Lots of crashes with X3 (mostly solved)

markyzno

gmp

robert_e_bone
Running programs while logged on to your computer as a user that happens to be an administrator is NOT, repeat NOT, the same as running a program using the explicit Run As Administrator option.
 
The above is an important distinction.
 
Even users that are Administrators get a restricted set of 'execution token privileges.  Setting the EXPLICIT option for a program to launch with Run As Administrator grants an elevated set of execution privileges.
 
Soooooo, again, I ask you to try launching Sonar with the explicit setting of Run As Administrator, and see if that helps.  To do so, right-click on the launch icon for Sonar, then click on Run As Administrator.
 
Bob Bone
 

 
Thanks Bob, this was all new to me. I see that right click option and will try it. So is it possible that I may have to always run X3 as the administrator? Do you use this option at times? I wonder if I can modify my shortcut to X3 so that I don't have to always right click it? You mentioned installing X3 as the administrator. Is there a trick to that also?
 
Sorry for all the questions, you've really gotten my curiosity up about this.

Right click on the Sonar.exe icon, goto properties, goto the compatibility tab, then at the botton check the Run this program as admin check box. This will make it ALWAYS run in explicit admin mode.
 
Btw, I agree with Alex, Start using 64bit Sonar on a 64bit OS. It can remove alot of gremlins.

robert_e_bone
My guess is you have Sonar and Windows Media Player both using ASIO drivers.
 
Try disabling all Windows sounds, and also try setting your Windows default audio device to use the on-board sound, rather than your audio interface.
 
Bob Bone
 

scook

gmp
you're correct Sonar and Windows Media Player both using ASIO drivers.  That was what most people were advising years ago in XP. So that's not a good idea anymore?

Keep in mind there is a combination of 32bit and 64bit applications attempting access the interface. This was not the case on the XP installation. I have no difficulty running 64bit SONAR with 64bit WMP using the same interface. But I would not recommend moving to 64bit SONAR without at least 8GB of RAM.

robert_e_bone
Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.  (apps and ASIO access)
 
I avoid the whole issue by keeping everything but Sonar and stand-alone things like Dim Pro and Kontakt away from using the audio interface.  The hard-code music apps are all that get pointed to the audio interface, and everything else uses the on-board sound.
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
When you set the Driver Mode in Sonar to ASIO, and then go back to the audio devices screen, only devices that have ASIO drivers appear as audio devices, so only the audio interface appears and able to be selected.
 
'Everything' for me refers to not only IE, Chrome, and Windows Media Player, I also have additional music applications - such as one called The Amazing Slow Downer, and by telling Windows to use the on-board sound as the default audio device - I can play any or all of them concurrently with no worries about interfering with Sonar, since Sonar uses the audio interface and ASIO drivers, rather than the WDM drivers that the on-board sound uses.
 
Because I have multiple sets of speakers, it is easy to have multiple sound output methods and hardware in place.  The reference monitors are hooked to the audio interface.  
 
I have 2 different choices for handling getting the sounds from the on-board sound chip to routed to speakers. 
 
1st method is the one I use most often, which is that I have a splitter (stereo mini to two 1/4" mono), with the two quarter-inch outputs from the splitter fed into a couple of inputs of my audio interface.  This arrangement gives me both Sonar's output and any of the non-Sonar apps that use the on-board sound (like Windows Media Player) coming through one set of speakers.
 
If I need those inputs from the audio interface, I then simply tell Windows to use the HDMI capabilities of one of my HDTV's I use as display monitors, as the Windows default audio device.  The TV/monitor has its own speakers, and I do not have to unplug anything from the computer in order to switch the audio routing.  I only need to unplug the 2 instrument cables from the input ports of the audio interface (the ones carrying audio from the splitter that is plugged into the speaker jack in the back of the computer).
 
I ROUTINELY use either The Amazing Slow Downer, or am playing things through either Windows Media Player or YouTube in Chrome, at the same time I am in the process of recording keyboards in Sonar, and because of the applications that are running only Sonar is using the audio interface's ASIO drivers, and the rest use the on-board sound, there is NO problem whatsoever with having any combination of those applications running concurrently.
 
I hope that helps explain what I was talking about.  For ME, the above works very well.
 
Bob Bone
 

gmp

scook

gmp
you're correct Sonar and Windows Media Player both using ASIO drivers.  That was what most people were advising years ago in XP. So that's not a good idea anymore?

Keep in mind there is a combination of 32bit and 64bit applications attempting access the interface. This was not the case on the XP installation. I have no difficulty running 64bit SONAR with 64bit WMP using the same interface. But I would not recommend moving to 64bit SONAR without at least 8GB of RAM.

I see, right now I have 4 gigs of Ram. It's been a very long time since I got RAM. Any suggestions on where to get it and how to make sure it's compatible with my system?