I was in a recording session earlier tonight and in the middle of a take sonar crashed and needed to close... I then restarted sonar and got the error "SONAR.EXE has stopped working...windows is checking for a solution to this problem"   Then the sonar start window freezes and I have to click cancel and the program closes. I went as far a completely reinstalling Sonar...to no avail... I am still having the same problem  and had to cancel the rest of tonights session which is making me lose money... Until I can fix this I am basically out of work.. PLEASE HELP!!!
Thanks so much!


Russ

Is it Sonar you start and not Sonar with a loaded file? Its likely that a plugin is causing Sonar to crash.

When you reinstalled, did you clear the registry entries too?

Did Sonar crash or did Windows crash... i.e., did you get the BSOD? What version of Windows? What version of Sonar?  What soundcard?

Look in the Windows Event Log and see what may have happened to cause the crash.

You should also run a CHKDSK on your system drive.

yes when I start Sonar there is no loaded file... Just the program itself...
and it is Sonar that crashes. Not windows.


How do I clear the registry entries for sonar?


Thanks guys!!

Basically uninstall, back up the registry just in case and delete the following 2 keys (assuming you have Producer).

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\SONAR Producer\8.5
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\SONAR Producer\8.5

This will remove any custom settings so save those too.

Deleted Sonar completely from my computer registry entries and all.....started all the way over from scratch... Had to reinstall all of my plugins... everything... I was able to get sonar to open for about ten minutes but had no sound... Then when I got my driver settings correct I exited and restarted Sonar with the exact same error... Reinstalled sonar 5 times with no plug-ins... some plug-ins... all plug-ins....

Same error message every time.... Is it time to move on to pro tools?  I love Sonar but this is just redic.
If anyone has any other suggestions as to why this is happening PLEASE help... I have lost multiple clients from this embarrassing event and am ready to do whatever it takes to continue recording... even if that means switching DAW's   :*[

You still haven't indicated what sound card you are using.  What error messages are you getting?  Did it complete the vst scan on first start up? Did it reprofile your sound card on start up?  It sounds like may have a problem with your sound card.  Have you checked all the connections?  Does your sound card put out sound when using a stand alone plug in? Have you installed any updates recently for plugins/ video card etc?.  

Does it only crash when you try to open an existing project or does it not even get to the point where you can select a project to open?  Are you using 32bit Sonar or 64bit?

Information is needed before anyone can offer any significant suggestions.  I have never run into a problem that required a reinstallation of Sonar.  Any problems I have had have usually resulted from updates, installation of new hardware that is conflicting with existing drivers/hardware, Windows updates, iTunes updates(especially Quicktime) video driver updates, vst updates, and even Internet explorer updates.

Think back to when the problem started and try and remember anything you changed/updated/added to your system just prior to the problem occurring and that might get you pointed in the direction where you can find a solution. 

I have had problems with Sonar crashing though, with no changes to the system and had several re-installations to correct issues. I have been instructed to reinstall by Cakewalk support and they gave me a process to follow. I cannot post it here because the last time I did in all innocence, they deleted it (small print at end of email I hadn't seen said not to make it public).

I would suggest you contact support directly, I gave up trying to get answers using online support going backwards and forwards because I was getting no-where. I would recommend phoning them once you have your support number. I bit the bullet phoning from Australia and I got better response that way.

I have had a couple of issues that have required the Cakewalk entries in the registry to be looked at. I think my recent problem was antivirus software related.

Some random ideas:
1. Have you downloaded and installed the latest drivers for your audio interface?
2. Doesn't Sonar have a 'Safe Mode' startup option (where it doesn't load plugins etc on startup)? I'm not sure how to use it off the top of my head, but maybe it's worth a shot?
3. Try running Sonar as Administrator. I had some Sonar crashes on startup once because a plugin needed admin rights to do something on it's first run.
4. If you are trying to open the project that originally crashed, could one or more of the audio clips be corrupted? Using Windows Explorer, go to your projects audio folder and try listening to the WAV files using Windows Media Player. If they sound fine, great, but if Windows Media Player refuses to load or play them properly, then maybe that's your problem?
HTH