Setting up Win 7 64bit for Sonar.

ok..I found updates for mother board that might solve the usb problem of slowness and such..with a bios update...
And just about everything else there after for the MB...although windows 7 says the latest drivers are installed...I will do the deed with all due dilligence, and see what happens there after.
 
Thanks for standing by.
 
Sir Les

WD USB Firmware and Net Frame work 4 update  Done...Still slow boot times due to USB drive detection in Boot sequence start up.
It seems to take a lot of time to detect the content or drive itself, or something like that.
Not sure if this is a problem in Window 7 64bit...the drive does seem to work faster now in accessing content in win 7...no delays noted yet, since the updates.
 
Could this problem be part of the glitching of other Sata Drives?.
When I record I use a Sata 3/6gbps WD Black 1tb Drive as the target drive for audio and project info.
I've also noticed when opening a cwp file on a dedicated drive other than C:/ it takes a long time to draw in the waves in the tracks, and just plane slow load times...But if the CWP is on the C:/ Drive with content, it loads faster.
 
When I do sessions, the recordings can go aslong as 3hrs....sometimes I stop/start the recording, and sometimes I let it roll right through...
Does this cause Problems with continued long write times to the drive?...or is something interrupting the drive?, as like turned off hard drive Indexing? or windows anti virus/security/ firewall?...or some background culprit ...ect...So many variables....I just need some Guidance from some one who knows.
 
Other than that...Sonar x2a has worked with out crashes for the past two months....the only issue I have which has been a problem since installing is the hard drive Hick up....and that hick up problem crashes Acid Pro 7.0e....So sonar handles it, but the audio recording suffers.
 
Any one got a clue??
 
Well I bought Sonar X3...but before I install, I would like to find reason and solve for that Hick up....So please feel free to post , I know I'm a nut job...But I like making Music with my buddies...and need solutions, I just have no clue to windows Config or configerations to make in Win 7's that would resolve the problem.
 regards.
 
Thanks for reading....
 
Sir Les
 
 
 

I turned the VT back on...
 
CPU
  Intel Core i7 980
   Cores 6
   Threads 12
   Name Intel Core i7 980
   Code Name Gulftown
   Package Socket 1366 LGA
   Technology 32nm
   Specification Intel Core i7 CPU 980 @ 3.33GHz
   Family 6
   Extended Family 6
   Model C
   Extended Model 2C
   Stepping 2
   Revision B1
   Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, Intel 64, NX, VMX, AES
   Virtualization Supported, Enabled
   Hyperthreading Supported, Enabled
   Fan Speed 1795 RPM
   Bus Speed 133.6 MHz
   Rated Bus Speed 3207.4 MHz
   Stock Core Speed 3333 MHz
   Stock Bus Speed 133 MHz
   Average Temperature 29 °C
    Caches
     L1 Data Cache Size 6 x 32 KBytes
     L1 Instructions Cache Size 6 x 32 KBytes
     L2 Unified Cache Size 6 x 256 KBytes
     L3 Unified Cache Size 12288 KBytes
    Core 0
    Core 1
    Core 2
    Core 3
    Core 4
    Core 5

I forgot that there was a windows Virus essentials Program installed...this could be the problem...I just turned it off.
 
 
Will give the system a run...maybe it was that?

Thanks Mesh...I feel this to be a looking glass kind of method....I Seem to think better like this....Not that input isn't wanted it is...But from my last post here on this particular forum for computers/with this very system...I got zippo in any input not even a hello...So I went on trying to solve for, and or allowing the "hick up" to be one of those pests that persists....But I know it can get better or remedied, if one finds the root cause.
 
So by doing all this troubleshooting technique, and tweaking the OS....I find my own answers sometimes....,...and in doing so, I may help others along the way.....In hope or just as a by product.
 
Thanks for interrupting my train of thought...I needed a break.
Back at it now....Defrag or not to defrag the record drive is something I am now pondering...to put a tin hat on it.
 
Wink.
 
Les

Glad you're making progress Les.

Well Now, this thought distraction is instigating more thought processing.
 
Thank You all for the kind and thoughtful merry merriment round the table.
Let us Pray for the day ahead, and with thanks for the givens, and bought and brought foreward, revealed,and that which is disposed of, goes to good use else where....In Jesus Name.
 
Well I do not think I am at 9 sec boot time...Not sure why...(when do you start counting? )..But it is faster than 3 minutes..(i start counting at the pushing of the on button)..and that is a plus here..so I count my blessings as they come..I think I got it down considerably..PAT PAT.
 
I did all I can do, that I can understand need be done...did some test of about 1 hour straight recording, No glitches, or hick ups...So far...So I installed Sonar x3a...in part last night...will finish up today...
 
