PLS HELP: Driver issue?

Stop using the Conexant piece of crap and use the Line6 in ASIO mode.

You bought a car with a 4-cyl engine and added a v6, but you're still trying to use the 4-cyl to go fast. That doesn't work. Bite the bullet and setup the Line 6 so you have a decent soundcard to use. Yes, you have to use softsynths. I've explained how to use that at least 20 times this month so read my FAX or search the forum.

OK, I appreciate the feedback. But, at the risk of angering Dave further, I'd just like to understand a few things.

1. Why is it that I had sound previously and everything was working fine, and now I no longer have any sound?

2. I have a general familiarity with the softsynths, I had opened one and begun to incorporate it into my 1st project. Am I to understand that the softsynth, eg. the Edirol can be used instead of Conexant or the Microsoft Wavetable as the soundcard? If so, would this appear under midi outputs? And wouldn't this preclude the necessity of my using the interface?

Thanks. I hear what you're saying Sloom and I will likely venture to take the interface out of the box over the weekend. It's just that I know once I get started with it I'll get all caught up in the different guitar sounds, etc. I've been trying to take baby steps and focus on the software 1st, but perhaps that's not the best approach.

I'll try to answer your questions.

1. I don't know. My advice is not to get too hung up worrying about it. Onboard sound is notoriously problematic with DAW applications. My bet is if you disable it and use your TonePort (or GuitarPort...whichever you bought) the problem will go away and the issue will be moot. I use to be pigheaded about knowing why problems occurred. Now I try to fight that instinct as there are too many problems and too little time. The objective is resolution of the problem so you can get on with making music.

2. I think you're confused with terms here. The Edirol is not a soundcard. Its a softsynth. Conexant is your sound card, Microsoft Wavetable is a soft synth that runs at the Windows OS level, outside of Cakewalk. Edirol runs completely in Cakewalk so its never going to show up as a MIDI "output" in the MIDI setup part of the program. It has no MIDI output. It has only MIDI input (from a MIDI track inside Cakewalk) and audio output (to an audio track inside Cakewalk). No matter what you use to generate your MIDI-based sounds you have to have a hardware interface to get it from the computer to your amp/speakers/headphones. You can use the built-in Conexant for that (bad idea) or your new L6 interface.

Just hook up the L6 interface and resist the temptation to play with the amp models. You're holding yourself up and making things too hard trying to use that Conexant.

Side note:

You can use the L6 interface without ever firing up the Gearbox software, if that makes it easier for you. There's no reason to have Gearbox running and dragging down the CPU if you're not using it.

If you had sound initially, and then it stopped, you have something else going on inside the computer. It shouldn't just stop working.

Have you installed anything new? Is there a pattern to when you loose the sound? Have you done the 'CTRL-ALT-DEL' to see if something is using up a lot of memory when this occurs?

Generally, if any piece of software that once worked fine, and you are now having problems, and those problems are getting worse, look towards either spyware or a virus. Especially if you are using the laptop to link to the internet. Run your virus scan, run some spyware detectors, etc.

Again, look to see if there is any pattern, and logic to when the software quits working. Check to see what programs are running when the sound stops (Again, using CTRL-ALT-DEL). Check the device manager to make sure it still list the hardware. Regardless of the interface, if it worked before, it should continue to work. If it has stopped working, or is only working on occasion, there is something wrong with the software, something interfering, etc. And it may be causing other problems you haven't found yet!

ORIGINAL: Helmet

Thanks Liebre, that really helps to clarify things. And you're right, I'm probably overthinking all this. I have a ton of songs to record, time is marching on and it's time to get down to business. I'll use the toneport intially just for its driver so that I can get sound and continue work on my project.

Plug that damn thing in already, you'd have been already. The ASIO drivers and the Direct hardware monitoring are priceless compared what you've been doing to yourself.

Thanks to all. You're scaring me a little Mandolin... I hope there's nothing seriously wrong. Yeah, it's at the point where I don't get any sound at all from the software. I sometimes have to restart just to get any sound at all, eg. from the Internet. When this occurs, the message box that appears on the screen states that there is no mixer/hardware set up. In any case, you're right APC3 I probably could have/should have pushed myself to take on more rather than doing everything incrementally. It may sound absurd, but I actually bought a Sonar book well before I purchased the software (due to technophobia). And, I should be ashamed to admit that the interface has been sealed in the box for over 6 months. Well, I'm confident that one day I'll be able to look back on all this in amusement that the experince of working with the software actually raised my blood pressure. This weekend I'm hooking up the interface, and hopefully this will resolve the sound issue.

Go to Control Pannel/Sounds & Audio Devices/Audio and look at what you have setup as your audio device input and all that.
Did you disable your other sound card?
And you may want to try to delete your aud.ini file, and reopen sonar allowing it to reset up your audio configuration (do this last).

I don't think your problem is Sonar it's something else, you don't need to reinstall or anything like that, if you do ever need to reinstall it shouldn't be a problem your audio should be saved, but just for safe measure, if i were in your shoes every week i'd save all your audio and picture data files into an external hd, CD, DVD to be sure in case your computer crashes like it did before.

Thanks sloom, i don't take any offense: we all explain things differently due to many factors. Whatever helps the person to make music in the long run is great by me.