Sonar/DAW Crashes

Hello.  Sorry about the long post.  I am running Sonar X2a (64 bit) in Win 7 SP1 x64.  For a year now (since buying Sonar X2 summer '13) I have been having a problem with intermittent computer crashes when using Sonar.
 
The Crashes.  Intermittently, when I use Sonar, the computer will freeze up – the graphic display freezes, and the computer no longer responses to mouse or keyboard activity.  The computer will not respond to Ctrl-Alt-Delete.  To regain control of the computer, I must hold the power button to hard-stop the computer, and then re-start it.  Because these crashes bring down the OS, there is no error log recorded; WhatIsHang records no problems.  I can sort of reliably cause a crash problem by starting the computer, launching Sonar, load up a project, and then walk away from the computer.  When I return to the computer after 60 minutes or so, typically the computer is crashed/frozen.  So I get crashes/freezing just simply by having Sonar up and running on the computer; I don't even have to interact with Sonar to get crashes/freezing.  I also get crashes/freezing when recording, playing back, and editing audio or midi data, and while doing other work in Sonar.
 
Interestingly enough, on a hunch I started the computer today, launched my copy of Pyro Audio Creator 1.5, opened the Editor application and then loaded an mp3 file, and then walked away from the computer, the computer was crashed/frozen when I checked on it about 40 minutes later.
 
HOWEVER, I can start the computer, launch Sound Forge 10, load up a .wav file, and the computer will run fine for 3-4 hours, without any crashes/freezing.  Indeed, the computer will run reliably for hours without problems whatsoever so long as I am NOT using Sonar or Pyro.
 
What I have done to try to resolve this:

1. Updated Sonar X2 with the latest update
   
2. Updated Win 7 with latest patches/updates
   
3. Updated drivers for audio and midi interfaces to the latest drivers available
   
4. Updated the bios to the latest version.
   
5. Re-built the entire software environment by formatting all HDs, re-installing the OS and re-installing programs (making sure each installer was “run as Administrator”).
   
6. Put in a new Siig DP FW card (with TI XIO2200AZGW chipset)
   
7. Ran MemTest+86 (ver. 5.01) for two complete cycles.  Zero errors were reported.  (Note also that this process took 4+ hours, and the computer did not crash during this time.)
   
8. Because intermittent computer crashes are commonly caused by memory problems, I also swapped out my memory modules.  My computer has two memory modules, and I got the same crashing/freezing behavior using both memory modules and with any one of the memory modules.
   
9. Monitoring CPU and MOBO temperatures: the CPU temperatures stays round 36-37oC – well within normal operating tolerances; the MOBO temperatures are a little cooler, and also well within normal operating tolerances.
    
   

Still to do: stress-test the CPU using Prime95.
 
So, my suspicion at this time is that there is some interaction of Sonar or Pyro with the audio interface that is causing these crashes/freezes.  I am hoping that some user here can suggest some tweaks to Sonar, the OS, or the audio interface that will help with these crashes/freezes.  Or maybe someone has another idea for trouble-shooting things I can do to further isolate and identify the problem.
 
The Computer
 
I built the DAW specifically to run Win 7 and Sonar X2.  The computer has no other functions, and is not online or networked.  The specs are as follows:
 
Processor – Intel i5 3570 quad core @ 3.40 gHz (normal clock – NOT overclocked)
MOBO – ASUS P8Z77-VLX w/ Intel Northbridge Z77 Express chipset
Memeory - 2 x Corsair Vengence CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10B (2 modules of 8 GB apiece: total 16 GB), DDR3 Power - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2, 750 watts Firewire – Siig DP FireWire 2-port PCIe card
Drives - Seagate ST500DM002 Barracuda 500 GB, SATA 7200 rpm HDs OS - Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit, SP-1 Cakewalk - Sonar X2a (I believe I have all Sonar X2 updates installed)
Audio Interface – Mackie Onyx 1604 w/ firewire card installed (driver ver. 1.7 installed – is the only driver version Mackie makes for this device and this OS)
MIDI Interface – MOTU Micro Express USB midi interface (Motu “universal” driver installed – is the only driver version Motu makes for this device and this OS).
 
Note: this computer has no VGA card. All graphic functions are handled by the CPU itself.
  
Any ideas?  Thanks for reading.

Is not the Mackie a audio interface with known issues with the drivers? Just askin'. 
I'm sure I've read stuff in the hardware forum where owners were pi--ed off about Mackie never supporting the board with good ASIO drivers. So typically it's one of theose products that might work with a Mac or Audacity but not with a DAW like Sonar which need the "good" drivers to function properly. 
 
You've covered most your bases for the computer, Did you ever run a DPCLAT test? 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
But the one thing you haven't done as far as swapping out components is to try a different audio interface. I'll put my money on that solving the problem. 
 
