charlyg
I am sufficiently whelmed. Neither under or over......

I agree.  The update schedule is Just Right, IMO
 

I'm not a very happy camper with Sonar these days and I started out way, way back. SPro is just too unstable for me. It has never just started and run well for me. Even stuff that I thought I'd figured out (like drum-maps) either don't work (and I spend hours figuring out what's wrong and reporting back to the forums) or are 'new' and I end up RTFM instead of tickling ivories. This time I discovered the Jamica updates which the new "Local Docs Installer' simply just disabled being able to launch the Help File, nice. No help file at all anymore. This isn't a particularly fancy installation either. The installers don't work!
 
I also had to sort out why the XLN AddDrums2 no longer recognized my computer. That doesn't update from C3 but from XLN, had a bunch of updates for itself and the installer though C3 was green. Apparently, the switch to W10 requires re-registration and updates to the C: drv. No, this is OK, if I'm not getting surprised all the time. But, I can't just throw hours figuring out what works and doesn't. No HELP FILE is deal breaker for me!!!
 
Plus, SPro is and most of CW products are tied to the C: drive. This is incredibly awkward for me now since I have separate SSD's (and their BU SSD's) for W10 and W8.1. Updates are not trivial and I'm not sure that C3 is helping at all. I far prefer an update system that I can update and learn in parallel with a nice stable functioning SPro so I can do comparisons and decide if I have time to play, record, debug or learn this morning. This morning it's debug, again.
For instance, while checking the 'Fail to launch help.' error, the Sonar Start Scrn pop'ed up and couldn't be closed. I had to reboot after the task manager terminated a hung Sonar (I have no idea what it was unhappy about and hung doing) since the Start Screen was up and not closing. A quick check this morning suggests that this may not be very repeatable, but required a Re-Boot, thanks . Talk about a work breaker. Please keep your disruptions to yourself.
 
I just don't have these issues with BiaB or FLS. Granted they do slightly different things, but I don't dread their updates and can schedule them as I want, depending on time constraints. Very few prog's I have are 'locked' to the C: drv and exist on other drives with ALL their settings and config info and data.
 
I'm hoping for improvements, but things are really un-wieldy currently for me. I'f far prefer to see better QA and fewer features with less bugs. I'm tired of being a software tester for CW.
 

charlyg
Usually those who bark loudest, bark before the facts are all in.

or, "a squeeky wheel gets oiled"?

5MilesHigh
I'm not a very happy camper with Sonar these days and I started out way, way back. SPro is just too unstable for me. It has never just started and run well for me. Even stuff that I thought I'd figured out (like drum-maps) either don't work (and I spend hours figuring out what's wrong and reporting back to the forums) or are 'new' and I end up RTFM instead of tickling ivories. This time I discovered the Jamica updates which the new "Local Docs Installer' simply just disabled being able to launch the Help File, nice. No help file at all anymore. This isn't a particularly fancy installation either. The installers don't work!
 
I also had to sort out why the XLN AddDrums2 no longer recognized my computer. That doesn't update from C3 but from XLN, had a bunch of updates for itself and the installer though C3 was green. Apparently, the switch to W10 requires re-registration and updates to the C: drv. No, this is OK, if I'm not getting surprised all the time. But, I can't just throw hours figuring out what works and doesn't. No HELP FILE is deal breaker for me!!!
 
Plus, SPro is and most of CW products are tied to the C: drive. This is incredibly awkward for me now since I have separate SSD's (and their BU SSD's) for W10 and W8.1. Updates are not trivial and I'm not sure that C3 is helping at all. I far prefer an update system that I can update and learn in parallel with a nice stable functioning SPro so I can do comparisons and decide if I have time to play, record, debug or learn this morning. This morning it's debug, again.
For instance, while checking the 'Fail to launch help.' error, the Sonar Start Scrn pop'ed up and couldn't be closed. I had to reboot after the task manager terminated a hung Sonar (I have no idea what it was unhappy about and hung doing) since the Start Screen was up and not closing. A quick check this morning suggests that this may not be very repeatable, but required a Re-Boot, thanks . Talk about a work breaker. Please keep your disruptions to yourself.
 
I just don't have these issues with BiaB or FLS. Granted they do slightly different things, but I don't dread their updates and can schedule them as I want, depending on time constraints. Very few prog's I have are 'locked' to the C: drv and exist on other drives with ALL their settings and config info and data.
 
I'm hoping for improvements, but things are really un-wieldy currently for me. I'f far prefer to see better QA and fewer features with less bugs. I'm tired of being a software tester for CW.
 

You need to contact CW support and figure out what the problem is. This is a peer to peer forum. We help as much as we can but your issues seem deep and unusual.

From a music context:
 
Things that overwhelm me - tools that can't keep up with changes in the way I practice, write, record and perform. I'm overwhelmed not because of the tool, but in spite of the tool so to speak. 
 
Things that underwhelm me - tool updates that are more like 'lipstick on a pig' - simple visual changes.
 
Things that don't overwhelm me - tool changes that are intuitive, and fit the direction that I can accept,  from the company that makes them for me.  
 
SO - from that context:  No, Sonar Platinum monthly updates do not overwhelm me or the other 'whelm' for that matter.  Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe I bought into a good long term personal vision that I thought Twelve Tone would give me.  Great Audio, MIDI - and a simple tool that I spend more time writing and recording with, than setup and engineering.  Your mileage may vary.  
 
Best Regards,
 
Lance 

At first I thought it was like DAW PMS, a monthly annoying ritual doing updates, but really its not that painful, and no longer start barking at the wife once a month. Perhaps I've reached musical menopause and now look forward to what they come up with each month, and of more value may be the under the hood operational improvements, which may not be as obvious as added features, all in all I think its a good thing.
 
