Well this week was once again a total disaster for my Windows 7 Sonar X-1 PE system. After the latest round of 15 patches, I reboot and go back into the current project I was working on. Sonar acts weird; playback has certain tracks that are peaked meters - examining the track controls, I see 100% to LEFT panning, 0% volume, 100% gain. Touch the slide controls to adjust, and everything blinks crazy, the app stops responding, and sonar crashes. Multiple restarts and research keeps repeating same symptoms. Finally I do a System Restore point back a couple days. Again I bring things up, and at first the project responds normally. As soon as I try to make some edits to an audio track, Sonar again crashes. So here's my short-term and my long term solutions - short: reload my notebook with the factory restore DVDs, but once I activate Windows, I pull it clear off the internet. No more patches, no more AV, no nothing except a DAW that WORKS. I know the problems isn't Sonar - it's Microsoft and it's constant tampering with its own OS to plug holes, and I'm just so not able to tolerate it anymore. Anybody else been able to totally shield their DAW system from internet completely? I already know that the 1 or 2 plug-ins I use that want internet, will either work with a work-around of emailing a key off a 2nd system then inserting it on this one, OR, I'll banish them from my DAW, because I just so don't have time for screwing around with system reloads anymore. The long-term solution? I'm moving to Linux on a parallel system setup, considering running up Rosegarden and similar suite of audio apps. Anybody there yet that can give some feedback on their experiences? I figure even if I set up a Linux system to do the basic tracking and portions of mix - then port that over to Sonar for a final mix, that's much more stable and secure, protecting the core project files in their original forms - not being subject to the monthly Microsoft russian roulette of patches and fixes. Comments? I'm kicking this plan off this weekend, I'm JUST that PO'd about it. - JOHN -

Wonder what would happen if ya reloaded X1?

You can set Windows NOT to apply automatic updates when you go online - this is what I do with my DAW.

The other machines I don't care about

I must be lucky because in over a decade of using Windows I have never experienced a single problem from a Windows update. Having said that, is it not possible for the developers of a program like Sonar to assess whether or not new Windows updates could potentially affect the use of their software? After all they should at least be aware of any potential dependency issues with the things Windows Update is changing. 

"Anybody else been able to totally shield their DAW system from internet completely?" 




Yes.

My primary DAW runs Win XP sp3 and it hasn't had an update since the day it was assembled.

It works.

I work.

I will not let the internet put my work at risk.

Last year when Cakewalk PR reps chastised me for stating my personal opinion that a DAW shouldn't be any where near the internet I realized that we didn't share the same interests.

When the Cakewalk reps stated that there is "no reason not to" let your DAW see the internet I recognized that I had my best interest in mind and Cakewalk did not.

I am appalled that Cakewalk advises people that there is way to run a DAW safely while connected to the internet. I don't think any one, any where, is qualified to offer such bad advice... but that's just my personal opinion.




I'm sticking with my policy because it works.



Sorry to hear of your frustrating circumstances.


Good luck.


best regards,
mike

Wonder what would happen if ya reloaded X1? Mike/digi2ns - Actually I have done at least a reload of the Sonar X1 itself, and it did not respond correctly even though at first I thought it fixed the problems. Soon as I tried to do any edit function, it went nuts again - and that was even on an Audio track, not even messing with the synths. So I think the real damage was in portions of OS or audio driver, even though I totally reloaded my Edirol USB 64x driver as well, with no change. Basically where I'm going from here is to get beyond the backup/restore of files and to protect the OS and boot drive itself, from outside corruption. It's not that I CAN'T recover from this, and I did not lose any project files since they're backed up to external USB drives, it's the fact that to reload the OS, Sonar X1, and EVERY single synth plug-in - is days (or many evenings) of downtime where I can't do any work until it's all back up and reinstalled just right. The real point is, none of us should HAVE to go through that. I used to have a clone program that let me duplicate the boot drive onto an external USB drive, then I could just put it away and replace the original boot drive if/when it crashed - but my present system or, the newer versions of the clone SW don't seem to work that way anymore. I'll continue to look into THAT angle too, as the only thing better than complete backups. Thanks to all who responded! It's just one of those weeks.... but each time we go through one of these painful reloads, we get a better, more organized game plan. - John

I'm moving to Linux on a parallel system setup, considering running up Rosegarden and similar suite of audio apps. Anybody there yet that can give some feedback on their experiences?

