The last few weeks I have noticed that the audio engine stops more frequently that in the past, (well, hardly ever in the past). It seems to be more often when I tweak a tone setting in the Pro Channel EQ while the song is playing, the audio engine stops. Also sometimes the timing of the song will go out of sync when an adjustment is made in PC. Stopping the song and restarting puts everything back in sync. I have to admit, I am a bit vague about the settings in preferences, and everything is pretty much at default.

Dear Mr. Prime,
 
If your engine is stalling, it just means you need gas.
 
I would try setting your buffers up a bit (or is that down?... well a high number).  That would include your ASIO and playback buffers, and any other buffers available.
 
Kind regards,
 
Living Room Rocker

 
"I would try setting your buffers up a bit (or is that down?... well a high number).  That would include your ASIO and playback buffers, and any other buffers available."
 
Yes, I'll give this a try, but it is an area that I am completely vague about. Never grasped the concept of buffers.
 

optimus
Never grasped the concept of buffers.

This article that was just published in the Cakewalk blog might help.

Thanks Craig. Ok, I get that, my OctaCapture is set at the default 6,which works fine 99% of the time when recording and playback and I don't have a problem with latency. It's just those times when making changes on the fly that things go wrong.
 
I remember reading on this forum somewhere that people change their buffers to optimise for recording and play back, but I'm not sure which to tackle, recording or playback, and in which direction. That is assuming that my problem stems from incorrect setting of these parameters.

The I/O buffer setting can make a difference. Sometimes too high is as bad a too low. There's no real "right" figure either. I set mine by trial and error in relation to the audio buffers.
 
It takes a little time to find the optimum set up for your system but once it's done there's no need to worry about it again. Start at 512 in each, run those for a while and if you get problem increase them. Keep doing that until you get a figure that works for your system. It's also worth trying them at 256 as well to see how that works out.
 
They aren't as important as your audio buffers but they can make a difference.

How old is your projects drive?
 
My X3e audio engine was stopping after 35 seconds or play or record. Thought it was the project or some system setting.
 
Moved the project to another dive and all was well. Installed a new drive copied all projects to the new drive from the old one and have not had one dropout yet (been two weeks).
 

"How old is your projects drive?"
 
Maybe about 12 months or so. New computer.
 
I'm thinking now it may be project specific. The problem is most prevalent on a couple of large projects which have 40 - 50 tracks, (not all playing at the same time, but muted and hidden).
Tried some small projects today and things seemed ok.

optimus
"How old is your projects drive?"
 
Maybe about 12 months or so. New computer.
 
I'm thinking now it may be project specific. The problem is most prevalent on a couple of large projects which have 40 - 50 tracks, (not all playing at the same time, but muted and hidden).
Tried some small projects today and things seemed ok.

That's some good news then.

In all my 35 years of recording all kinds of music,,, I've yet to have more than 16 tracks of audio and a smattering of midi..I guess I never got over using tape!! 
What are you dudes recording that takes 40 tracks? A symphony??? just kidding of course but I just can't grasp this concept. I guess if I never deleted all the bad takes I make..:?