abacab
Hmmm... I wonder if that Sonar LE software version is 32-bit and is having issues with Windows 10 and a 64 bit audio driver?
 
Because the audio interface installs and is recognized ok in Windows, and the other software sees it...

Interesting idea. It shouldn't matter though. I run Soundforge pro 11 and it is 32 bit. It has no trouble working with my 64 bit drivers. 

Yanno... I completely overlooked another ultra obvious troubleshooting for these scenarios (and it may have been mentioned already, if so apologies for the repetition)...
 
Have you (or has anyone told you) to go into your Windows Control Pane > Hardware and Sound > Power Options, etc... (that is in Win7, I'm sure it's been moved in Win10 but should have similar options).
 
Your USB ports may be "falling asleep". In fact if you have NOT changed any settings on the system to prevent this it is almost certain that your USB ports are set to "fall asleep". Especially on a laptop.
 
In Win7 (sorry I have not had a chance to play with Win10 yet) you would change your entire Power Options settings to Performance or create a custom power plan. In particular you want to look in your hardware list and look for the USB entries. Set those to "Always On" or whatever the specific setting is currently called.
 
It could be that your USB ports are shutting down when no activity is being sent to or from the interface. This is usually fine for this like mice or external drives or whatever but with streaming audio and ASIO drivers it can wreak havoc.
 
 
Now that is my first observation after your followups.
 
The second is you seem to be trying to do screen cap vids and/or a live radio/video blog or whatever while possibly running games.
 
This indeed can cause many of the issues you are experiencing but it is a (almost) completely SEPARATE issue.
 
An immediate remedy to try is to simply switch driver modes in SONAR to WASAPI (or one of the other driver modes) instead of ASIO. ASIO only allows one audio device and driver to operate at once. I think you are trying to use a combination of devices (some camera mic and/or USB mic) in conjunction with the TASCAM. ASIO would not allow that. Those other driver modes will but perhaps to less desirable results (glitching, latency, etc).
 
HOWEVER there have been supposed improvements to the Windows audio drivers that have eased some of the problems. Based on what I've read I don't think they have surpassed ASIO yet but are improved and an effort is being made to continue improving them.
 
 
Alternatively you can use a program called Voicemeeter to act as a mixer/intermediary between multiple programs and devices and still use ASIO for your TASCAM. It is a pretty complicated subject to fully digest and implement effectively though but if you have the patience for it I created a looooooong (5 hours) video of how I set it all up so I can make screencast vids of my computer wackiness.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXEtm5_M9HI
 
It was my first vid so don't expect gold but I cover a huuuuuge amount of concepts that I think might help you get you oriented with some of the pitfalls of what you are trying.
 
Also... don't use SONAR LE. See if there is a proper modern demo here on site or better yet just purchase SONAR Artist so you aren't pissing around with an outdated POS demo.
 
Alternatively, if you are just recording voiceover stuff then you may want to consider downloading a much simpler (and free) program called Audacity. It's certainly not as feature rich as SONAR but it's a solid program and likely easier to use for your immediate needs. I wouldn't use it for music production but it's great for just yammering into a mic and mixing together some backing tracks (like the audio from a game or whatever).
 
If you need more features or want to get more complex then there is also Reaper which has a fully functioning/endless usage term demo (the consumer cost is $70 which I encourage you to pay if you use it extensively but otherwise the demo works exactly like the paid version). It, however, is really very complex and difficult to learn unless you kind of know what you are doing. Plenty of vids online to explain but I find it even more difficult to understand than SONAR.
 
All that said... if you do drop coin on SONAR then you are essentially buying a ticket into the vast knowledge base that is this community. As you can see, if you are polite and are willing to put some elbow grease on your end you'll never exhaust the supply of free support from other users. Reaper's forum is pretty decent too but I think this place (when functioning as intended) is a better learning environment.
 
Just some extra thoughts.
 
I don't think I can help too much further so I'll wish you good luck in your adventures.

scook

Beepster
 
Also... don't use SONAR LE. See if there is a proper modern demo here on site or better yet just purchase SONAR Artist so you aren't pissing around with an outdated POS demo.
 

You do know the most recent version of LE is based on X3. Although it has a limited feature set, the program should be pretty solid. That said, based on the peripherals attached to the PC, it does not appear to be setup as a typical DAW.

Nope. I had no idea of what version it was. Is it X3d (or whatever the last incarnation was)? If not then (if the demo allows access to the pathces) I would say to the OP to make sure they have the latest patches for X3 as well. X3 was indeed solid but much more solid after all the patches. This has likely already been mentioned.
 
Also I'm not discounting the possibility they have acquired old stock but now that I think about it I guess due to the timeline of the Gibson/TASCAM/Cakewalk merger that any SONAR disc a TASCAM device came bundled with would be X3.
 
Pure speculation though. If you know, as always, I appreciate current info.
 
