I'm new....now time bar sticks after 2 beats, stops recording but I can still keep playing

Hi, and welcome to this forum. It sounds to me like you have Auto Punch enabled in Preferences (P), Recording. Uncheck that. Hope it helps.
All the best.

[<font]We (Emily & Paul) are experienced computer technicians, helping John to get his Sonar Professional up & running.
 
[<font]The program is running on Windows 7. The hardware meets requirements. He has an M-Audio keyboard connected through an Mbox2 for MIDI I/O.
 
[<font]Since he was having problems recording, we did a clean re-install of Sonar Pro according to the instructions on the Cakewalk site.
 
[<font]The main problem is that he cannot record. When he creates an instrument track and starts to record, the bar moves only about 2 beats & stops. Auto Punch is disabled in Preferences.
 
[<font]Another problem, which seems serious to us, is that File/Exit does not work. And if we end the program through Task Manager, then we cannot start it up again without a re-boot. Also, File/Close does not close the current project. These issues seem to point to a more fundamental problem with the installation.
 
[<font]Additionally, ProTools 8 LE is installed on this computer, but is not running when Sonar Pro is up.

This sounds like it could be driver related. In this case with the Mbox drivers. Are they fully up to date?
Which driver mode is used? Is share drivers with other programs enabled in Preferences, Audio, Playback and Recording? 
The recommended is ASIO. I would uncheck share drivers with other programs. 
Try also to increase the "Prepare using ... ms" to 500 in Preferences, MIDI, Playback and Recording.

Computer technicians might be good at solving hardware issues with you PC, but I doubt they have much knowledge of how to optimize a PC for running a DAW. No offence intended towards Em and Paul. 
 
First this sounds like your audio engine is stopping. 
Usual cause is unstable driver  or background processing interfering with CPU performance. 
 
Run Latency Monitor http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon  to check background performance issues.
For sure shut down any wi fi and if a laptop disable battery management. Some systems can be tricky to get optimized, laptops are the hardest. Also best to have more than 6 GB RAM and fast Hard drives that are not almost full. 
 
Sonar performs best using a good quality audio interface with ASIO drivers. This is the heart of the system. 
Until you purchase one ( and you will eventually ) try using WASAPI exclusive mode. It works best with Windows 10 but I run it on W7 64 bit without a interface and am able to work just fine with pure midi projects. 
 
Set the Midi buffers up to over 500 ms. 
Set the audio buffer slider  in about the middle for now.
 
There's more but I gotta run..  

Thank you very much, Johnny V. We certainly know we are not knowledgeable with DAW's and that is exactly the reason we asked for help from the experts.
 
Your suggestion to try WASAPI exclusive mode seemed to do the trick. With it, John can record & play back.
 
We don't yet know why his ASIO drivers are not working with his MBOX2. The drivers are dated six years ago, but we haven't located any newer ones as yet. (By the way, like you, he is running W7 64-bit.). His Pro Tools LE 8.0.5 works with the MBOX2 and
the ASIO drivers, but that is pretty old software.
 
Would you consider the MBOX2 a good quality audio interface? If not, do you have any suggestions?
 
Thanks very much to Ken also. We're looking into updated drivers.

Pleidia
 
Would you consider the MBOX2 a good quality audio interface? If not, do you have any suggestions?

no  there like 50 bucks used at Guitar center but the real tragedy is the unit is old (some of them 7-8 years).
And there has been some who have had the same issues running the Mbox2 and pro tools / along with sonar on the same PC. http://forum.cakewalk.com/MBOX2-Problems-With-Sonar-X1-m2205865.aspx
 
it also may be you need to try increasing SONAR's hard disk buffer settings. This can also cause drop outs.
Some graphics issues will also do the same. My advise is to make absolutely certain you have all windows updates installed, including visual and C++ lib's. However not being able to engage ASIO mode is a head scratcher.
 
My advise would be to purchase a newer (but used) interface. the focus rite saffire 212's can be had for under 100 USA dollars.
This interface will simply be a good solution. its not a pro studio set up, but it is more than adequate.
besides, the pre amps in the scarlletts are almost identical to the ones in the higher end units (catch is you only get 2 of them). these are same mic pres' I use in my studio. You save a few bucks but still get quality.
 
I see too often people buy Software but neglect the one thing that is most important... the soundcard.
Not saying this is your approach im simply stating, when it comes to soundcards, don't take any shortcuts.
and if you need to take a shortcut because of financial reasons, go used.
I do recommend the Scarllett line though. they are durable, sound great and most important, no headaches.
Drivers are updated frequently (unlike MAudio where your Mbox drivers last update was 7 years ago.
 
Have fun guys
 
 

Thanks very much, Chuck.
 
Since John uses an M-Audio keyboard for MIDI input, would you recommend the Scarlett 2i4 which has MIDI connections?
 
Best,
Paul & Emily

that is one of the reasons I did suggest it. it has a little bit of everything. 
midi connections, 2 mic pres and 2 sets of stereo line outputs and balanced line outputs.
Phantom power, Pad buttons.

Great information, Chuck. Thanks a million.