Old Computer 8.5.3, New Computer, X1b? Any Issues?

Folks,
 
I have been having a lot of issues with X1 on my old system (as mentioned in a couple of other threads).  Namely, I get fatal dropouts (need to close the project and reopen again when it happens) when I bounce to clip or create a vvocal clip on just about any project in X1 which was created in an earlier version of Sonar or Pro Audio.
 
Any project I have created within X1 works fine with the X1b patch. This only seems to effect older projects loaded into X1b.
 
To make a long story short, I have been working with Cakewalk customer service for a while now, doing all sorts of stuff to try and fix the issue, to no avail.  (including uninstalling all version of sonar, and deleting anything with the word "sonar" or "cakewalk" in the registry)
 
So, now I am thinking of starting completely from scratch...   buying a new i7 or 2600 based box, and installing X1b on it, and going from there.  But, I dont want to find myself in the same siuation... trying to load an 8.x project into the new x1b on the new server and it still failing, essentially telling me I just wasted a grand or more on a new system.
 
So I am wondering, if anyone has tread this path before me?  Did you have issues with X1b after installing it on your old box, set up a new one just for X1b, and have all problems go away?  Or did they follow the box?
 
I know this is a long shot question, but figured it was worth a try...
 
Thanks!
Aldwyn
 

Well - the only thing I can tell is that I did not fully test a system that had 8.5.3 and X1 installed at the same time. I have been bitten too many times by a "clashing" mix of old and new software (and that happens with a lot of software) and have learned my lesson. I always do testing on a dual boot system. One partition with the "old" setup, and one partition with a completely fresh setup. If something does not work as expected in the test environment, it is simply a matter of restarting to the old setup and go on with the work you have to do.

I always make a image (using the Ultimate Boot Disk), so if something goes wrong in the test environment it takes only a few minutes to restore everything to the pre-experiment setup. This is a simple, easy and safe way to test your new software. No chance to break your old system, and no "left overs" from an old setup in a new system.

After the tests have run successfully I take a fresh new hard disk and do a completely clean install. I did this with X1, and now run X1 with no traces of 8.5.3 on the new install. This gives me a really stable work environment, I really enjoy at this moment.

Well, i just updated from X1 to X1b and it fixed about 5 of my problems, mainly regarding the faulty teleport stuff that freezes my pc, well it doesn't anymore.

BTW, I am using this PC purely as a DAW.  No other software is installed other than bare basics (IE, Firefox, Sonar, McAfee, Spybot, etc..) and music related software (plug ins for Sonar, Line-6 applications for my POD XT, etc..).

I will need to check, but not sure how short of pulling the card.

But because everything works fine with 8.5.3, and previous versions of Sonar, would the firwire card even be a factor?

Thanks!

It says OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Controller... nothing about TI, so assuming it's not.

And it still works well with 8.5.3!

I havnt moved to Windows 7... I am still on XP.  Only planning on moving to Windows 7 if I buy a new DAW machine to replace this one.  It just seems like overkill to have to buy a new machine for X1!  But if I do, at least I will have enough power to last me many years of DAW work!

i had really good luck with a fresh install without 8.5 on it.some have said that may caused a problem..i dont know..it could have..but i bought a brand new computer not a great one either.i3-4ram and im running very nicely with next to no crashes