Problems with Windows 7

Hi Mary,
this is going to be a big learning curve for you! 
first, this is not the X1 forum, but I can still help you.

MIDI is not sound, it's DATA only.  you can't hear MIDI.  MIDI triggers synths, either hardware synths or softsynths.  using a MIDI USB cable will record the MIDI from your fantom, but it will not send the sounds to the computer thru the cable.  that can only be done with audio.

you have 2 choices.  if you want to hear the actual sounds from your fantom, you have to use an audio cable connected to your soundcard.  if you want to record MIDI so that you can edit it, then you can do that but you have to send the MIDI back out to the fantom and then send the audio from the fantom to the computer with an audio cable into your soudncard and record the audio from the triggers that are being done by the MIDI being sent back from the computer/X1.

the other choice is to use softysnths instead of the fantom for sounds to be triggered by MIDI.  this will be sounds from sofstynhs but will not be the exact same sound as the fantom.  they will sound different.  you'll still get a piano sound when you're using the piano patch, or a bass sound when using a bass patch, but they will not sound like the fantom does.  some softsynths will sound better than the fantom, others will not.

softsynths are very versatile and can be used without the hardware (fantom) even being connected after you have the MIDI into the project (or you can create MIDI with a mouse or edit the MIDI you've recorded from the fantom). 

do the tutorials in the help files to help you understand MIDI and softsynths.  they go over how to use them and how to record MIDI.

as far as the SMF from the fantom, how are you trying to import it into X1?  give me some more details about the file and how it was saved (is it a *.smf or *.mid?) and how you're trying to import it and exactly what happens when you do.

Hi Mary,
no, you don't sound like an idiot!  we get all levels of users in the forums and I can't tell always immediately what your level is just from text on a screen!

here's the X1 forum for future use:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tt.aspx?forumid=57

from the front forum page, it's the at the top of the sonar forums.

ok, as far as dragging and dropping from your fantom to the computer, yes, you should be able to do that.  so, you're saving it onto a flash drive and then plugging the flash drive into the computer and then what?  you can't see the file there at all?  or what?  unfortunately I can't see what you're doing, so you have to give me as much detail as possible.  what happens when you plug the flash drive in?  does the computer recognize the flash drive?  or does the MIDI file not show up in the list of files?  or what?

on the metronome - first, make sure that your metronome is set up for AUDIO metromone, not MIDI.  hit the "P" on your keyboard (computer) and then go to the METRONOME and click on it, then make sure it's set to AUDIO.

sorry, mary, but exactly what is greyed out or "opens an empty window"?  I'm not following you there.

have you tried simply clicking and dragging the MIDI file from windows explorer into sonar onto a MIDI track?

if your goal, however, is to save those files from the fantom then why not just copy them from the flash drive onto the hard drive, like in a folder in MY DOCUMENTS?  that will save the MIDI files for you.