WD Net 4 frame usb patch worked wonders...usb access is just as fast as my hard drives now...and that helps with libraries and content and loops..stream
 
Tonight I got a 2 hour session with "Phat Jesus"...So that will put it to the test...wink..Yes wine will be served.
 
AND in hopes...we remember "LES" of me, and more of helping others, that windows installs firewall, and virus protection, and other apps install updating services that run in background upon boot up.....and turning them off helps speed all the rest up!
Also using the Bios to turn off things redundant in setup.
 
And knowing what is what , and where is where, by reading the manuals/youtube vids..and ask@ anyother place but here...so as to not disturb others on the cakewalk forums.
 
The Problem I foresee...Is I turned off something (service or app) a plug in or the software might rely on....that is what I think I am trying to avoid by posting something like this in asking CAKEWALK FORUMIES....
 
But none the Les...it goes on unaddressed!
 
Again Thanks for the Looking glass!
 
Blessings!
 
Sir Les
 
 

Ok there are a few services left to ponder more....and when I try to turn them off, I get warning messages "not to" cause some services are necessary for Win 7 to work/ or something else in use ..or, something tied to that service is in use...So I left them on.
 
Session test done Wednesday...
Now I  did the buffer size at 1024, and set 9600khz thingy , and recorded 24bit, 15 tracks at once,to a sata 3 Wd black 1tb drive seemingly without seeing the CPU , hard drive meter monitor  spike in sonar....That is a good thing right?....SO we are making progressions here slowly over long periods of time.....
 
But upon playback...I get drop outs, and anomalies still heard in the recordings here and there....perhaps turning down the buffer more?...Nah you think?..If drop outs and anomalies are occurring should we not turn up the buffer?
 
Wish someone would help out with a standard list of " what is necessary for SONAR and WINDOWs 7 and devices installed and or plugins " in terms of services necessary to be left on or turned off ....
 
Still have no clue of the method...if this happens at all levels of buffer sizes on my system there has to be a root cause..... something is causing cpu requests on recording time...is my only assumption left to phantom.
 
Not much left to turn off though...Just a couple of things.
 
Yes firewall was turned off, and windows essentials was also,  ..I did find essentials back on just shortly into posting on this page, and I mention it...and firewall also was on...and I mentioned it above, and turned all that off, after doing the Update everything method of madness...So it may have been reactivated to updating the system...as I always do the win security updates, cause I have to connect it to the internet sometimes to post Speccy info, and be at that system to show and tell forumies of the problems...
 
But firewall is off now,and internet nic and onboard audio, and a Jmb x3x HD controller, are turned off through Bios, and she is running lean as I can get it without warning messages popping up after tweaking the MSconfig and Computer/manage/services page!....I did reinstate VT tech in Bios..But David from sweetwater sound technician told me in his specified tweek formula..to turn off VT tech in Bios for PT 9.0..as it causes glitches in audio performance....Not sure about Sonar x...so on or off?.
So I guess that some progress is a good thing.?...but perfection in necessary.
 
Are clicks and pops, drop outs and anomalies common place with PCs, and we are just to iron them out with colouration and cut and fill?
 
Could be I should turn down to 44.1 instead of 9600? and 16 bit instead of 24...?..but that would be crippling the said specified capabilities I bought into...for.
 
So now...I find the config services still on, copy the names down, put them into google, and read up.
 
See...this is how I figure.find.forum...it is a cruel method...but atleast enlightenment on what they do can be found out about them.
 
And more is coming on solutions...keep checkin in...and reading the fun filled ongoing mystery !
 
Regards.
Sir Les

I will say there is definitely a problem with the onboard nic and the allen and heath drivers or devices...cause when I turn on the nic controller in bios, when booting up...it takes along time for windows to get the internet connection established...and it is slow to respond to input/search and such....Allen and heath have addressed this as unsolvable, and they tell me to turn the Nic off.
 
So this renders other issues, with Sonar saying they support online help, and online functionality as a feature....for the new x3a.
Also I have other programs for music, most of them render to mp3 natively...and cost less.
Sonar x1 cost me 500.00 CAD, and then x2 update cost me a bit more, some more free updates, and now x3a at another cost...and no Mp3 rendering.
 
I tried FLAC lossless compression?...there is no way that I can see like when I render to MP3, to reduce the size of the file of the render...and it comes out larger than allowed to email.
My Wednesday Render in FLAC was 64.4mb.
So how can this file type be posted on Sound cloud, if restrictions to amounts allowed to upload are exceeded?...and if no internet is available due to issues with devices as I have...it is all redundant per say....Right?
 
Just sturring the pot luck lunch...and spewing out my mind to reflect on.
 
