Should I upgrade my windows 7 sonar studio x3 to windows 10 platform?

I avoided the Win 10 upgrade for the simple reason that everything was working fine.  A couple weeks ago, I turned on my computer and got the message, "welcome to Windows 10!"  I have no idea how Windows was able to do this without my permission.  I am assuming that I somehow inadvertently did something that granted the permission.
 
The good news is:  everything seems to be working just fine.  No problems so far.

1) You do NOT have to upgrade Sonar X3 to move to Windows 10.  It runs just fine. 
 
2) You WILL likely have to update your audio interface drivers to a newer version that IS compatible with Windows 10.  Go to the web site for the audio interface manufacturer, and check their driver support page(s) to see if they indeed have created drivers for your exact model of audio interface for Windows 10.  If they have not done this, then you will need to consider either remaining on Windows 7, 8.0, or 8.1, OR purchasing a new audio interface where the manufacturer HAS created drivers for running on Windows 10.
 
3) Your 64-bit plugins will most likely run on Windows 10, and I have not myself seen any reports of any of the more popular ones failing to run on Windows 10.  I don't know anything whatsoever as to whether or not 32-bit 3rd-party plugins run in a 64-bit Windows 10 environment.  I, and many others, have either completely or nearly completely moved to running 64-bit plugins altogether, as bridging 32-bit plugins has caused so many folks so many problems that most seem to have completed the move to 64-bit plugins, with perhaps a handful that seem to run OK when bridged to a 64-bit Sonar.
 
I will be converting my primary DAW from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 sometime early next week, as an upgrade in place.  I will be creating a disc image of my C: drive prior to that, in case things go South.  the only things that live on that drive are Windows, my applications, and associated AppData and ProgramData.  All user libraries and things like Cakewalk Content, Projects, and sample libraries live on separate hard drives 'Data Drives', so those are unaffected by my upgrading to Windows 10.  
 
Should an upgrade in place fail to run smoothly, I will have completed enough of the process to where Microsoft will have the requisite authorization key registered in their system, and I will then likely combine doing a clean install of Windows 10 with my upgrading my motherboard to something more robust than what I currently have.
 
Just do your homework, and have a plan for both completing an upgrade, and for recovering from one if it fails, as well as being prepared to have to do a clean install of Windows 10 and all applications, should the upgrade in place not work properly.  With proper backups and plans for installation and recovery, you should have all bases covered, provided you made sure there are indeed device drivers available for whatever audio interface you plan to use with Windows 10.
 
Bob Bone
 

My DAW is still on Win 7 and will remain that way until an upgrade becomes 100% necessary to run Sonar, which hopefully won't be for a while yet.
 
There are no Win 10 drivers for my interface so I have to also figure in the cost of upgrading that particular unit.

I put off upgrading my Windows 7 machine until last week.
 
I did the "in place" update and everything is working fine.  I haven't even got round to updating my interface drivers - it all seems to be ticking along nicely.  All completely painless.
 
Not sure I am a big fan of 10 - guess will just take a bit of getting used to.
 
I was perfectly happy on 7, but feared that Sonar would stop working on it eventually.  Not much point having Lifetime Upgrades if Sonar won't run on the OS. 

There are claims of improved performance,, not sure why or where and I probably wouldn't benefit because I still use the same features I used in Sonar 8.5 ...For me the best reason to upgrade is the better quality VST's and plug ins. Still not 100% happy with the editing features now but you slowly win the uphill battle and work gets done. 
 
Overall the best reason to keep abreast and fully updated is the support and functionality. You fall behind and your on your own. 
My gripe with upgrading is it takes time away from recording to muck about and then re learn how to do something. I feel like I could never fully grasp Sonar right now. 
I'm not going to do the lifetime upgrade because right now I don't have the cash. I had to upgrade my PA system and I'm still paying that off. My hobby has to break even ( wife rule#4)  so gigs and recording clients pay the way. Sonar is very stable right now and I'm only interested in if they ever add full wave editing like Wave Lab. If there's any bugs lurking I've yet to find them. 
 

Woh...  thanks much for the feedback, guys!  and yep, it ain't broke...  but to show where I'm coming from I read at the Cakewalk site:
"The current versions of SONAR 2015, Music Creator 7, Rapture Pro and Z3TA+ 2 are compatible with Windows 10.
Previous versions of these products—such as SONAR X3 and Music Creator 6 Touch—have not been tested with Windows 10 and their performance cannot be guaranteed on this operating system."  so of course I panicked. 
I really would like to just carry on and focus on recording if I can, so I'll mull this over a bit more yet.
 