Cheers   

3) Sys/HW comments: IMHO, CW is approaching the point where they are abandoning the 'personal' in PC and deliberately focusing on a more 'dedicated' HW platform. As I recall, this was done before, several times in fact, some with custom midi controllers.  HW controllers are a tough biz, but that seems to me to be where CW is headed. For me, Sonar is just another decoration on my Xmas tree of tools. I just want control of my C: drv back. If I have to choose between HW and SW, the decorations lose every time. I'm getting ready to vote with feet and thought CW might be interested and wanted to share my thoughts with the forum. 

I am handy with hardware but I am finding it difficult to follow you. You really need to contact CW support. 

My DAW is also my personal desktop and I have few issues with Sonar Platinum, other than my lack of ability as a producer/engineer. Kinda blows a hole in the whole "dedicated" idea....... I spend about half my time in Sonar, etc, and the other half I use it as a desktop. I attribute my success to the hardware, and I was a computer tech til mid 2011.

5MilesHigh
Well, thanks for all the comments. 
 
1) Beepster: I get a 'fail to launch' error, there are no hidden windows, in this case. I did miss the install window thrown up by the XLN installer which took some finding (3 monitors, most cluttered). Excellent reminder.
 
2) New posts: I just changed ISP's and had to update profile info for CW. Earlier posts were with a different name. NBD
 
I apologize for any rants or confusion. I'm just not having as much fun as I used to with Sonar. This is at least my second support request this year. And I don't like surprises anymore.
 
 

"Fail to Launch" definitely sounds like perhaps the help files got tucked away somewhere Sonar does not know to look. I think (and I'm sorry... I'm not sure how to actually DO this but others might) is you need to figure out the location Sonar looks for the help files by default then somehow find, copy and place the help files there. I recently went through the process of locating the help files for SPlat, copying them to a flash drive and moving them onto my laptop (where I keep all my manuals for quick access while I screw with my DAW). It's not in an easily accessible location (and sorry... I'd have to dig the thread up again to tell you how to find them and have NO idea where you'd place them so Sonar points/retreives them with an F1 command) but that might work or at least you could just yank it and put it somewhere easily accessible (like a Desktop folder) for when you need it.
 
A lot of this really does seem to be related to a more complex system drive setup. I keep a pretty simple setup (I recently got the balls enough to actually changing my default projects folder(s) to my E drive) so again I probably can't be much help...
 
BUT there were quite a few complaints about how the CCC program was forcing elements to install in places the users did not necessarily want them to go. I did not follow all that very closely because it did not pertain to me (I use the custom offline install and do not have CCC installed on my DAW) but IIRC the end result was the Bakers updated the CCC installer program to allow more flexibility a couple months ago so that users with more complex setups could send things where they wanted them to be. The reviews of this improvement seemed quite positive so maybe look into that.
 
What I'm thinking (well guessing really) is that because you had been using CCC from the outset that the old (inflexible) version setup some undesirable installation paths and now with every update, even with the updated CCC, things are still going to those locations.
 
If that is the case I'd update your support ticket to ask exactly what you need to do to start from scratch, set the PROPER desired locations and go from there.
 
This, I imagine, would probably be done the most efficiently/effectively with a full uninstall/reinstall of everything (after backing up your projects of course) then starting from scratch with the NEW CCC program set to the desired paths (or using the offline system and the Advanced install option).
 
Just some ideas and I would highly recommend bringing this all up with tech support with a full description of your system and how you want it all to work. They should be able to help you customize/map it all in a way that is desirable.
 
Good luck.
 
Cheers.

5MilesHigh
It is confusing to see the C3 Grn light for it though when it was out of date. If CW is going to manage the updates via C3 great. But, if I'm still going to have to manage them, please just show the link to XLN and dump the status light. 

Agree here. In CCC I'd like to see links to third party control panels and installation URL's in a separate form. The traffic light thing makes no sense. If CCC isn't managing the software it should not 'pretend' to do so...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis

tenfoot
I can set your mind at ease on this one Beeps. I too am a manual updater and have rolled back a couple of times by simply running the previous installer without any issues at all:)

Cool. May I ask how you go about it? Do you just run the installer for the older version and it effectively replaces the newer version (without having to uninstall anything)? That's one thing I've never been clear on.
 
I've been trying to download each version which I keep in their own folder (with the rest of my compressed downloaded program installers). That way I have them in the event something specific is screwing me up without having to hook up my ethernet, log into my account and download... all of which I find quite tedious.
 
And yeah... I know the CCC would help me avoid that but I don't like "auto" anything mucking around my system. I'm a control freak in that regard.
 
Thanks.

At Beep if you go into CCC settings and tick the new verbose option you will see the installs running like X3 days.
So you get all the advantages of downloading easily and get to run them the way you want. CCC never overwrites an installer file so they all stay there in one folder.
 
Cheers...

@ Beepster - was curious about all of the same things so I used acronis true image to backup my system drive and tried both methods - unistalling first and also simply running the previous installer over the top of a current installation. Both worked just fine. I have custom settings with my samples, project and track templates, etc on a separate drive, as well as all of my vst instruments data, and none of these settings were lost by either method. The only difference was that if just running a previous iinstaller over a new instalation you may get the occasional 'overwrite newer file version with older file' confirmation message, depending on your system settings.
 
I too much prefer to do the updates myself and keep a copy of all previous installation files. It's great to know you can go back to any version at any time without concern. It makes sense that it is that simple - there is nothing magical going on in CCC. It's just an automatic installer of exactly the same files.

tenfoot
I too much prefer to do the updates myself and keep a copy of all previous installation files. It's great to know you can go back to any version at any time without concern.

Exactly what CCC verbose mode does.