Hope you've been well, scook.

usb power saving now disabled (I do this for network but never thought of doing it for usb).
 
changing to wasapi stops the devices from emptying but I still cant play sound unless I exit everything else first (and change my default settings to things I dont want to use).
 
I tried voicemeeter banana once. Most painful experience ever. Really odd how inputs are outputs and outputs are both inputs and outputs at the same time or something like that. It messed up my audio so bad, you have no idea. It was actually the main influence on getting a new mic. It caused my original setup to start feeding back and echoing and even uninstalling didn't fix it.
 
I used audacity in the past. I reformatted about 6months ago (when I got my 1TB SSD) and never needed to reinstall it yet. This shows just how much audio editting I do. I only got sonar le because I got a free key with the tascam unit. Same with ableton.
After all of this I'm shaking my head and looking at music 2000 on the original playstation and wondering where everyone went so wrong.
 
I think I'll probably just use OBS for recording.
 
 
 
***edit***
the tascam unit came with keys (no discs at all, not even driver discs) for sonar le ("Based on Cakewalk's award-winning SONAR X3 digital audio workstation.....") and Ableton Live 9 Lite. Seeing that "based on" makes me think about how movies are "based on" true events lol.
 
I have now turned off fast boot.

DethBringa
 
***edit***
the tascam unit came with keys (no discs at all, not even driver discs) for sonar le ("Based on Cakewalk's award-winning SONAR X3 digital audio workstation.....") and Ableton Live 9 Lite. Seeing that "based on" makes me think about how movies are "based on" true events lol.
 
I have now turned off fast boot.

Yes. That would definitely imply you have a relatively modern version... so that's good. Ignore my previous sentiments about LE being garbage. I thought we were referring to the OLD demo(s). I have no knowledge of the newer version but I assume it's more competent/reliable.

DethBringa
It seems to be pulling me in the exact opposite direction of where I want to go.
number 1 is gaming with a close 2nd being communication. Anything locking me out of that without a real gain isn't what I'm after. Playing with programs like sonar really is way down the list unless there is a gain without loss.

Sonar is more of a highly specialized music creation package. Ableton is the same (except more geared toward elctronic music/sample based music).
 
As I eluded to earlier, for what you want, really either program is like swatting a fly with a Buick. They can certainly do what you want with ease but the learning curve to perform simple tasks might be prohibitive.
 
Can you please descibe to me EXACTLY what you are trying to accomplish? I might be able to point you to a more efficient path.
 
For example: In the video I posted I am using Mirrilis Action! which allows for split track audio recording of screenplay (one for game/system sounds and the second for voiceovers). I also show how to edit voicover recordings within a video editor (in that vid I use Windows Live Moviemaker... or whatever the frack it is called) which allows you to strip out/overly/edit audio separate from your video (which I don't really cover in depth but there are plenty of youtube tuts that do).
 
Many of these video screencap programs have similar options. You may just need to figure out how to use them in conjunction with your interface as opposed to dorking around with music nerd stuff like SONAR or Ableton.
 
Yanno?

The first screen shot showed "share drivers with other programs" was unchecked. It's what we generally suggest when we separate our DAW audio from the rest of Windows audio. In your case, it's the opposite of what you want. Long thread, so I don't know if you already tried checking the "share" option, and whether that would make it better.

as hindsight I should have just brought a yeti.
I think the issue with understanding is I got in over my head and over what I need.
...to put it in your words...
 
I wanted to swat a fly (knowing nothing about the subject) and got talked into getting a buick cause its better. Too many experts telling me what is better. Sure its overkill but I assumed better was better.
 
..or in gaming terms...
It would be like buying a nvidia titan X for playing runescape.

I'm thinking about next purchase, I would like to get some really good headphones but I had so many issues with my back and neck with my old headset I'm thinking of sticking with my speakers.
 
I've been a PC gamer since the original civilization.
 
What I expected was install, plug in, work. But it seems that was a wrong assumption. I think the 2nd place I went wrong was deciding to play with sonar.

In addition to the Sonar "share audio device", there is a setting for exclusive mode on the Windows side of the sound settings too.
 

Personally I have been using an external audio interface on my main PC for years as the only audio device, FOR EVERYTHING, without difficulty.  It is much easier to send everything out to one set of monitors/speakers that way. 
 
I have generally kept my onboard audio disabled in the BIOS.  I recall trying to use both audio drivers at one time, but that became impractical for me.
 
One weird thing that I have noticed, is that when using one app that grabs the ASIO driver, such as Sonar, is that if I start another app such as Reaper that needs ASIO, I get the "no driver available" alert.  But Windows, browsers, and other media apps seem to get along fine as long as they are not configured specifically to use ASIO.
 

originally I was going to look at a presonus audiobox but got talked into the tascam. almost feel taSCAM.

DethBringa
originally I was going to look at a presonus audiobox but got talked into the tascam. almost feel taSCAM.

This type of post, despite your frustration, will not help your cause.
 
Just a heads up.

So what the did the settings panel say? And did you have any problems uninstalling the mixer app?