Beagle on the case
 

ReTracer
Would that be the case? As i'm not using any audio data on the project - I can run it even with the audio engine switched off - would it matter at all which soundcard is being used? Or does Sonar use the audio card for other tasks, such as timecode etc. Sorry for my ignorance here.

If you're not using the output at all, (including no softsynths), then I'm not sure what sonar needs the soundcard drivers for, but I would still try using the 410 to see if that's what's causing the crashes.  I am certain that sonar DOES still access the drivers even if it's only once at start up, but maybe more than that.

check this out and disable the realtek.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...this-Out-m3103263.aspx
 
 

Beagle
 
If you're not using the output at all, (including no softsynths), then I'm not sure what sonar needs the soundcard drivers for, but I would still try using the 410 to see if that's what's causing the crashes.  I am certain that sonar DOES still access the drivers even if it's only once at start up, but maybe more than that.

I'll definitely experiment with this but it will have to wait - the 410 is at a different location where I have my main studio - here, it's just me, the computer, and the piano (V-Piano). Great for uncluttered creativity, not so great when random crashes occur!
 
At the moment I'm trying out different settings for the audio driver mode - 
WDM/KS - Works OK
WASAPI (doesn't work at all)
ASIO - works but ignores any metronome count in.
MME (32-bit) (Works but it's on this that the crashes were first occuring.)
 
I ended up on the MME driver mode because several months ago I had timing issues on WDM and ASIO. Notes triggering way out of time. WDM and ASIO seem to be OK at the moment.
 
It's a dark art.

dlion16
check this out and disable the realtek.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...this-Out-m3103263.aspx
 
 

OK - fascinating, that's a great lead!  Thank you.

try recording into a different daw - take the v-piano out of the equation
 

Well so far it's operating much more stably, simply through changing the Audio driver mode to ASIO. Several months ago I was having so much trouble with V-piano + ASIO or V-piano + WDM that I ended up trying the MME drivers which 'resolved' the problem. For this project and using ASIO, I can't even start the audio engine within Cakewalk, which is fine as it is not needed - the output just says 'Missing: Realtek HD Audio out'.
 
I'll keep testing, and using the WDM mode option too.

I am not clear on your system/workflow, but another quick thing to check is that your system does not allow USB ports to go idle. This can create nasty issues and would also cause the issue you saw with the computer idle. Windows is not elegant about idling a USB port and bringing it back online properly.

ReTracer

dlion16
check this out and disable the realtek.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...this-Out-m3103263.aspx
 
 

OK - fascinating, that's a great lead!  Thank you.

FYI - I will be posting the finalized, condensed, and vetted version of this technique in the Tip of the Week thread. I remain amazed at how much of a difference it has made.

download and install WhoCrashed.
 
The crash dumps that are stored in the "cave" of user\appdata\roaming\cakewalk,,,,,.. will need to be moved into the windows\minidump folder for whocrashed to be happy