Moving FXpansion BFD3 to a new laptop

Hi,

I bought BFD3 a couple of years back from FXpansion.

I want to move to a new laptop, which will presumably mean downloading and re-installing.

I get taken to the InMusic site, which doesn’t recognise my FXpansion codes (including as a discount voucher).

What are my options (including a reasonably priced upgrade) ?

Do you use BFD offline at all? If so then be aware they now do online 90 day check ups. You will have to login once every 90 days or BFD will cease to function.

If you have no problem with that, then there will not be an upgrade fee, and @BFD_Drew is amazing at sorting out issues with installations, licences etc etc.

That being said, some users are still just unable to use BFD since the switch over to InMusic, some its taken a year or more to get things running.

YMMV. And buyer beware.

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Thanks.

The old laptop is pretty much off-line - so maybe I would have had that to look forward to.

I guess I speak to @BFD_Drew ?

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Yup yup.

That @ we’ve both done is his bat signal :slight_smile:

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Just download your FXpansion ones and keep rolling. Migrating to InMusic will cause you nothing but sorrow

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On your Fxpansion user account page, there should be a “Migrate” button. The caveat being that your Fxpansion and inMusic email addresses need to be the same for it to work. The upgrade is free and you get one free, select expansion coupon.

Once you complete the migration, download the new License Manager here:

https://www.bfddrums.com/downloads.html

Once you sign in to the new LM you’ll be able to download and install the current BFD3 build.

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I agree with this. If you can carry on as you are, do not migrate.

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There’s nothing that would keep FXpansion from working alongside the inMusic version on the same device, other than that you’ll really need separate installations for old content/expansions*. If you do that, they’re ships in the night. Your limitation on moving the FXpansion installation to a new laptop would be if you’ve run out of authorizations over there, or maybe OS compatibility with newer OS’s. Nobody at inMusic can help you with that.

Specifically, though, doing the account migration disables nothing over at FXpansion, so there’s really no risk at all in doing it.

I will say, when doing the inMusic installation (the actual software installation, not the account), it’s better not to press the “Migrate BFD files”, and to just copy content (i.e. presets, kits and grooves) over manually. There are a couple of reasons why this is just cleaner and works better. There are a couple of threads here on how to do that neatly. In short, just do a new installation of inMusic BFD, and don’t try to cut any corners, and you should be able to avoid most of the gotchya’s.

*Specifically, FXpansion content has FXpansion license strings, and inMusic content has inMusic license strings. Neither can read each other, so just keep them separate, and they don’t know the other exists.

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Ok, @maximumdembo & @shanabit ; I’m not desperate to migrate - [I think] I’m downloading the FXpansion versions as I type

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This may be a wise choice. I couldnt say.

shanabit warned me way back when, likely right at the start of all this mess over a year ago. Dont go full InMusic. Im pretty sure I argued, dismissed it, and then spent the next year plus hanging on and waiting and asking for a solution.

I owe shanabit an apology.

EDIT: I think theres been a few naysayers who called this tbh, and I probably dismissed all of them :confused:

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I suspect we’ll be pressured to go to the new way of doing things, and that will be the only way of getting updates.

Their software, their rules, etc; and I respect the need to protect intellectual property that has cost a lot to develop.

The system needs to work, though. I think I’ve read stories of people being locked out of tools, that they were entitled to use, when they had paying clients on-site. That should be a wake-up call for someone…

TBH, in my case it’s largely that in spite of being an IT Mgr, I seem to be very good at tripping over installation procedures - and not being able to remember my account details (ie which particular variation of the email address got used)…

IIRC, your FXPansion installation is yours and cant be shut down, so you should be safe.

Do a fresh install of FxExpansion stuff on your new machine.
If you can manually transfer your old libraries , then that will save download time and bandwidth.
You don’t say if you are Windows or Mac.
I used the Mac’s Migration Assistant from old MacBook to my newer one. Worked great. I was up and running in 2 hours.
Then I got an E-mail from InMusic telling me I could have a free expansion pack if I migrated my account to them.
This forum is full of negative threads from people who did just that - including me.

Ignore offers of a free this and free that - if you migrate , or upgrade to InMusic. It can lead to serious substance abuse , and possible self-harming. Or at the very least , being sectioned under the mental-health act.
I’ve heard reports that the next Licence Manager will be able to turn-on your webcam , and scan your whole body - evaluating your health , and how much your internal organs would be worth in part-exchange for expansion packs.

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No one knows how long until Fxpansion permanently shuts down their servers for BFD. Maybe another year? Maybe it’s wise to download whatever updates you need now, but… once their servers are done for BFD, you won’t be able to authorize on another machine anyways afaik? The authorization file saved to your current computer should continue to work for the machine ID it’s tied to, but once you have to move on to another computer, you’ll be screwed if their servers no longer talk to the LM.

I’ve never looked inside one of the Fxpansion auth files. I’m not sure if it’s possible to edit one, to mickey mouse it into thinking another machine is authorized?

I suggest at least migrating your Fxpansion serials to the new BFD Drums/inMusic, so that’s taken care of. That way if you can no longer use BFD through Fxpansion, you’ll have a possible alternative.

FXP BFD works offline once authorised.

Where he’s going, he doesnt need servers.

This is what this is all about.

Well no, because presumably BFD and InMusic would still be a thing so he could switch when the next computer comes along. If not, BFD is gone forever anyway.

Believe me, OP is totally safe if they wanna continue as they are.

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Totally unnecessary.
He can register serials anytime in the future.
Absolutely no need to do that right now.
If he needs a new machine in the future to work on , after FxExpansion have shut down - then that is the time to choose alternative ways of perpetuating the FxExpansion experience.

Can you imagine what this forum will look like in 10 years? Or even 10 months.

Yes, I’m saying once the servers are shut down, if you have to authorize a new machine you won’t be able to.

Possibly? Who knows how much of a headache it could potentially be in the future? You better write down your FXP serials though because when they shut it down, you won’t have access to your account which contains your serial #'s.

I’m saying for the sake of less headaches, migrate your serials now so that’s taken care of, but continue to use FXP BFD if you want to. Migrating doesn’t mean you are obligated to jump onboard inMusic now.

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EDIT: yes, that an interesting suggestion

Naturally we at least take a screenshot of serial numbers as and when they occur. Is there anyone that doesn’t?