Hello everyone, 
 
Recently I have purchased a Tascam US 4x4 usb audio card.
I am using windows 8.1 pro , 64 bit, 32 GB ram .
Everything seems ok , but when I run Cakewalk Sonar x3e,
two things are happening.
If I run Sonar x3e directly after I enter windows , Sonar runs ok with Tascam drivers.
But if I play an audio file before I enter Sonar x3, and then run Sonar , sonar says the drivers are missing and there is no drivers in the listing from the Sonar's preferences menu.
It's like Windows are keeping the drivers only for windows themselves.
Same thing happening , after I exit sonar x3 after a session. (Sonar runs ok only if I run it directly after I start windows)
NO audio can be heard , no video files could be run , actually any multimedia file can't run for some reason. It stucks at 0 time play. That happens if I also run a video on youtube. The video on youtube won't start. All because probaly an audio driver problem.
Any solutions or advices ? It seems like Tascam drivers are not working fine with windows 8.1 pro 64 bit in comparison with Cakewalk Sonar x3e.
 
Setup:
Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
Cakewalk Sonar X3e 64 bit
CPU : Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5 GHz Six Core Socket 2011-3 140W Box
GPU : nVidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB DDR5 PCI-E
RAM : 32GB DDR4 Non ECC CL16 2400MHz Crucial Ballistix Sport
Mother board : Asrock x99 extreme 6
 
EDIT- HiJacked solution  !
I found the solution by using a third party asio drivers. 
Any Tascam USB audio users that would like to use this driver. it's only 18 euros but you can solve all the problems
with your driver and experience much better your whole computer configuration and enjoy your work. 
Here is the link driver : 
http://odeus-audio.com.au/Odeus/AsioLink

Don't have a quick answer for you but windows is taking exclusive hold of the driver. What driver are you using with the Tascam? And how is Windows Sound Playback/Record set? If your using the Tascam for Windows Sound check the advanced tab on the properties page and see if the allow app's exclusive mode options are set. 

Hi Steve, 
 
thank you for your reply. 
Well I tried all things you mentioned with no results. 
 
One thing I tried was to power off and on the device. That gave me one more try to enter Cakewalk Sonar with success and found the drivers ok . 
But when I tried to exit Sonar , play an audio file from windows and return to Sonar , then again no audio drivers. 
Tried to power on and off again the Tascam us 4x4 and this time with no luck. 
 
The device is lost at all , no drivers at all . All multimedia are stuck when clicked to play. Don't play and stuck to 0 time. 
I can't also restart or shut down the computer !!!! Windows holds on restarting or shutting down options.  
It's crazy . 
Nothing of these happens if I don't run Sonar . Computer , windows and audio runs great inside windows 8.1 pro 64. All the disaster happens in comparison with Sonar. 
 
I am sure it's a driver or firmware problem of Tascam Us 4x4 or a strange conflict.
Sadly Tascam seems slow on driver and firmware updates. 
 
 

I assume you've downloaded the latest TASCAM drivers and firmware from their web site. I use the US-4x4 in my studio, have been for months...it works fine with SONAR.
 
However, if SONAR is open and I play something with Windows Media Player, I can do so. But then if I try to play something from SONAR, I can't because it doesn't see the drivers. If I close Windows Media Player, close SONAR, and re-open SONAR, then I can play sounds through SONAR again.

Basically, audio programs like to have the computer to themselves. I use ASIO when running SONAR; I assume you do too. Then again I don't use other programs to listen to sounds any more, as I can do that from SONAR's Media Browser.
 
Most of the time all you need to do is close any audio programs to release the drivers, then open the program you want to use.

I always configured Windows to use the onboard sound card and configured Sonar to use ASIO with either of my audio interfaces to avoid these types of problems. Windows seems to manage sharing devices horribly, and specifically audio interfaces. Another problem besides the audio interfaced being locked is Windows will switch the sample rate. All of a sudden your project starts playing back at the wrong speed because Windows media player or IE switched the sample rate.

Anderton
I assume you've downloaded the latest TASCAM drivers and firmware from their web site. I use the US-4x4 in my studio, have been for months...it works fine with SONAR.
 
However, if SONAR is open and I play something with Windows Media Player, I can do so. But then if I try to play something from SONAR, I can't because it doesn't see the drivers. If I close Windows Media Player, close SONAR, and re-open SONAR, then I can play sounds through SONAR again.

Basically, audio programs like to have the computer to themselves. I use ASIO when running SONAR; I assume you do too. Then again I don't use other programs to listen to sounds any more, as I can do that from SONAR's Media Browser.
 
Most of the time all you need to do is close any audio programs to release the drivers, then open the program you want to use.

