Re-installed Windows, now I cannot switch between presets on FX 2 Lite
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Like the title says, when I initially installed a few months ago, I got a few different guitar presets for each genre. The presets are still there, seemingly 'clickable', and it defaults to one upon opening the software; but when I try to switch I get a notification saying "You need to upgrade to Bias FX 2 Standard to use this preset".
Has anybody else encountered this? I've been thinking of upgrading the package, before this happened, but don't want to encounter some kind of licensing problem just because I re-installed my operating system.
Thanks everyone.
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What is the license you purchased? "Standard" is the entry-level license for FX2, so it's a bit confusing to be upgrading to the entry-level license. I have not heard of "Lite", which isn't listed as a product for FX2 -- unless that is another name for "Demo" mode? If so, then that is only good for (I believe) two weeks, after which you must purchase a license.
For a purchased license -- if you re-installed Windows from scratch, then it now has a new unique identifier for things like licenses and will be seen as a new, separate system. So, if you then re-installed BIAS, it will consume another license, thinking it is a separate system. BIAS only allows two licensed systems with purchase, so if you've re-installed Windows and BIAS twice, or if you have BIAS installed on two systems, then you would be hitting your license limit and it will not work on a third installation without removing previous licenses.
Annoyingly, PG doesn't have an interface for managing licenses in your website account like most companies. And it's too late for you to run the uninstaller to remove the previous license, since that needed to be done before re-installing Windows. So, you should probably check with the "Contact Support" link at the top of this page, and have them report your consumed licenses, and if both are consumed but neither match your current system's identifier (not the same as the hostname), have them delete one or both, and then logout-and-back-into the BIAS standalone app to see if that fixes it.
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Lite, or LE is what came with my Focusrite Scarlett Solo, along with a lot of other plugins/software. The initial "Lite" version had been going strong for months.
I am able to create and save presets in my bank, but cannot access them deliberately either. Switching between my current preset and another one in my bank is not allowed.
So basically every time I boot up Bias FX and want a tone, I have to start from scratch, or do some variation of whatever they default me to.
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Then that sounds like a special partnership version with Focusrite. I don't own a Focusrite device, although back when I looked at them, I remember they had a "Plugin Collective" system that managed plugins. Not sure how their system works, but usually these plugin systems control the licensing, so it could be a licensing issue with Plugin Collective, but that's just a guess. But the fact that it is requesting a tier upgrade seems to indicate a missing license of some sort.
Back when you first installed BIAS-FX months ago, if you had to create a Positive Grid account before using it, then the license is likely a Positive Grid issue. But if you did not need to create a Positive Grid account back then, and it "just worked" after installing via Plugin Collective, then it is likely a Focusrite Plugin Collective license issue. But maybe someone in the forum who uses a Focusrite device knows better, since I'm just speculating.
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I think you're right. I've been considering upgrading anyway and I figured that would just resolve my problem, but I've been encountering a problem with live and the Bias FX plugin(another subject so I won't discuss it here) Thanks for the pointers. I'll reach out to support.