Using sonar and windows media player causing problems, normal?

I just got Sonar X1 producer. It's my first DAW and I'm a newb but I have the groove3 videos to teach me. What I am trying to do is have Sonar and windows media player open so I can watch the tutorial, and then actually do it in Sonar. I learn better this way than just watching only. The problem I'm having is when I switch over from the video to sonar, I get a pop up saying more than one thing is using my TonePort UX2 and asks if I want to use it anyway or disable it. I choose to use it anyway but then in Sonar, I lose sound and what I noticed last night on the adding loops tutorial, when I tried to drag in the groove, it just said busy in the display and showed snow in that box instead of the sound file. I don't remember if I just had to close out both programs or restart too.
Is this normal? Is my audio interface to blame and do I need a better one? I'm using the WDM driver in sonar. I guess windows media player uses it too. Is that what they are fighting over? 
Thanks
-Chris

the best / ideal solution would be to use the onboard card for media player.. if you have one and use your music soundcard for sonar.

switching between apps does cause probs with gain and bit rates switching.

Thomas, thanks a lot, I'll give it a try. I tried out the ASIO drivers the other day at the same latency and couldn't tell a difference at all when playing back some of the sample projects. I only switched back to WDM because that was default and thought maybe that it meant it was better? I'm still new to all this.

Fog, I actually have an onboard soundcard and second set of speakers hooked up to it for when I'm just cruising the internet and don't wanna have to turn on my monitors and sub. I didn't know you could use seperate soundcards at the same time for different apps. How do I go about doing that?
Thanks!

Zuma may be correct. I use ASIO and I can play WMP and sonar at the same time. I can even play utuble videos, WMP and sonar at the same time with no problems.
Im using ASIO drivers at the moment
Cj

I mean no offense to anyone but I don't see the purpose of turning on the onboard sound. You can turn Windows sounds off if you're worried Windows might belch out a sound or two... Though I don't see how it would unless you had some auto updating program running or some such thing. Plus if you're using WMP or the equivalent to run audio into Sonar to record, well, which would you rather Windows be using now?

thomasabarnes


Zuma:

I know CJ uses, or used to use, just one audio interface for all windows related audio (WMP, YouTube, etc) and SONAR, and I used to do that, too. I know it can be done when uisng ASIO for SONAR because, then, windows uses the WDM driver, the WaveRT, or whatever for windows audio.

However, my audio interface is a MOTU UltarLite-mk3, and it's an external unit. I realized that there is no need to keep using my MOTU unit when I'm busy gaming for hours (I want to keep slow the wear and tear of the unit, and it saves power to keep the MOTU off). So I thought about it and decided; the best thing is to use my onboard sound when I'm not using SONAR.

The OP has an external unit, as well. So I think it will be best if he does as I have decided to do. It's not a necessity, just a preference.

 
Ah. I see now. I wasn't questioning anyone. Just was trying to wrap my head around what the advantage could possibly be. I wasn't looking at it from a gamers point of view.