Thank you Anderton , 
 
I would like to share more information  about this issue. I found a semi solution , that it's a bit annoying , but still I can work around this problem somehow.
The semi solution is the following: After running cakewalk sonar ,I do my work , and then exit, I wait for 20 seconds , and then starting to play music files , surfing on youtube , multimedia things. And that works.
The solution is to wait around 15-20 seconds after every exit from Cakewalk Sonar or before going into Cakewalk sonar after I have played various multimedia files. That's strange I can say , I am not sure why that happens. It's like the driver is not free after the exit of Sonar , or it's not free after I play a multimedia file (audio or video).
It needs sometime to rest and then use the audio driver again. If the conflict happens , it strains windows very much. If I don't wait for 15- 20 seconds , the conflict happens and the drivers of Tascam us 4x4 are disabled from the use of Sonar , or even from the Windows for every multimedia file access. And further more with that conflict I can't shut down the computer or even restart. It halts the whole system at the restart or shutting process.
Luckily that work around helps a little bit , but I am sure it really need a decent fix. 
 
Well I still have my previous computer with an M-AUDIO Delta 1010Lt . 
I never had the same issue with the M-AUDIO card. 
 
What's the settings you have in the preferences for the driver inside Sonar ? The options where you select the "share driver with other programmes" etc , which of those you have enabled or disabled for best experience ? 
 
Thanks! 
 
ps. The time of waiting might be lower like 5 or 10 seconds. But still testing the 15-20 second period. 

Etostone
Well I still have my previous computer with an M-AUDIO Delta 1010Lt . 
I never had the same issue with the M-AUDIO card.

 
Drivers behave differently from different manufacturers depending on a variety of factors. I've had interfaces that work the same way as the TASCAM and others that work same way as M-Audio.
 

What's the settings you have in the preferences for the driver inside Sonar ? The options where you select the "share driver with other programmes" etc , which of those you have enabled or disabled for best experience ?

 
Here's what I do:

• Turn off share drivers in Preferences.
• Use ASIO drivers with SONAR.
• Only one program that wants audio runs at one time, and I close it before opening another program that wants audio.

At least for me this takes care of the driver issue, and also what happens if the sample rates between programs differ.

I have  the 4x4 but have not installed it yet. For several years I've used the Tascam US-1641 which has been pretty much flawless as an interface. However, certainly if I turn on the interface it works with Windows applications. When I go into Sonar X3 or Platinum, no problem but if while Sonar is running, I switch to a browser I don't get any sound. Sonar seems to lock the drivers. Not much of a problem for me. I just wait until I exit Sonar. It may take a few seconds for Sonar to release the hold on the drivers, but after leaving Sonar the Tascam works with Windows as normal.
 
However, I expect the new drivers for 4x4 could be at fault if they don't release after Sonar closes. You might look at the task manager to see if any process from Tascam is running before you choose to shut down. Nothing in the drivers should remain as a process running if you power off the Tascam. You could try killing a task identified as initiated by Tascam if you find one running and then try to shut down to see if that helps.

Anderton

Etostone
Well I still have my previous computer with an M-AUDIO Delta 1010Lt . 
I never had the same issue with the M-AUDIO card.

 
Drivers behave differently from different manufacturers depending on a variety of factors. I've had interfaces that work the same way as the TASCAM and others that work same way as M-Audio.
 

What's the settings you have in the preferences for the driver inside Sonar ? The options where you select the "share driver with other programmes" etc , which of those you have enabled or disabled for best experience ?

 
Here's what I do:

• Turn off share drivers in Preferences.
• Use ASIO drivers with SONAR.
• Only one program that wants audio runs at one time, and I close it before opening another program that wants audio.

At least for me this takes care of the driver issue, and also what happens if the sample rates between programs differ.

Thank you Anderton , your info really helps. 
The thing with my issue is that , when the driver conflicts happens , the drivers get lost from the system!  
It's not just to wait for the drivers to get released. That would be ok. The problem is that the drivers get lost 
and device could get back to work after a restart or shutdown only. Both restart and shutdown after a conflict halts the procedure. I need to wait 5 minutes to get the PC shutdown after a conflict of the driver. 
 
When the PC gets back after the restart of the computer , windows starts with no audio drivers. 
I have to turn off , and then turn on again the rack interface for the drivers to start ! 
Drivers need an update for sure. 
 
Also found the same happens with Adobe Premiere CC . When I edit a video , and I play a youtube tutorial or a multimedia file in the browser the same thing happens like in Sonar. Things get crazy , drivers get conflict , need to restart the whole PC , and when I come in again need to turn off and turn on the rack interface for the driver to be seen. 
 
Another thing I would like to ask you.
1) Which OS are you using ? Windows 7 or 8 ? 8.1 pro , 64 bit ? 
2) How's the support of Tascam ? It's been like 24 hours and I haven't recieved any reply from them for that serious driver issue. 
 
 

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