Thanks for the listen..and the continued forum to do so.
 
And of course all those who participate in the debates and thoughts towards solutions.
 
Sir Les

Here is something....USB WD My Book Drive, My Sister is using on her Mac Book Pro laptop...is acting odd..and is causing her mac to run slow, and show DRIVE IS FULL messages on her machines internal drive when trying to save to it, and the usb drive, seems to be causing missing folders and content to arise that should be there...but when the USB Drive is removed from the USB Port...The Mac book pro shows the files that went missing, and the drives true state of free space...this occurred a few times, but she did not think it was a problem, till she tried to save a large project with the usb drive in use....Her system went down, and will not boot due to bad sectors and such, and the drive is now over full...according to the tech servicing it...
 
She took it to the mac store, and they are looking into it.
One issue is , I know nothing about Mac machines...but I think PCs have a WD usb My Book just for PC, and another issued state for Mac only...is this the problem?...as she is using a PC version I believe.
 
But I am using the right Version of this rendering on my PC as it is...and I have just witnessed oddities with it, till I did the update firmware, and Patch to the net framework 4.
 
hmmm...this could be another root to something?...people noting missing tracks?...could be.

I don't have an answer for you.  But, my system has no OS or BIOS tweaking, except I have disabled all system sounds.  I used it for Sonar X2 Producer 64 bit when first built last year and now X3a Producer 64 bit.  I also use it for internet and almost all other PC uses (My studio is a "home studio").  I have the firewall on, the Microsoft security essentials, etc.   However, my PC is a fairly vanilla (clean) system as I do not have much that loads and runs at startup. I do not have Skype or a web cam.  I did have a problem when I first built it, but that turned out to be Gigabyte's "Easy Tune" program.  After uninstalling Easy Tune there were no more system (not audio) latency problems.
 
I get NO dropouts with either my Roland Octa-Capture or an MAudio Fastrack Ultra 8R, both USB connected devices.  The DPC Latency program shows consistently under 120  usec when I have it set up for recording.  When I set up for recording, I disable the NIC (internet connection) and Malwarebytes (pro).  
 
On general PC sound, with Win 7 (and some Win 8 systems) there have been many reports of popping crackling, dropouts, etc with just the regular PC sound.  There is no "one fix" for this.  Many things can contribute to this.  One is drivers (both audio and video), Wi-Fi or even a cell phone or cordless phone near the PC has been known as a cause. Another issue that IDT audio has noted in a white paper is that a defective/poorly designed power supply can cause this. 

Test successful...USB 3.0 and WD 3.0 my books are causing the problems I am experiencing.
Removal of these two drives... internet Nic disabled in Bios.
 
The test run was 9600klhz 24 bit 2048 buffer, and 512 buffer...for 30 min each.
No glithes at all...everything ran smooth, and very little activity if any on the cpu, hard drive, memory meter.
 
Thank you all for your attention, and allowing me to solve my problems on my own...while keeping the mystery till now alouffe....The missionary has resolved the problem.
 
So you tech people, take note...I am told today usb 3 is not fully functioning correctly by my Brother....and I believe that is why MACs are reluctantly implementing it...atleast on the old stuff....and perhaps that is why my Sister is having issues connecting the 3.0 usb drive to a usb 2.0 port on her mac...
 
See all this input...brought the revealing of the culprit I suspected might be... to the forefront.
 
Blessing!
 
Sir Les

Great you have it worked out Les, if everything gets here, I'll be installing win 7 64 on a new SSD tomorrow. I wasn't nervous before I started reading this thread...;)

I have been using this configuration since I built the system in the summer of 2012 and have NOT had any problems or dropouts, other than the initial issue with the Gigabyte Easy Tune program.  Once that was gone, no other problems.  I have both Sonar and ProTools on this PC and both run without problems or dropouts.

ohgrant

Ohgrant...There is a guy who has posted up a list of win 7 and 8 tweaks... his name is "BLACK VIPER"...He also tells a bit about Services and startup tweaks,... what is what and why...check it out here...

http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-7-service-pack-1-service-configurations/ 

 
Thank you Sir, I will give that a read. Looks like my SSD will be here today, win 7 tomorrow. I'll be duel booting XP/7 for a while while I get use to it.

Are these Win 7 & 8 "tweaks" truly necessary? I was under the impression that (hardware permitting i.e. enough RAM, decent CPU etc...), that these newer versions of Windows don't really need any tweaking. Weren't these tweaks generally made to enhance performance on older machines that didn't have enough ooomph to run smoothly?  
 
The only "tweak"/adjustment I made in Win8 was to use the Classic Shell program to bypass the Metro/App. look, but other than that, I've left it as is.