michael diemer
So, how long into the future will Sonar support W7?

Historically Cakewalk has supported their software on an OS as long as the MS compiler and libs allow them to do so.

The awnser is no.
or;
if it works dont fix it.
F. 

No problems running Splat on Win 10 (or Sound Forge, Vegas or any other A/V program).  Win 10 is very nice.

At first,  I was very reluctant to go from Win 8 to Win 10 on my only Windows computer at the time . 
During the weekend of Black Friday  I went out and got a mid spec lap top w Win 10 64 pre installed .
I'm glad I did that since there was a genuine need for me to have a Windows OS beater box computer as a back up .
After letting the pre installed Win 10  do it's updating thing I put SPlat on this humble lap top …
I was shocked at how much better SPlat ran on this computer using all my same  hardware …
It ran circles around my  Win 8 64 computer that had more ram and was higher spec …
There was plenty of time left for me to decide if I wanted to update from Win 8 to Win 10 , so I ran them both separately for a few months ..
SPlat on Win 8  VS Splat on Win 10 …They both used all the same external hardware (swapping only the lap tops ).. 
 
Now I'm not trying to be scientific and all , Yet , I could not ignore the fact that SPlat in Win 10 was out outperforming SPlat in Win 8 using duplicate projects all across the board except when I brought my Win 10 computer to a choke point ..
I was OK w that since the Win 10 lap top was Lower spec / less ram ….
 
About 2 months ago my Win 8 computer got upgraded to Win 10 …..I'm much happier all across the board …
 
all the best, 
 
Kenny
 

Just do it.

I have an SSL alpha link and MX4 sound card (Soundscape) that only officially support Windows 7. I'm also very afraid of the upgrade for fear of needing to re-enter, verify, and update many 3rd party programs. I have about 50 program codes I don't want to have to go through again. If something does not work with Windows 10, going backwards will require a re-format and go through the install process again........days of work.
 
So I will resist the upgrade for as long as possible.

bapu
After July 29th, 2016 the upgrade will no longer be free.

I used Acronis True image to backup my Win 7 systems before I upgraded to Windows 10. I had some stability issues with Sonar on one of my laptops after a forced windows update, no doubt due to driver issues (yes -  I have the latest drivers). I simply backed up the windows 10 installation, then reloaded the windows 7 image (which takes 3 mouse clicks and about 15mins to load my entire system using Acronis) This way you have the best of both worlds - you can use win 7 for as long as you like/need, but have taken advantage of the free win 10 update and can reload it at your leisure:)
 
FWIW I find that win 7, 8 and 10 all run Sonar just fine. Personally, I am a big fan of a stable,  unchanging, offline studio system that I only update as required.  The constant and compulsory updates on win 10 are a bit of an annoyance (I have it running on my media server and have had issues on 2 occasions). No doubt this will improve over time.
 
I understand however that my experience is a statistically insignificant study of one and not typical on the forum where there are many very happy campers on win 10 :) 

elegentdrum
I have an SSL alpha link and MX4 sound card (Soundscape) that only officially support Windows 7. I'm also very afraid of the upgrade for fear of needing to re-enter, verify, and update many 3rd party programs. I have about 50 program codes I don't want to have to go through again. If something does not work with Windows 10, going backwards will require a re-format and go through the install process again........days of work.
 
So I will resist the upgrade for as long as possible.

FWIW you don't have to wipe your drive to upgrade to Windows 10. I did an in-place update and aside from re-authorizing Addictive Drums and reloading the TASCAM and Roland interface drivers, that was it. Anything that was tied to the hard drive didn't care there was a different OS, and of course anything with iLok didn't care. Upgrading to Windows 10 was by far the most painless Windows upgrade I've ever done. It was easier than going from Mavericks to El Capitan on the Mac.
 
Of course you should do what you want to do, all I can describe is my own experience.

Is it necessary to upgrade to Windows 10 for Sonar?
necessary = no
inevitable = yes
free Win 10 upgrade before July 2016 = yes
free Win 10 upgrade after July 2016 = no
- just make sure your audio interface drivers are all compatible !
- there are many positive Win 10 reports about audio being better
- there are many negative Win 10 reports about new OS details being questionable, more intrusive etc . . .
- if you have a flawless back-up plan, you could keep using Win 7 for many years into the future
- from what I've read online, after the year 2020, your flawless Win 7 back-up plan will begin to breakdown
- at some point, if you want all the latest Cakewalk improvements / fixes . . . you will need to keep up
 

noynekker
- there are many negative Win 10 reports about new OS details being questionable, more intrusive etc . . .

There are plenty of places on the web that tell you how to disable that kind of stuff. I haven't bothered, but the info is out there if you want it. By NOT opting out, I get a cool new desktop picture every now and then...