abacab
Hmmm... I wonder if that Sonar LE software version is 32-bit and is having issues with Windows 10 and a 64 bit audio driver?
 
Because the audio interface installs and is recognized ok in Windows, and the other software sees it...

Interesting idea. It shouldn't matter though. I run Soundforge pro 11 and it is 32 bit. It has no trouble working with my 64 bit drivers. 

Just a quick update, I now have to unplug and re-plug in the tascam after boot for windows to recognize an input from it. It shows up but doesn't pick up anything until re-plugged.
 

Yanno... I completely overlooked another ultra obvious troubleshooting for these scenarios (and it may have been mentioned already, if so apologies for the repetition)...
 
Have you (or has anyone told you) to go into your Windows Control Pane > Hardware and Sound > Power Options, etc... (that is in Win7, I'm sure it's been moved in Win10 but should have similar options).
 
Your USB ports may be "falling asleep". In fact if you have NOT changed any settings on the system to prevent this it is almost certain that your USB ports are set to "fall asleep". Especially on a laptop.
 
In Win7 (sorry I have not had a chance to play with Win10 yet) you would change your entire Power Options settings to Performance or create a custom power plan. In particular you want to look in your hardware list and look for the USB entries. Set those to "Always On" or whatever the specific setting is currently called.
 
It could be that your USB ports are shutting down when no activity is being sent to or from the interface. This is usually fine for this like mice or external drives or whatever but with streaming audio and ASIO drivers it can wreak havoc.
 
 
Now that is my first observation after your followups.
 
The second is you seem to be trying to do screen cap vids and/or a live radio/video blog or whatever while possibly running games.
 
This indeed can cause many of the issues you are experiencing but it is a (almost) completely SEPARATE issue.
 
An immediate remedy to try is to simply switch driver modes in SONAR to WASAPI (or one of the other driver modes) instead of ASIO. ASIO only allows one audio device and driver to operate at once. I think you are trying to use a combination of devices (some camera mic and/or USB mic) in conjunction with the TASCAM. ASIO would not allow that. Those other driver modes will but perhaps to less desirable results (glitching, latency, etc).
 
HOWEVER there have been supposed improvements to the Windows audio drivers that have eased some of the problems. Based on what I've read I don't think they have surpassed ASIO yet but are improved and an effort is being made to continue improving them.
 
 
Alternatively you can use a program called Voicemeeter to act as a mixer/intermediary between multiple programs and devices and still use ASIO for your TASCAM. It is a pretty complicated subject to fully digest and implement effectively though but if you have the patience for it I created a looooooong (5 hours) video of how I set it all up so I can make screencast vids of my computer wackiness.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXEtm5_M9HI
 
It was my first vid so don't expect gold but I cover a huuuuuge amount of concepts that I think might help you get you oriented with some of the pitfalls of what you are trying.
 
Also... don't use SONAR LE. See if there is a proper modern demo here on site or better yet just purchase SONAR Artist so you aren't pissing around with an outdated POS demo.
 
Alternatively, if you are just recording voiceover stuff then you may want to consider downloading a much simpler (and free) program called Audacity. It's certainly not as feature rich as SONAR but it's a solid program and likely easier to use for your immediate needs. I wouldn't use it for music production but it's great for just yammering into a mic and mixing together some backing tracks (like the audio from a game or whatever).
 
If you need more features or want to get more complex then there is also Reaper which has a fully functioning/endless usage term demo (the consumer cost is $70 which I encourage you to pay if you use it extensively but otherwise the demo works exactly like the paid version). It, however, is really very complex and difficult to learn unless you kind of know what you are doing. Plenty of vids online to explain but I find it even more difficult to understand than SONAR.
 
All that said... if you do drop coin on SONAR then you are essentially buying a ticket into the vast knowledge base that is this community. As you can see, if you are polite and are willing to put some elbow grease on your end you'll never exhaust the supply of free support from other users. Reaper's forum is pretty decent too but I think this place (when functioning as intended) is a better learning environment.
 
Just some extra thoughts.
 
I don't think I can help too much further so I'll wish you good luck in your adventures.

Beepster
 
Also... don't use SONAR LE. See if there is a proper modern demo here on site or better yet just purchase SONAR Artist so you aren't pissing around with an outdated POS demo.
 

