Recommend fastest i7 affordable, Win 7, as much RAM possible and mandatory SSD minimum 128 GB. 

ampfixer
Sorry to say, your system with 2gig of memory, win XP and a full drive, just won't work well with any of the modern Sonar versions or the latest Music Creator. I'm afraid you'll find it a frustrating experience and have a lot of problems. I had a laptop with similar specs and was able to run Sonar 8.5 but nothing past that.
 
It's time to rethink a few things.

Hi, John. I think OP is actually on Win7 (Gregy is on XP). I missed the 2GB RAM part and that could indeed be an issue but perhaps not unless OP is intending on using a lot of heavy duty synths/FX but even then a LOT of "Freezing" and/or bouncing could get around that.
 
Keeping a close eye on the Perfomance Module in Sonar (and the size of sample banks being loaded so it remains under the amount of "useable" memory which is generally a little less than the installed memory) can keep things form going awry too (like if a sample bank is much more than a GB than yeah... that bank should be avoided which will unfortunately be quite a few of the good ones).
 
At least another 2GB installed would definitely be advisable.
 

xterrabill
thanks man!!
I have an external hd I think its a toshiba 1tb but never did back up this laptop.
well I guess I wont be recording today..LOL
I never did a back up or system image and don't even know where to start.
I did move a bunch of older song files to the external drive, maybe 50.
any advice on how to do all this would be Greatly appreciated!!
 

As Ampfixer pointed out you are definitely short on RAM too so if you intend to stay on the current laptop for a while see if you can get at least an extra 2GB's of DDR3 installed. Sorry I missed that. It depends on what you are doing though because RAM only REALLY comes into play under certain conditions (like ESPeCIALLY if you use a lot of softsynths and VST FX).
 
You might want to look into snagging a modern desktop PC and tweaking it or building your own which can be quite inexpensive these days to get min recommended specs for audio. Then you could still use the laptop for writing and then move the projects to the bigger system to handle the more resource intensive synths/effects stuff (like write with MIDI using a low footprint synth then run the MIDI through the nicer stuff on the more powerful system when you are ready).
 
As for creating system images and backups...
 
Win7 has it's own System Image tool. You can find info all over the internet on how to do this but best to probably go directly to the Microsoft site. It's under the "Recovery" tools of the Control Panel (in your Atart menu search box just type in "Recovery" and you'll be able to cruise the various options... do not confuse System Image with Restore Points which is another good idea to learn about but different and doesn;t save actual files).
 
Also look into a program called "Acronys" which is a backup/imaging/recovery tool that's been around for ages and works quite well. That was one of the main go to programs for system images and backups before Win7 (XP and earlier did not have Image creating tools) and is still supposedly more reliable than the Windows options.
 
If you are looking for more computer specific advice maybe post a new thread in the Computers area of this forum and check out sites like HowtoGeek, BleepingComputer, TomsHardware, Newegg (a parts and system supplier but with lots of helpful stuff too), etc.
 
Cheers and good luck.

too funny...8 hours later it finished making a back up/system image and I come back online to read this.
if any of you are still reading this, I have a couple more questions.
now that I made a back up, can I delete a bunch of stuff on me computer to make room for more?
ie...my old music files and photos.
I did look up newer computers (laptops) and I see its going to cost a minimum of 500.
does this seem right?
 

and to go more into depth as to vst's ect.
I use 3 or 4 sometimes at once, ez drummer, demention pro, ez keys, g-rig, and a few things like
mhorse, 5orcery, nova, ect.
yes I do a bit of freezing tracks and temp mixes/sub mixing/making stems and starting over and importing them
to a new project to keep going...hate them drop outs.
but mostly I play real instruments and import real instrument files from other musicians.

I'm gettin' ready to go into dinner making mode so I'm not going to go into a big huge diatribe (as usual) but I just wanted to make sure this one thing you asked is clarified...
 
DON'T delete any files just yet!
 
If you just made a System Image that's great BUT don't count that as a "backup" of your files.
 