From A gear Slutz thread: 
 
http://forum.dawbench.com...mance-Data-Base/page13
 
Mackie Onyx 1640i : Heres one I had been sitting on for a while as I didn't have the measured RTL values and the reported nominal values were, hmmm, very optimistic. I finally had the opportunity to get in front of one again to do the RTL calculations. Wow, in short the settings values have absolutely no correlation to what is delivered and even more concerning was I could not get a consistent result from the RTL utility, with the value swing around up to 80 samples at a time. Check out the cart for the actual delivered RTL , I have no idea how the DAW's could possible compensate for that amount of variance , absolutely unworkable IMO
 

I'm with Alex on this one. On-board graphics cards have been known to create all sorts of issues and I think it's definitely worth slotting in a 3rd party graphics card to take this out of the equation. Let us know if this is an option for you, and how you get on.

Before getting too carried away with complex fixes (i.e. new hardware), it seems like these crashes are occurring when the system is idle (i.e. no interaction from you), yes?
 
If so, Win7 is not elegant at all with its power management, please be sure that Win7 is specifically told never to idle anything or hibernate (and always have it connected to a power supply if a laptop). Additionally, Win7 will idle USB ports, but this usually doesn't manifest itself until coming out of a hibernate situation (i.e. hardware will not connect). Another generic thing to look for is "tasks" by software that occur when "idle." Some programs do this (like anti-virus checks, software updates, etc.)
 
If Win7 is set to hibernate/go idle, it may be possible to just set that time to something reasonable and sit near the machine as it goes idle and see if any programs create a popup, but seems unlikely as this freeze has occurred without a restart for you.
 
Unless driving 3D programs (SONAR is 2D), the graphics should not be an issue as far as usage, but driver conflicts may be.

I would opt for a separate video card, even a low level one.  I have an i7 CPU in my main system and had some video problems.  A separate video card fixed those.   My backup system is an ASUS P8Z77 LE Plus motherboard and an i5 3550 CPU with 8 GB of RAM - similar to your system.  My Windows experience with the Intel video was 3.2.  I installed an old NVIDIA GTS450 OC video card and the Windows experience jumped up to 6.5. 
 
I'm not using the "Lucid Virtu" video software supplied by ASUS.
 
Expansion cards, e.g. your PCIe firewire card, can also cause hang ups.  Not specifically the PCIe card you have, just expansion cards in general are one potential area.
 
I do some PC support and try to avoid recommending BIOS upgrades, but with the problems you are having, I would update to the latest ASUS BIOS. The latest BIOS update, 9/19/2014 states "Improve System Stability".

I also see it as a hardware/driver problem. But the fact it crashes with SONAR/Piro only can be helpful.
 
I will first try to remove all audio and MIDI devices from SONAR configuration. Even better disconnect both devices.
 
If you still get crashes, you can try to reproduce it with some graphic+memory+CPU intensive programs (for example 2D/3D benchmarks or PC benchmarks).
 
If you do not have crashes without audio, try to work with completely different audio hardware/driver. For example with MoBo build-in audio under ASIO4ALL.
 
At this point it should be already clear either the problem is in MoBo or not.
 
SONAR X2 does not do anything special on low level (it will not work under Wine in Linux then, and it does for me).

Is this the older 1604 or the newer 1604i ? 
I still am thinking the Mackie drivers. Just google and read about them you'll see even people with Mac's had issues when using certain DAW platforms like Pro tools. 
And if yours is the old version then you are using XP 32 drivers.. 

The audio interface is the Mackie 1604 mixer with firewire card added.  This was the very first generation of mixer/interface that Mackie built.  It is not the newer 1604i.
 
Mackie has only released two drivers for this interface: ver 1.0 is for use with Win XP and ver 1.07 for Win 7 and later.  I believe Mackie says use the ver 1.07 driver for 64-bit OS.
 
Yes, the problem could be due to the Mackie driver, tho' again, I have not had any problem using Sound Forge and Sound Forge makes use of the driver.
 
So I'm in a position of possibly having to replace my audio interface (if I can determine that the interface is causing the problem), or replacing Sonar (if I can find a DAW that will work with my existing computer and interface (as Sound Forge seems to do)), or having to replace a MOBO or a processor or a HD (if I can determine there is a defect in a hardware component).  And of course, we still don't know for sure what exactly is causing the problem.
 
So I'm thinking my game plan is to
1) do the VST rescan and check for HD firmware updates as suggested by AlexS
2) installing a dedicated graphics card, as suggested by a few people
3) if problem persist, buy a inexpensive audio interface to use instead of the Mackie
 
Sigh - and the possibility remains that I could do all of that and still be having the same problems.