Well Linux is moving in the right direction. There are several distributions that are designed for serious audio work, and if all you are doing is recording and mixing it might be enough for you. Because the code is freely modifiable, it should be possible to make an audio optimized distro that runs circles around a swiss-army-knife OS that runs servers databases communications games video etc. etc. 


On the other hand audio optimization is low on the list at Redmond, and professional audio applications are not likely to be tested extensively against Windows code, unless it is done by the application developer.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio





But it is unlikely that there will be the variety or sophistication of applications available under Linux that there are in Windows. Coders who are motivated by profit are unlikely to put a lot of time into applications that are going to a small market made up largely of buyers who value a price of zero. Unfortunately a lot of good Linux based code is accompanied by lousy documentation and an attitude that if you can't figure out how to use the app by reading the commented source code you don't deserve it. And if you have found a perfect application, there is no guarantee that any support (let alone upgrades) will be available in the future.


It is easy enough to set up your Windows machine to not update itself. It requires a lot of knowledge and research to figure out which updates you should allow or how each update is dependent on other updates etc.

David:  some good points also, thanks - and yeah i know how it is SUPPOSED to work in Windows, telling it NOT install any updates - but since Windows 7, I've had occasions where it did indeed DOWNLOAD the updates and go into the "I'm WAITING"  mode,  and then as SOON AS you try to power down, it is taken OUT OF YOUR HANDS and the process dumps on you no matter whether you wanted it or not.  So, THAT is also one of my current beefs with MS about that whole patch process.   Truthfully, and I think a LOT of us feel this way,   Windows XP SP3 was the better OS in a LOT of ways in terms of sheer stability and functionality.  I MAY just go back TO IT this time around because I was also able to shut off and KEEP off, the updates on that if I wanted to do so.
As for Linux, yeah your points are valid.  I just got done researching Ardour as a viable DAW for Linux, but everything's a new curve with new apps and plugins to try and often, also buy (the good stuff is not always free) and for sure, you're correct about documentation.  All food for thought as I prepare to do some things very differently this time around......     -John

Sorry to hear John

I know its a frustrating pain in the butt.  It just had me thinking last night when my laptop did a Windows update, then rebooted and had went into the Reconfiguring Windows thing at start up.  Was thinking maybeeee it changed and a reload of X1 would have straightened it back out.  It was a long shot but looked like ya tried the obvious already.

Hope ya get it straightened back out

Ya might check out Acronis for the cloning thing

mike_mccue

"Anybody else been able to totally shield their DAW system from internet completely?" 

Yes.

My primary DAW runs Win XP sp3 and it hasn't had an update since the day it was assembled.

It works.

I work.

I will not let the internet put my work at risk.

Last year when Cakewalk PR reps chastised me for stating my personal opinion that a DAW shouldn't be any where near the internet I realized that we didn't share the same interests.

When the Cakewalk reps stated that there is "no reason not to" let your DAW see the internet I recognized that I had my best interest in mind and Cakewalk did not.

I am appalled that Cakewalk advises people that there is way to run a DAW safely while connected to the internet. I don't think any one, any where, is qualified to offer such bad advice... but that's just my personal opinion.

I'm sticking with my policy because it works.

Sorry to hear of your frustrating circumstances.

Good luck.

best regards,
mike

There was a time, I thought, that we were supposed to disable all NIC cards, modem's, and such on a DAW and completely remove it from a network. That was DAW Tweaking 101. Get it off the net, disable all networking capabilities, and anti-virus.

The problem these days is, there's no such thing as a dedicated Digital Audio Workstation. Between everything getting so powerful that it can handle many different things at once and so many home users now who can't afford to have a $3,000 dedicated box sitting in the corner that gets used 3 times a month everyone had to change their stance on it.

Problem is, everyone else has coded their stuff to work on a multipurpose PC, Cakewalk hasn't.