Hey-
So I've been using Cake for years. I recently upgraded to MC5.
I've had a ton of problems just using the stuff. Every time I go to just recording a song, there are issues with things like latency, drop outs, etc.

I've gotta decent system -Toshiba Satellite laptop, 4 gigs Ram, 64bit op system (Vista), Intel Core2 CPU P7350@ 2 G- and yet EACH AND EVERY TIME I use CW5, it takes time just to get things rolling. 

I don't have other stuff rolling in the back, I shut things down. I'll try and use CWMC5 to record my band's shows using a mic and it stalls part way through and I miss tons of material.

I'll try using it with just my Bose L1 system and playback is totally choppy.

YET- When I plug and Play with Audacity (a totally free software) I have absolutely NONE of these problems. I don't understand how a 'killer' software like MC5 can be so difficult to use. The interface is great, but it just doesn't hold up for some reason.  I've tried lowering my latency settings, raising my latency settings, and it just seems to drop out all the time.

How do you guys get beyond this stuff and just USE the stuff?  CW3 seems much more stable to me, though I had my share of problems with that too. 
Is SONAR any better or will that just be an entire set of other problems? 

Sorry to whine, but man, I've never had a piece of sw that's frustrated me as much as CW.

64bit op system (Vista

 
MC 5 is not compatible with Vista 64-bit. That may have a little to do with it.
There was a thread recently about that and a Cakewalk guy had some tips; I'll see if I can find that thread.
I don't know why you're having these problems, Barry, unless it's all 64-bit-related Once I dialed in MC 2003, MC Pro 24 and SONAR Home Studio 6, I haven't had a single problem. With XP.
I don't have Audacity, either, but you can record with that, and if you want to edit/add stuff, you can import that into MC to work on it more, audio or MIDI.
What interface (besides the Bose) are you using?

Barry...what sound card are you using?  What you are describing is a problem that is common with users who attempt to use the FACTORY soundcard. Audacity will work with a FC...... MC/CAKE will not.

Cake is much, much, much....better than Audacity, and therefore requires more from a soundcard/interface. That is why we have all pretty much gone out and bought better interfaces.

Get a good soundcard and I'll bet the issues go away.

That could be it. I've used it also with my Maudio Card on my other system and had problems with it. MC3, while sometimes difficult, at least seemed stable. MC5, seems a lot more unstable. I've tried it with my Line6 guitar interface and had similar problems.
I know that Audacity doesn't do nearly as much as CW, but what it does seem to do is record without all the problems. Seems I need to be a computer genius to just record a few hours of material. Makes me wanna go back to my old tape portastudios. At least it worked when you wanted it to.
Gregy mentioned that it wasn't compatible with the 64-bit system. Not sure how I missed that and it's a drag that I've got the whizbang 64 bit, but it won't work with one of my most used programs.

Every time I want to do something recording-wise, seems I need to purchase something else.
Ugh, just totally frustrated.

yes, but as another user pointed out on another thread, it still should work according to cake:
http://www.cakewalk.com/support/faq/x64_FAQ.aspx

barry - what do you mean exactly by "unstable"?  if MC3 works correctly on your system then MC5 shouldn't have any problems either.  it has to be some settings causing your problems if that's the case.

Mostly dropouts

ok - check your audio settings in MC5
OPTIONS>AUDIO
with the m-audio card you should be using ASIO driver mode and it should work fine. if it's not on ASIO change it to that and then click APPLY and then OK.  then go back into that window and see what your reported latency in msec shows and report that back. 

what are your CPU and DISK percentages? this number should be in the bottom lower right. I don't get drops until I top 80% or so on a consistant basis.

Check your DPC latency:

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

Audacity hasn't this problem since it does NOT use ASIO drivers and works with a latency beyond (or "bigger") then what might cause problems...

Hugo

Using my Bose system as the sound card (24bit @ 48K- that's what Bose puts out). I watched the CPU and Disk usage on the bottom right. The CPU never went above 03% and the Disk seems to still be at 00%.

The latency is at about 100 now. I've tried lowering it, raising it and still the same deal.
I am using a friend's copy of Sonar at the moment, trying to see if that might've been the problem.
The drivers are MME 32bit which could be a problem since my Vista (GOD I HATE IT) is a 64-bit deal...