A system image DOES make a copy of everything on your system but it is seriously a snapshot of EVERYTHING crammed into a single file. So if your computer screws up you can make the necessary repairs then start from where you were when the system image was created.
 
HOWEVER you cannot access individual files from a system image. It is ALL or NOTHING so loading the image totally wipes out your CURRENT files/system settings/etc and returns to that state.
 
Soooo BEFORE deleting any files on the system I wanted to make sure you actually made COPIES of the individual files and placed them on another external media device. Not just the system image.
 
That way you can easily access the files whenever you want, even on other computers. For anything SOOPER important I'd make TWO copies and put them on separate media/devices before deleting anything on the main system.
 
Look at it like this...
 
Imagine you have a scifi "replicator" doodad.
 
A system image would be like if you replicated your entire house and everything in it. It's all packed up but completely untouchable unless you want to destroy the original house and everything in it that you've acquired/done since you made the copy.
 
File backups would be like replicating all your stuff or your most important stuff (but not the house), carefully packing it and putting it in a big storage unit/warehouse. You can go in and open the boxes to grab and use the stuff whenever you want and put it wherever you want easily without vaporising any of your new stuff.
 
Make sense?
 
So learn how to properly pack up, copy and transfer your Music Creator files (I can only speak to Sonar methods of doing this) and any other files you need to an external device, make SURE you can still open the copies and THEN start deleting stuff.
 
Just don't want you to lose any files. Hopefully the others will chime in as well (and maybe make morsense... lol I'm hungry).
 
Cheers.

omg too late!!!
just kidding man :)
ok ok ok ok I get it geez LOLOL
you really didn't have to go that far ...rotfl....but I thank ya a million man, seriously.
that is what I expected to do,.... save files almost individually and check to make sure they are there
and accessible/working/retrievable in daw/other programs before deleting anything.
but I could ask a million more questions to you mr. boy-r-dee (hope ya have a sense of humor)
I made dinner tonight also.
:))
one thing tho.....god forbid worst case scenario....
what does the file look like that I would use on the e drive for system belly up?
let me rephrase that...
what does the system image file look like?
I see one that says (set up) and its 15,358kb, is that it?...just curious.
 
I see that after the 7.5 hours it took to do "back up" and "system image" (thats what I clicked on for my choice)
the e drive now is showing its used capacity at approx. 30% and unused capacity at 70% of 1 tb.
i will try to draw from the e drive the cwp files for cakewalk then try and get cakewalk to try and find
the right path to get to the individual tracks....i bet that's going to be tricky, unless i pull them into
the hd on the laptop first?.
i think i tried that about 3 months ago successfully.
 
but you can be sure...i will not start deleting anything until i see it and use it from both drives.
proceeding with extreme caution and appreciation in the morning
many thanks
Xb
 
 

Hey, Bill. I'm busy writing some bass parts but didn't want to leave you hanging (the MC subforum can be a looonely place, lol).
 
And no worries. I totes have a sense of humor (don't get the chef boyardee ref though... lol).
 
I think at this point you really should start a thread about proper file and system backup methods...
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Computers-f84.aspx
 
It's not that I can't or won't continue to help you but thruthfully I am NOT the best guy to ask about real techie stuff. I only really started getting in to computers about a decade ago (they were essentially not at the point where I found them useful/cost effective for my life until then). Even still, despite pretty much being in front of computers constantly now I pretty much only learn what I NEED to know to further my other interests (mainly music).
 
In the Computers forum though are some SERIOUS computer doods/dudettes who of course have particular knowledge about the digital audio realm. There are even pro DAW builders lurking/posting in there.
 
So definitely ask them about the best ways to back things up and any other computer related questions you may have.
 
Make sure you link to THIS thread so they have an idea of what has already been discussed so far (but you may not be able to post a link to it yet but if that's the case and I see the thread I'll post the link myself).
 
As for your questions...
 