On another note, would anyone recommend an upgrade from my current Studio X3 to Sonar Professional just for the sake of better functionality ?  I might be able to do it for just $75...    I'm not happy with the console view right now, apparently the new releases are a little more user friendly on that screen?

It's kind of dumb not to upgrade. It's like turning down a free safer car than the one you own.
No your old one isn't broken, but good luck trying to find parts for it.

My goodness...   it's not a split decision, more in favor of the upgrade to windows 10

soundtweaker
It's kind of dumb not to upgrade. It's like turning down a free safer car than the one you own.
No your old one isn't broken, but good luck trying to find parts for it.

Excuse me!
If Sonar X3 running on Windows 7, is a TOOL being used to make music, and it is working fine. Then upgrading because it's newer/faster/safer/better/etc. is a decision Chevy needs to make.
Is your DAW stable now? You won't notice any stability improvements/
Is your DAW fast enough for what you do?  You may notice some improvement.
Have you been hacked?  You won't notice you're now "safer".
Does your DAW do what you want/need it to?  You WILL notice all the new "features", you may not put them to use.
 
Now, if you're looking for a little excitement, need some new inspiration, see some cool tools you'd like to use or are just fond of upgrading for the sake of upgrading, then go for it.
Either way your decision is NOT dumb.
 
P.S. Tweaker, your car analogy is ridiculous. Software doesn't wear out or need replacement parts. You can keep a solid machine running for at least 10-15 years.
 

If you go to Edit>Preferences>Audio>Playback and Recording, have you selected ASIO as your Driver Mode for Sonar?  If not, once you select it and click Apply, Sonar should look to see if there are any ASIO drivers available, and IF your Scarlett 2i2 drivers are installed and the device is plugged in and seen in Windows, Sonar should automatically select it and populate the various fields in preferences for you.
 
If the above is NOT what is occurring, could it be that the Scarlett 2i2 is expecting to be plugged into a USB 2 port, and perhaps you have it in a USB 3 port?  (It may well be fine with either, but certainly at one point in time, many audio interfaces freaked out when plugged into USB 3 ports).
 
Bob Bone
 
 
 

robert_e_bone
If you go to Edit>Preferences>Audio>Playback and Recording, have you selected ASIO as your Driver Mode for Sonar?  If not, once you select it and click Apply, Sonar should look to see if there are any ASIO drivers available, and IF your Scarlett 2i2 drivers are installed and the device is plugged in and seen in Windows, Sonar should automatically select it and populate the various fields in preferences for you.
 
If the above is NOT what is occurring, could it be that the Scarlett 2i2 is expecting to be plugged into a USB 2 port, and perhaps you have it in a USB 3 port?  (It may well be fine with either, but certainly at one point in time, many audio interfaces freaked out when plugged into USB 3 ports).
 
Bob Bone
 

thanks Bob...    the ASIO is indeed selected, and when I press APPLY, nothing changes.  It simply does not recognize the Scarlett driver.  On other AUDIO tabs as well, nothing shows up.  Under Driver Settings, the "ASIO Panel" button does not produce any response when clicked on.  There is just blank space when trying to get something to appear under the Timing Master as well.  
Sonar just got blinders on, can't see the driver.  BUT,  my Ozone 7 works on my studio system, as does Media Player.  so the driver is indeed there, alive and well. 

OK, problem solved...  the support guys at Focusrite are awesome.  I had to download and install Beta Driver 3.2.1 for my older gen Scarlett 2i2, and now it works on Windows 10.  Whew.

Gary McCoy
I avoided the Win 10 upgrade for the simple reason that everything was working fine.  A couple weeks ago, I turned on my computer and got the message, "welcome to Windows 10!"  I have no idea how Windows was able to do this without my permission.  I am assuming that I somehow inadvertently did something that granted the permission.
 
The good news is:  everything seems to be working just fine.  No problems so far.

Gary, you may have been "scheduled" for an upgrade without realizing it. I remember one day instead of just closing the box that popped up on every boot, I really looked at it and it showed a date and time for me, and I had to tell it "no, I'll schedule it later" or something.

If you decide you don't want it, you can probably still roll back, I *think* through windows update.