8.5 worked perfectly. X3 gives ****loads of errors. I figured if I waited 2-3 upgrades, there should be a lot of new instruments? Wrong! There are some new effects, but that is about it. It looks to me like they tried to make it more difficult to use, and succeeded. I would have been highly pissed if I had upgraded to X1, or X2. Those guys got nothing at all? Probably a screen change. This ARX error won't go away? There are instructions on how to fix it, for other versions. It comes in 6-8 times on start up. I tried to use one of the new effect (Melodyne)-ERROR!

Sonar X3e is solid for me.
Are you asking for help or venting?
 

I really struggled with the X series upgrade and felt exactly how you do ....but X3e is now by far way superior to anything else Cake has put out. You might need sometime to adjust.  I did. I'm sure once you settle in it will be all good.  Once you get use to the new features you won't want to go back to 8.5, which was very good for me and hard to give up.

Can you share computer specs with us? I am doing my still in bed phone reading of the site so I can't see sigs, so forgive me if you already have. I ask because if you are running a computer contemporary of the time 8.5 was released, it may have issues. An example is the fact XP is not officially supported for X3 and tbat was the most common OS when 8.5 was released.

Never mind. I wasn't directed to an upgrade when I installed it. I just found out that there was one. I was running version A. Just installed E. No errors, and a quick VST scan (was very slow). I was venting a bit, I guess. I've been using these products since Cakewalk Home Studio 9.5, and I get tired of re-learning where everything is located in the program. I went to delete something, and I wanted to delete the hole, can't find that option. Metronome settings, moved, found them.  Record options/RTZ, can't find it. Things that I knew where they were, and used a lot, are gone. I wish they would have left the Global/Project settings groups alone. Both are gone, and a lot of it is in a preference file under "Edit".

Delete Special, is what you need to delete the hole. I'm learning. Can anyone tell me if this Melodyne thing is worth Pursuing? It looks like a science project, and it doesn't look like the full version (normally, "essentials" signifies crap). I'd hate to waste a bunch of time learning it, only to find out I have to pay to be able to save the file, or something. Sorry, the glass if half empty today. it's actually broken.

The version of Melodyne is fully functional and very powerful. There is a more powerful version for more money but the one included is not disabled. The interface takes getting used to but it is worth it. The most noticable difference between the version included ( at least at first glance) and the flagship model is the ability to edit polyphonic material. I would suggest watching some of the vids on caketv and even the teaser vids for the tutorial video on sale for $34. The little snippet on creating harmonies is an awesome and practical usage that is easy to learn and apply.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Clearly you didn't demo it before you bought it? 

Don't jump to conclusions so fast. The most of us loved 8.5, but X3 is really better once you learned it. You have to invest time to make it work.  Loads *** of errors? I definitely not recognize this.
One thing to keep in mind: not all instruments/effects that are included in 8.5 are in the X3 install set. So when you install on a new machine, check if the instruments/effects you use on your song are included. Otherwise: also install 8.5. 

If you work with Sonar never upgrade without leaving your old DAW working.
In case you do not change your PC do a dual boot at least,so you can always do some work.
Sonar X3e is perfect for me,took me some time to tune it but then its flawless.
Peace.