I've noticed for sometime that it takes ages to save my sonar projects, and I've just worked out why, but I can't find any way to stop it.
 
When I open a Sonar project, it created thousands of wav files with the name of the project even when there are no audio tracks active.
 
It used up about 80 Gig in one project  (over 1500 wav files).  I was horrified to find my SSD left with 30 gig spare on closing one project !
 
Currently 162 Gig of such files occupy the audio folder even when all projects are closed, but none are wanted.
 
I have noticed that when bouncing tracks that it always creates TWO wav files per bounce too, but that is a separate problem (which I can't fix either).
 
 
I tried using the Clean Audio folder, but strangely although the path is set correctly, it tries searching everywhere, not just the audio folder specified and then stops working !
 
Sadly, before reading that you should not delete files outside Sonar, I somehow did manage to delete a whole batch of these for one project, but that didn't help either.
 
Any ideas?
 
 

Have you tried opening a new project ? Same thing ?
What Midi instruments are you using in the project ?

Check Sonar preferences, especially:
* Audio / Playback and recording / Driver mode
* Audio / Driver settings / Audio drive bit depth
* File / Audio data / [Global Audio Folder, File Bit depth / Import Bit (Original), Use per-project Audio folder (checked)
 
And compare with open project sample rate/bit depth.
 
I do not have an idea what can trigger such behavior, but may be you can notice something strange just looking at these settings.

I'm running everything at 48 kHz, 24 bit.
 
All of the used midi are vst EastWest Hollywood instruments plus Hauptwerk Organ vst.
 
As far as I can see, this only happens if at some point, in some version of the file I bounce a track.

I'm not 100% sure I understand the problem correctly, but...
 
Any audio you record, will be saved in the audio folder, whether you use it the project or not. Thousands of audio files sounds so much for failed takes, that it makes me think I'm misundertanding the problem. In that case, ignore me.
 
"When I open a Sonar project, it created thousands of wav files with the name of the project even when there are no audio tracks active"
 
Do you use Per Project Audio Folders? Do you really, litterally, mean those thousands of  files did not exist in the audio folder before, but were created by opening the project? Or do you mean it creates audio clips in the track pane?
What do those audio files contain? Are they failed takes that are not used by the project anymore?
What do you actually mean by "No audio tracks active"? Do you mean there are no audio tracks in the project or that an audio track is not selected? The audio files remain in the folder no matter what's activated in the track pane.
 
Using Per Project Audio Folder it might be worth saving the project under a new name with "Save all audio with project" (or something similar) checked. Then all audio, which is not used by the project is left out, and you can delete the old project file+audio.
 

NormantheMusician
 even when there are no audio tracks active

 
Are you bouncing tracks ?
 

NormantheMusician
 
As far as I can see, this only happens if at some point, in some version of the file I bounce a track.

Bouncing tracks is audio.

It just doesn't make any sense.
 
When I create a new project, an audio folder is created in the same location as usual.  
 
With this project, the audio folder is empty before I open the project.  On opening the project, the disk drive (whether I open a copy on my SSD drive, or a copy on an ordinary hard disk, exactly the same thing happens - the relevant drive runs at 100% until in the case of one project as an example, 1131 files appear within the audio folder, occupying 60.6 Gig.  This takes about 20 seconds.
 
There are no bounced tracks in this project.
 
If I add another soft synth track, it takes 37 seconds to add just one track.
 
Adding two new soft synths tracks increases the number of wav files to  1185, occupying 63.5 Gig.
Each wav files created are either 42,192 KB  or  or 84,279 KB.
 
When I close the project, these files are disappear.
 
Whilst present in the audio folder, I'm unable to play any of the files, so I'm unable to find anything out about them, other than the fact that they were created at the time I open the project.
If I try to play any of them from the media folder within Sonar, it says you can't because the file is being used by another process.
 
When Sonar crashes, the files remain and if I play any of them, they are silent.
 
They all have the name of the project plus (in brackets) a version number ( currently highest value is 139077).
 
If I could attach a screen shot I would, as it is hard to believe.
 
 
If I open up a new project (without closing the other), the wav files disappear until I make the original project active again.
 
I've checked for all projects, and the same happens to them all - but it seems that the number of wav files 
 
I just created a new blank test - no audio or synth tracks.  The audio folder straight away produced 3 wav files , 2 at 38,768 KB and one at 77,524 KB
 
I'm unable to run the CWAF tool successfully as it crashes.
 
I've successfully created projects of 135 play synth tracks, so it is not that my computer is too slow etc.
 
I've also tried creating a project at 44.1 kHz, and exactly the same thing happens.
 
 

That will not help you, but Sonar has NEVER generated any unexpected temporary WAV files for me.
 
It is generating temporary files when something required conversion, f.e. I browse REX files (so Sonar creates one WAV per played REX). So you say ABSOLUTELY empty project, without any tracks, buses and so implicit FXes and Synthes (can be in your template project, so it is not really empty) already has 3 files?
That should not be...
 

My guess is the OP is opening a cwb file, which will result in wav files being created as it is expanded.

Thanks EVERYONE for your help so far with this.
 
I never use cwb files - and I checked. All my projects are cwp files.
 
Perhaps I'll have to reinstall the whole program.
 
Just a bit concerned that as Cakewalk is in limbo at the moment, will I be able to access the install files?
 
I suppose I might as well spend sometime experimenting with the plugins ( 115 of them) and see if so some reason any of these is conflicting with something.
 
There was a period where whenever I created a new synth track (EastWest Play) that whatever I played on the keyboard appeared as a audio file rather than midi.  I'm not sure how I solved it, but that hasn't happened since then.