Yes, that dated "setup" file is likely your System Image. That's what mine look like. I haven't loaded many images though (touch wood) so my knowledge of how to do that is sketchy (but it's easily researchable).
 
As for your E drive... to include your E drive in "system images" along with your C drive you have to set it up in the Windows image creating thingie (see how technical I am? lol... "thingie"). Same goes for backup programs like Acronys (seriously you should look into that... their free version actually creates images AFAIK, the last version I used did).
 
And regarding the "Copied" backups and opening them to see if they are okay from a different location... well that is tricky to explain and I'm not sure how MC does it.
 
BUT in Sonar if you want to save a project somewhere else with EVERYTHING then you would do a "Save As" to the new location and set a bunch of options up for various results. Like there are the old school compressed "Bundle" files (CWB) that takes the entire project, including referenced audio from either the Global Folder or the Project Folder (Global Audio Folder and Per Project Audio Folders are things to understand about default file paths in Sonar and likely in MC as well).
 
If done correctly and all the paths/options are set correctly it will be an EXACT replica of the original project and open directly from the new location (like your backup drive). Of course if any plugins are missing on your C drive (or wherever you have Sonar and your plugs, etc installed) then those won't load and you'll get a message (but you can still work on the project without the plugs).
 
So let's say you make this copy, wipe your drive or buy a new computer or whatever. You would then open the file from the external drive in MC or Sonar or whatever then do ANOTHER "Save As" to get it back on your system in a new folder. The program will now reference the new NEW location.
 
Okay... so you see I'm probably not explaining this well and I'm sure there are better and smarter ways to backup your audio projects properly. Hopefully you kind of see some of what I'm talking about though and can explore yourself and/or make a post in the Computers forum for backup tips, etc.
 
The Computers forum is still a little slow moving but it's much more populated than this, the Music Creator, sub forum.
 
Cheers and good luck.

Regarding the back up and file duplication..... yeah....  You should be copying and pasting folders with the files you need.
 
You should be sure you have the original installation disks for the applications and programs that you run, as well as any software keys to activate that program. Some programs will not operate if they are simply copied and pasted to a new computer. All of your data files should work and load perfectly from a simple copy/paste into a new drive.

thank you for the reply.
I have come to the conclusion that I need a new computer to upgrade to newer software,
also,
I have been in the process of moving files to my external hd as you mentioned.
some of my software is transferable to multiple computers via registrations, ez drummer, dimension pro,ect.
when the $$$ is there, I will be posting to the computer forum for advice, but in the interim
I have been doing my research on better daw desk/lap computers, for instance which ones are
a better buy and upgrading the ram ect.
i7 quad ssd 8gb 64 bit bla bla bla it all adds up to= $$$$.$$
ouch!!!
newegg, tiger, ebay, refurbished, ect.
I have always spent my money on high end instruments and amps.
but being an electrician by trade...taking apart a these little 8 screws, snap together computers is super easy.
but the devil is always in the details...I know!!!!  
  thanks again to all who replied
you guys seem like a pretty good bunch of folks.
peace
xterrabill
http://www.kompoz.com/music/artist/xterrabill

xterrabill,
 
You may be satisfied with upgrading the ram memory of your current system to 4 GB.  At this moment in time it is a VERY inexpensive upgrade, less than $10US at this link: http://www.memoryamerica.com/4gb-pc3-10600-ddr3-1333mhz-ecc-registered-512mx72-dual-rank-m393b5170fho-yh9-samsung-memory-240-pin-.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwl4q-BRDtzJmSk-uGunkSJACmCOY--iR_m6jps0ZnJ75xY9tI7CyrWWhvwGS4EADproDYnxoCvXbw_wcB.
 
While there are many small improvements, the most notable differences between MC5 and MC7 are MC7 (and all the associated content) is available in 64bit and 32bit downloads, the addition of one knob effects, MC7 can handle more audio inputs and MC7 includes all four studio instruments.  Considering that Studio Instruments sell for $49, the $20 - $40 upgrade price is a bargin.
 
Your Win 7 computer can run MC7.