You do know the most recent version of LE is based on X3. Although it has a limited feature set, the program should be pretty solid. That said, based on the peripherals attached to the PC, it does not appear to be setup as a typical DAW.

scook

Beepster
 
Also... don't use SONAR LE. See if there is a proper modern demo here on site or better yet just purchase SONAR Artist so you aren't pissing around with an outdated POS demo.
 

You do know the most recent version of LE is based on X3. Although it has a limited feature set, the program should be pretty solid. That said, based on the peripherals attached to the PC, it does not appear to be setup as a typical DAW.

Nope. I had no idea of what version it was. Is it X3d (or whatever the last incarnation was)? If not then (if the demo allows access to the pathces) I would say to the OP to make sure they have the latest patches for X3 as well. X3 was indeed solid but much more solid after all the patches. This has likely already been mentioned.
 
Also I'm not discounting the possibility they have acquired old stock but now that I think about it I guess due to the timeline of the Gibson/TASCAM/Cakewalk merger that any SONAR disc a TASCAM device came bundled with would be X3.
 
Pure speculation though. If you know, as always, I appreciate current info.
 
Hope you've been well, scook.

DethBringa
Just a quick update, I now have to unplug and re-plug in the tascam after boot for windows to recognize an input from it. It shows up but doesn't pick up anything until re-plugged.
 

Have you got 'fast boot' set on Windows 10? I have, and occasionally it will 'miss' my USB interface and I have to unplug/replug it (Focusrite 2i4)

usb power saving now disabled (I do this for network but never thought of doing it for usb).
 
changing to wasapi stops the devices from emptying but I still cant play sound unless I exit everything else first (and change my default settings to things I dont want to use).
 
I tried voicemeeter banana once. Most painful experience ever. Really odd how inputs are outputs and outputs are both inputs and outputs at the same time or something like that. It messed up my audio so bad, you have no idea. It was actually the main influence on getting a new mic. It caused my original setup to start feeding back and echoing and even uninstalling didn't fix it.
 
I used audacity in the past. I reformatted about 6months ago (when I got my 1TB SSD) and never needed to reinstall it yet. This shows just how much audio editting I do. I only got sonar le because I got a free key with the tascam unit. Same with ableton.
After all of this I'm shaking my head and looking at music 2000 on the original playstation and wondering where everyone went so wrong.
 
I think I'll probably just use OBS for recording.
 
 
 
***edit***
the tascam unit came with keys (no discs at all, not even driver discs) for sonar le ("Based on Cakewalk's award-winning SONAR X3 digital audio workstation.....") and Ableton Live 9 Lite. Seeing that "based on" makes me think about how movies are "based on" true events lol.
 
I have now turned off fast boot.

Yes, Voicemeeter can be a mysterious mistress... thus my epic video. I dealt with the echoing you describe and detail the proper setup in my vid.
 
Unfortunately once you go beyond just a simple one track/one device recording on a single PC things get... weird. The tech is there to make it all happen but it takes some doing.
 
Once it is setup though and the user understands the "bigger picture" of what's up it all become much easier and well worth the extra effort. Especially if you are serious about your stated goals (which spending money on an interface and your persistence indicates you are).
 
At this juncture the absolute BEST advice I can give you is to stop. Take few days away from it to digest the MASSIVE amount of material that's been thrown at you here and let the frustration subside and the seemingly random concepts bubble and boil a bit in your subconscious.
 
I bet if you come back at it in a few days to a week things will start falling into place and become much easier... and with better results.
 
It's simply the nature of this beast.
 
Cheers.

DethBringa
 
***edit***
the tascam unit came with keys (no discs at all, not even driver discs) for sonar le ("Based on Cakewalk's award-winning SONAR X3 digital audio workstation.....") and Ableton Live 9 Lite. Seeing that "based on" makes me think about how movies are "based on" true events lol.
 
I have now turned off fast boot.

Yes. That would definitely imply you have a relatively modern version... so that's good. Ignore my previous sentiments about LE being garbage. I thought we were referring to the OLD demo(s). I have no knowledge of the newer version but I assume it's more competent/reliable.

It seems to be pulling me in the exact opposite direction of where I want to go.
number 1 is gaming with a close 2nd being communication. Anything locking me out of that without a real gain isn't what I'm after. Playing with programs like sonar really is way down the list unless there is a gain without loss.