Sonar X3 very unstable with the VS-100

I'm having some serious stability issues with Sonar & my VS-100. I'm thinking it's an issue with the VS unit itself or the driver. I also have an EMU 1212m, but the drivers are outdated on it so I prefer to use the VS unit in ASIO mode. But oftentimes I'll switch to the EMU for mixing/tracking and don't experience nearly the same amount of crashes. Also, when using the VS, when it crashes it doesn't release the drivers, so SONARPDR.exe stays in memory for 5-10 minutes and I can't restart. Even then, it doesn't recognize the VS-100 until I've restarted the box several times. Needless to say, it's an incredibly frustrating & time-consuming headache. I love the versatility of the VS, but I'm thinking of scrapping it unless I can fix the issues somehow. I have a dedicated USB PCIe card that I use for the VS, but I've also tried using the onboard USB ports too, but it doesn't seem to really make any difference. Anyone have any similar experiences or advice? I do have the latest x64 drivers for the VS unit (I'm running Windows 8.1).

Did you update the firmware inside the VS-100 when you updated the Windows drivers? 
 
Glen

If you have plugins (effects) loaded on any of the tracks, whether you are recording or playing back does not matter - the effects will still be active unless powered off or disabled.
 
Some 32-bit plugins, running in a 64-bit Sonar, DO cause crashes, and many folks have completely moved away from having any 32-bit plugins even present in any VST search paths their 64-bit Sonar uses.  If there ARE any 32-bit plugins still being used by those folks, they generally make sure that specific testing has found them to still work in 64-bit Sonar.
 
When Sonar crashes and stays stuck in memory, do you also see something called BitBridge in memory as well?  If so, then for SURE you have 32-bit plugins present in the project that was active at the point of crash of Sonar.
 
Lastly, when Sonar hangs in memory like what you may be experiencing, some folks find that unplugging their audio interface may cause resources to be able to be freed up, helping to free Sonar from memory.  They then plug their interface back in, and that may allow Sonar to be launched again.
 
So, it looks to me like you have at least 2 issues: first, that Sonar is crashing in the first place, and 2nd, it hanging in memory.  IF the crashes are caused by one or more specific 32-bit plugins, then removing them from your active project may well eliminate the crashes, and even if not part of why Sonar is crashing, by not having them present would also eliminate the loading of BitBridge by Sonar, which may help free up resources in memory anyways.
 
Bob Bone
 

I believe all units shipped with V1.30.
 
1. Turn on the VS-100, then press Compressor/Equalizer setting button and [COMP/EQ] button for Ch.1 before level meters available on the screen. Keep on pressing the buttons until the screen changes like below.

 

 
Current system software version will be shown. 
 

 
 USB updater
 0

 V1.30/01CA (current version)