Alan,
 
Sorry, I was referring to Platinum.
You are on X3E? 
 
What you are describing sounds like a crash.  In the crash response handling, X3E tries to shut down the devices right away but we've found that part of the process can hang so it's less obvious that a crash occurred.
 
To capture a crash dump in this situation, you can run a utility called procdump from Microsoft TechNet.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd996900.aspx
 
Download the .zip file.  Extract it to a path that's easy to type/remember such as c:\utils\
 
Then when SONAR appears in this state, from cmd prompt type this:
[current folder]> c:\utils\procdump64.exe sonarpdr
 
You should get a minidump file in the folder that cmd prompt first opened in (what appears to the left of the prompt > in [current folder]
in my case I had c:\Users\kalb>
 
To view the resulting dump file, type this to launch explorer showing the contents of the folder
> start .
 
Then you could attach the .dmp file to a problem report, support case, etc.
However, if you don't mind installing an additional tool, you can find out if the crash is related to a plugin without waiting.
 
Analyzing dumps isn't trivial.  But I managed to find a tool that gives a nice user accessible report.
 
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49924
 
So if you want to get a high level mention of a faulting module in a crash dump, install the tool, then find DebugDiag 2 Analysis in the search box.
 
Run it and
Check the CrashHangAnalysis box (1)
Then click Add Data Files (2).  Choose the minidump that was created by procdump.
Then click Start Analysis (3). 
 

 
After awhile, it will open Internet Explorer and ask for permission to load, choose allow blocked content and then the results will appear in the browser window.  The faulting module will appear in the red error section in the style module!functionname.  The report lists the path and manufacturer, so that should provide enough info to see what plugin could be causing a crash.   Here is an example report.  This specific example would require more detailed analysis to get at the cause.  One possible cause we've been seeing is the Dell Shell Extension crash.
 

 
Keith
 
 
 

Actually, once you install DebugDiag 2, you can use it to save a minidump in the hang condition and skip the cmd line stuff if that's not your thing.
 
In Windows Search box type DebugDiag2 Collection and run it.
Click Cancel on the Select Rule Type dialog.  
Then click the processes tab. 
Simply right click on SONAR...
Choose 'Create Mini Userdump' and it will save one. 
Take note of the output path in the dialog box that appears.  You'll need to add that in the analysis tool. 
In my case, the path is in program files - C:\Program Files\DebugDiag\Logs\Misc.
 

 
 

Hi Keith...this issue is occurring in Platinum. I haven't used X3 for a couple of years now. Is 22.9.1.41 the latest update? 

As an update and what I experienced working on this project where the CPU usage was very low...this is in respect to the audio 'meltdown' issue. I've sent this project to Noel for his analysis.
 
Hi Noel
 
I'd like to send you a current project that I'm working on where I had some repeated issues with the audio making loud high and low 'red-line' sounds, after inserting some plug-ins.
 
Of note, this project is a template file where I have AD2 setup with various plug-ins. Also, I had a bus setup for vocs, where I had several fx's greyed out, ready for use.
 
I recorded a vocal track and sent it to the aforementioned bus. I activated the CLA and there was no effects coming from it. I have had this happen before on this bus, so I created another bus and copied the CLA. That did not work, so I deleted it and inserted a fresh one...all good at this point.
 
I then inserted a vst3 version of the new iZotope Neutron plug-in and experienced what I have described to you. At this point, I quickly turned down the volume to my monitors and was able to save the project. Restarting the project it was all good again. I have experienced this many times.
 
Now at this point in experimenting with some fx on my vocs, I placed iZotope's VocalSynth plug-in on the track, not the bus. Sonar immediately crashed to the desktop. I restarted Sonar again and tried adding the Vocal Synth to the vocal bus track this time. Again, the audio 'meltdown'. Saving and restarting again, found it all good once again.
 
I hope you can find out why this occurring. As mentioned it's not just iZoptope's plug-ins...it's a range of them including on one occasion, Cakewalk's CA-2 compressor.