, Full Disk Access is required or the install will fail.

Q. The Install Manager app is added to Full Disk Access but install is still failing (OS 10.15 and higher)

If the installs are failing for whatever reason even though you have followed the recommended setup described above, you can use a different method to download and install the files. There are two settings you should change:

• In the Preferences dialog, CHECK "Installer packages require authorization". On some systems, the install helper may not be able to install packages without having you authorize each one separately by entering your password.
• You should also UNCHECK "Automatically Install Downloaded Files" on the main screen. This way you can download all the files first, and then click the [Install All] button once to authorize installation of all downloaded files.

Q. The files downloaded, but the install is hanging and never finishes.

If you are on an Mac OS 10.12 - 10.13, you may need to install a file from Apple's website. See Information for OS 10.11 - 10.13 users

Q. I'm low on hard disk space, can I install the program to an external hard drive?

Yes, you can use the "Select Destination" drop-down menu to select any volume, including an external USB hard disk. Band-in-a-Box will be installed to the /Applications/Band-in-a-Box folder on that hard disk. You can also point your download location to an external disk, and this need not be the same disk as the Band-in-a-Box install folder.

There is also the option of selecting a "Custom" location for the RealTracks folder (or Drums). This folder contains a lot of audio files and is very large relative to the rest of the Band-in-a-Box files and folders, so Band-in-a-Box allows you to store this folder in an alternate disk/location. Only two folders in the Band-in-a-Box folder support this - RealTracks, and Drums. Note that in the Band-in-a-Box program, you will need to specify your custom location in the RealTracks / Drums Preferences dialogs.

Note: When specifying a Custom folder in the Install Manager, select the folder that will contain the RealTracks folder.

Q. Can I download and/or install individual packages?

You can install files individually by clicking the individual Download or Install buttons next to each installer package. You don't necessarily need to Download and Install All. For example, if you know that you have already installed up to RealTracks Set 375 in an UltraPAK from last year, then you can install RealTracks Sets 376-400 by clicking the individual button.

Q. How long does it take to download and install the program? Can I leave my computer while it downloads?

In the case of a "Download-All" operation, you should not need to intervene while the program downloads. The Install Manager will block some power-saving features of your computer while downloads are in progress, so that the computer doesn't go completely to sleep (the display can still be turned off). This feature can be turned off in the Preferences dialog, however you would normally want to leave it turned on.

The length of time it takes to download depends mainly on how fast your internet connection is, this varies widely. If you are curious, there are lots of websites that will test your download speed - e.g. Google search "internet speed test". Just make sure that when you are testing this, you aren't downloading something at the same time. As a ballpark, the UltraPAK can be downloaded in 2-3 hours with a fairly fast connection (100 mbps). This is megabits per second, and note that there are 8 megabits in a Megabyte (usually capitalized MB).

Installation time (as opposed to the time to download the files) also varies A LOT between computers, configurations, hard drives (SSD, internal vs. external...), Mac OS, etc. A full UltraPAK install could take anywhere from 30 min to a few hours or more.

Q. Information for those with an earlier Mac OS (10.11, 10.12, 10.13)

OS 10.11 (El Capitan) users need to use a slightly different download method:

• In the Preferences dialog, CHECK "Installer packages require authorization". The install helper requires you to enter your password on each install.
• UNCHECK "Automatically Install Downloaded Files" on the main screen. This way you can download all the files first, and then click the [Install All] button once to authorize installation of all downloaded files.

OS 10.12 (Sierra) and 10.13 (High Sierra) users need to download a small support file from Apple's website:
Download Swift Runtime Support for Command Line Tools

Once you have installed this, re-launch the Install Manager application and it should work normally.

Q. What are the download settings "Automatically Install..." and "Automatically Remove..."?

• Download location: This is where the installer packages will be downloaded to.
• Automatically install downloaded files: The Install Manager will automatically run and install each file "silently" when it has finished downloading.
• Automatically remove downloaded files once installed. If an install finishes successfully, the downloaded installer package will be deleted. This could be helpful if you are low on hard disk space... for example if you had only a single hard drive with 100GB space and you were doing a 100GB install. Deleted files can be re-downloaded again in the future if need be. NOTE: most people would not benefit from enabling this setting. You can always delete or move files manually after downloading.

Q. Any tips on running Band-in-a-Box for the first time after installing?

Note: it is possible to run Band-in-a-Box before downloading all of the content files - RealTracks etc. If you are running the program prior to installing the RealTracks content, you will notice that there are many MIDI styles available, but no RealStyles, RealTracks, and so on.

Here are a few pointers to get you started.

• When you launch the program for the first time, you are prompted to activate. Use the serial number displayed in the top section of the My Products page, and paste it into the activation dialog. It is best to do online activation if possible.
• Assuming this is your first time running the program, you will be prompted to rebuild the StylePicker. Open the StylePicker (hotkey s + <enter>) and click the Rebuild button ('fast' rebuild is OK; 'slow' rebuild will also search for third party and user styles). This allows the program to determine which PG Music styles and other content you have installed. RealStyles use RealTracks instruments so they sound much more realistic than MIDI styles, and you can tell them apart because the style name starts with an underscore. Double-click on any style in the StylePicker to hear a pre-made demo for it.
• There are options under the "Other" button in the StylePicker to "Show only styles that are Found/Not Found (N/A)". Since the program knows about all available styles, you can use these options to determine if you are missing any styles, and see what Sets they are from.
• Check the RealTracks Preferences and RealDrums Preferences dialogs to make sure that the folder locations are as you expect. If you have opted to use a "Custom Location" for your RealTracks, check this in the RealTracks Preferences dialog. Band-in-a-Box also tries to determine the best location automatically, but it is a good idea to double-check the setting either way.
• The RealTracks Picker is another window you will probably use frequently. One way to open is to right-cick on a track and Select RealTracks. If you have any RealTracks installed, you will be able to choose them from this window. Note that you can view available RealTracks even if you don't have them, by clicking the "Show N/A" button, and you can double-click them to audition a solo or band demo.
• There are two different GUI (user interfaces) for you to choose from depending on your preference - one has a large toolbar with many buttons and Mixer window on the top half of the screen, then other has a minimal toolbar with a larger chord sheet. To toggle between them, you can press Ctrl+T or find the buttons at the top-left side of the toolbar.