I believe it is the driver being lost , being the cause,...So, Here you can try a workaround?...open the Sonar Preferences, and select the "Input out put driver" to any other than the one you want to use.
Hit apply, then reselect the driver you want to use, hit apply....Does it now work when done?.
Then I would go into the control panel and select the audio Icon, and check all the settings, making sure not to share the Audio device with windows or any other app...if a box is there,, and make sure all boxes for different bit rates are all selected.
test to make sure they all play back clean in that...and make sure you try to sort out if other drivers are used for Windows ..and onboard audio device be set...if possible for windows use.
And any driver for your external audio device left free...for application DAW use.
other issues of note, sometimes windows when booting, does not set things as set up, with proper services...and, in some notes from other forums, and manufacturing postings,...You might have to turn on the device before booting,...or after it is booted so it shows up with proper services running or started...Might also solve some of this sort of behaving badly sort of thing.
Event viewer, if you note the time of the freezing,...You might come to see what caused the freezing up of , and loss of the Audio device in that, what started to run, or was logged as fault.
I have not solved this issue, other than the logging being behind some of the mayhem here, and tried many tweaks, and setups....So I canned the idea of using PCs for now.
One good tip is to turn off HDMI, and if so, Onboard audio...and if so trying to turn off onboard audio, best to use the bios disabling of it, stops the driver being loaded for it?..might want to disable the driver in device manager before disabling Bios device chip...and test that, just with your audio selection...but, windows must be made to not sound any sounds, and or disable all sounds of windows, and any background applications that use audio......in sound preferences, you can say no windows sounds....because windows will try to use that one device to sound if not disabling, taking use of the driver away from the application.
In my findings...if so is so...When sending out intel from the PC, using Bing or other Explorer BROWSER connections...to send out that intel data collection, services must run, if the data collection application opens up browser terms...If it uses the audio and video, or is tied to audio for internet sounds, then a driver is addressed for in some regards?.......eh, that might interrupt the Application being used to cause a freezing, and the driver hickup and loss.
Not saying this is a reason for it...But I rule out nothing!...Best be sure, you set up, perhaps not as intended said works by others,..but as required by the user which works best.
So...Good luck with that...you may find the best settings...are as using onboard as default for windows sounds and spying.....Leaving the other DRIVER FREE for Applications and being exclusively set as best one can, under WINDOWS RULE OF THUMB.
Not saying it will solve...but could help narrow down why....and if internet nic is being addressed in the event viewer at the time of freezing up of the daw used.
you have a reason...turn off the nic internet device...so no interruptions are made...and service cannot run?...oh I am sure they found a way around that also....eh/...so disconnect the cat cable...solves some of that, and no wi fi...solves the other!.
Good luck.
cheers..