[Update] 7/11/16 - Spinning Blue Ball of Death

Hey guys,
 
I've exhausted all other resources, so I'm coming here for help. I've been getting the spinning blue ball treatment for a couple weeks now. It seems to only occur when I record something (lately guitar tracks). Seems to work just fine during playback when I first open up the song. But as soon as I record a guitar part.......bam! It's actually not happening during the recording.....it's during playback after I recorded the part. It just stalls with the blue ball, and I have to End Task and start over, only to have it happen again and again.
 
I recently had my computer serviced to focus on music production. So I don't think it's the box. I've upgraded Sonar to current version, and also tried rolling back to previous versions. So I don't think it's a version issue. I did buy the updated Focustrite Scarlett 2i2 interface a couple months ago. But the drivers are up to date, etc. and it seemed to work fine for a while. So, basically....I'm at a loss here.
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks so much.
 
[UPDATE]
 
Things ran much smoother yesterday. Actually had a nice long 6hr session! I was stoked to say the least. I believe I found the major issue, but not 100% certain. Here's what I did. Saved the project as a new project, new folder, etc. Ran the project clean-up. Then turned off every single plug-in, saved it, and basically started from scratch on the original tracks. I only used Amplitube on the track I was recording (monitoring). I saved and closed the project without issue a few times. However, after 6hrs, I made a move that crashed Sonar. Don't recall what it was, but after 6hrs, I'll take it! 
 
I think the big no-no for me going forward is not to add so many plugs until all the tracking is done. My new goal is to finish all the tracking, get the levels right, then add the plugs only when ready to mix. I think recording with tons of plugs on was killing me. DON'T MIX WHILE TRACKING, JEFF!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!
 
Chucke, to answer your question.....yes, I installed the latest version of Amplitube, so it's all up to date, and seems to be working great again. My video card driver? I'll have to have my computer guy check that. Going in for a little fine tuning today.
 
Anyway.....I can't say enough how happy I was to have my system working again. All smiles! And thanks everyone for the suggestions. This board, as always, rules!
 
~Jeff

 Maybe try disabling all effects by hitting "e" on your keyboard just to rule out any native or third party plugins being the problem. Hope you find the problem. 

In order of things to check and make sure:
 
-Make sure you have all the latest updates for windows. (Sonar Platinum needs these updates to run correctly).
-check your video driver is up to date. onboard or video card. (Sonar Platinum needs this to run correctly).
-what kind of plug ins are in this project ?
 
 

Jeffiphone

Zargg71
Hi. Which driver mode do you use, and at what latency? Do you have any other programs open while recording? Do you have share drivers with other programs in preferences? Is the internal sound card disabled?
That is all I could think of now.
All the best.

Should I have "Share Drivers with other programs" checked or not?
 
Not at my system now, so I don't recall.
 
Thanks.

I believe it depends on whether or not you have other programs open at the same time you have SONAR open.
I have mine unchecked on my studio pc, and (IIRC) checked on my laptop.
All the best.

jatoth
Are you playing back immediately after recording? What happens if you record then wait a few minutes before playing back? I'm thinking it's video related when Sonar is trying to redraw the wave forms.
Just thinking out loud.
 
 

I have a similar feeling. especially seeing how sonar now uses open GL its important to update to the newest version driver and windows update. but im not sure he is interested in that. he skipped right over my comment.

jatoth
Are you playing back immediately after recording? What happens if you record then wait a few minutes before playing back? I'm thinking it's video related when Sonar is trying to redraw the wave forms.
Just thinking out loud.
 
 

Jatoth, sometimes it works fine after playing immediately after recording. There is just nothing consistent that I can reproduce. It's a crapshoot every time. The wave forms redraw very quickly. I don't have that many plug-ins going cuz I'm tracking right now and not mixing. The only plugs I have going are about 8 instances of Amplitube. And those tracks are frozen when I'm recording other stuff.
 
I just had my computer serviced, so the video driver should be updated, but I'll check on that.
 
Thanks guys for all your help.

Jeffiphone

chuckebaby

jatoth
Are you playing back immediately after recording? What happens if you record then wait a few minutes before playing back? I'm thinking it's video related when Sonar is trying to redraw the wave forms.
Just thinking out loud.
 
 

I have a similar feeling. especially seeing how sonar now uses open GL its important to update to the newest version driver and windows update. but im not sure he is interested in that. he skipped right over my comment.

Chucke, sorry I didn't respond to your post. I was otherwise involved.
 
So here's the update. I've tried working on different songs to see if the issue is with that particular song, maybe something corrupt on that song. One song I tried, an older one, worked like a dream. I was in heaven cuz everything was running like a champ. Thought I had it figured out. Tried a different song, and the issues arose again. There is nothing consistent, and I can't reproduce anything.
 
However, I'm seeing a consistent problem with some songs when I close it out and exit Sonar. Sometimes when I hit Close, it will just stall with the blue ball. Other times, it will close fine. Other times I'll get a Fatal Error screen, and the window always says something about Amplitube. I've tried re-installing Amplitube, but get the same results.
 
I'm also seeing a huge amount of background processes in Task Manager. The only apps running are Sonar, but there is tons of other stuff listed under Background Processes. They're not using much CPU according to the Task Manager, but it seems like a bunch of unnecessary stuff.
 
Also, when I boot up, it seems to take at least 10 minutes before I can run Sonar effectively. Brand new computer.
 
So I'm thinking about a full re-install of everything. I'm at a complete loss here. Driving me nuts.

i totally hear where your coming from.
with that being said...you still didn't answer 2 of the 3 questions i asked
 
-Make sure you have all the latest updates for windows. (Sonar Platinum needs these updates to run correctly).
-check your video driver is up to date. onboard or video card. (Sonar Platinum needs this to run correctly).
 
Jeff, try opening your project in safe mode.
Hold down SHIFT while double clicking on the sonar icon.
then one by one load in your plug ins. see if this gives you any kind of clue as to what is going on.
 
Ken brought up a good point as well, is it the latest Amplitude ?
(he also mentioned what i did about the updates, wink...wink)
if i remember correctly, Amplitude uses quicktime as wll as some open GL.
so updates are freakin critical in order to run at top performance. sometimes even sub par performance.
 
you sound like you have a good DAW. that shouldn't be the problem unless the guy who set it up failed on a few things like :
 
power settings: set it to high performance. (its not a laptop)
Focusrite driver settings. be sure to run it in ASIO Mode. (make sure you have the latest drivers.)
MOBO: make sure the onboard video card is the latest version (especially if your running windows 10)
 
 

Jeffiphone
Update up top on my original post.

Awesome Jeff. glad to hear it man.
make great music.