Kill Sonar from the Task Manager?

Is there a way to do this? It's bad enough that Sonar is crashing on me 4-5 times a week, but once it disappears, I can't kill the SonarPDR.exe process from the task manager. So the only way to reopen Sonar and continue working is to reset the computer... and that doesn't work because Vista won't restart without closing all active processes, which it can't do, so my core overheats and the system hard restarts itself saying it got "hotter than expected".

At this point whenever Sonar crashes I've got to hard-reset my computer by cycling the power. I'm willing to let the frequent crashes go as a result of this being an early version of the app, but how do I kill the process once it dies? There's GOT to be a better way than restarting the machine but taskmanager won't let me do it. Is there some setting or "feature" that's holding the program open that I can turn off?

Not that it is a clean way to kill a process, but you can always manually kill it like this ---

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/446/xp_kill_windows_process_command_line_taskkill/


Of course, you'll still have to figure out why it's crashing in the first place, we'll need more info.

ORIGINAL: KevinD

Not that it is a clean way to kill a process, but you can always manually kill it like this ---

Unfortunately in this case that is not true. As one who has experienced this problem, there is absolutely no way to kill the Sonar.exe process.

ORIGINAL: burbek
My understanding is that it's usually a midi driver that is preventing SonarPDR.exe from being closed.

I agree. In my case an Emagic AMT8 or any M-Audio device with an active MIDI driver can cause this hung process issue. Turning off the offending device is the only way to get the process to eventually cease. I doubt Cakewalk is ever going to fix this behavior.

D.

Tox, like the other poster said, its most likely a usb midi device hanging on and not letting sonar close. But we cant know until you list all your hardware, all of it and you pc specs. dont be shy, include sound card and all other hardware connected to your pc
Cj

I guess they thing we know what they have I dont know???

If you are unable to kill sonarpdr.exe via the Task Manager, it's because a lower-level process is hung, most likely a device driver. SONAR has made a call to the driver that never returned, and SONAR itself is in a state of suspended animation - placed in limbo by Windows - because it cannot proceed until the driver reports back with a yay or nay. Your problem is most likely with your interface or its driver, not with SONAR itself.

I just had this happen to me, in fact. SONAR wouldn't run and couldn't be killed via Task Manager or Process Explorer. Then I remembered that I'd recently moved my interface up one space in the rack to make room for a new piece of gear. I went around to the back and sure enough, the S/PDIF cable had come off. My clock was set to S/PDIF and the interface was sitting there waiting for a clock that wasn't going to come. Plugged the cable in and SONAR came to life.

Hi Dave-

Good to know. I've had this happen from time-to-time, and I'd much rather reset my hardware interfaces than hard boot my PC.

Thanks-

-Susan

I'll look into what's going on with the interface setup because ATM unplugging ALL MIDI-capable gear is still giving the hangs... I'm surprised Sonar won't let itself be hard-killed, as I've never had this issue with other daws, but at least I know the solution.

EDIT: unplugging the soundcard and keyboard for like 45 seconds allows me to kill the process. Good news, thanks gents!

I'm not sure what's causing the problem all the time, but sometimes I reopen SONAR after the crash and then close it Sonar normally so that the process gets shut down and it seems to work because this time there is no file and no input output assignments.

It doesn't work if external MIDI gear is still grabbing it, but for small crashes where the process is left running, this works for me.

Crash. Reopen SONAR. Close SONAR. Open for a third time and proceed normally.

Followup to say this is resolved, thanks a bunch guys.

You're absolutely right. When Sonar crashes, I just have to power down my MIDI keyboard before killing the process and it opens right back up afterwards.

HUGE time saver, I really appreciate the info!

Anyone know if 8.3 is going to address this stuff. The SONARPDR.EXE thing of not letting go? Thanks!

Its not really a Sonar issue. Its a driver issue that is not well written. Bitflipper did a great job of explaining why this is so.

ORIGINAL: John

Anyone know if 8.3 is going to address this stuff. The SONARPDR.EXE thing of not letting go? Thanks!

Its not really a Sonar issue. Its a driver issue that is not well written. Bitflipper did a great job of explaining why this is so.

I disagree, maybe this should become a Sonar issue with the number of users it affects. I am not a Windows programming expert, but I believe Windows supports a driver 'watchdog' (error timeout). Why can Sonar not implement this so that even if a driver is the culprit, its process can properly close after a certain number of seconds have elapsed with no response? I am always a fan of making programs more capable and prepared for the unexpected, rather than playing the blame game and saying its out of the scope of the software. If a feature or fix for common problems can be added to Sonar with a reasonable expense of the developers time, I say it should be done. Flexible thinking like that will keep Sonar an open platform.

D.

This thread is the reason I randomly browse this forum. I have many times rebooted my computer over the years because I've been unable to kill the exe after a crash. This gives me hope at saving a little time in the future. I have an m-audio midi interface as do many others that have the hanging issue.

Not that I want Sonar to crash any time soon but it will eventually and now I am armed with a new time saving technique. Thanks Cakewalk Forum!

William

Since I've switched from an M-Audio 4x4 to an RME FF800 MIDI interface, and stopped using the M-Audio TriggerFinger, this never happens to me any more.