Brando
BTW - Kenny - if you haven't yet measured your DPC latency - I recommend Latency Mon for Windows 8 rather than Thesycon's dpc latency checker - 
 
http://www.resplendence.com/download/LatencyMon.exe
 

Hi Brando , OK I'm on my Mac right now and I did download this …later on I will make the time to give this app a shot ..when I do I will report back with the results…thank you 
 

mettelus
Hi Kenny, I am probably going to give you a half-assed answer here, but there are several posts in this forum about laptops hopefully I can point you to.
 
I have not used Win8, but have seen enough posts that I will skip it as I did with Vista. The biggest issue with a laptop, is that it is "designed" to run off a battery, so often the O/S will determine "what" (not the user) needs to be "idled." X3 is not an issue (and I doubt your 2i4 is either). A few things to look for:
 
1) Always keep the laptop plugged in when using it as a DAW.
2) Change Power Management settings to NEVER idle a hard drive (or hibernate) while plugged in.
3) Disable Wi-Fi when using as a DAW (if feasible).
4) Research "core parking" and make sure that your laptop is not "idling" cores "not in use"... they should always be on. Bob Bone posted a nice post on this (is a registry change), but I cannot readily find it.
5) USB hubs/ports are not allowed to go idle (I also believe Bob posted on this).
 
My "hunch" is that Windows is trying to power manage things (assuming it is on a battery), and unless you change power management settings, I "believe" they are similar for plugged in and unplugged. Any of the above items does not "come back online" instantaneously.... so in a tracking mode it means "doom."
 
I actually fear using a laptop because of these, so cannot point you to direct experience. I apologize that I cannot give you a clear "answer," but hope it can give you some insight. When running as a DAW, any processes not needed should be manually shut down (CTRL-ALT-DEL). The latency monitor suggestion is good for this one.

Hello mettelus, 
 
I don't think there is such a thing as a half a$$ed answer , you are trying to help me and I do appreciate it 
I do agree with you that this is not a SONAR / X3  issue …
I have sat down with my lap top right next to my I Mac while I watched Groove 3 videos on line . i was able to follow along while reproducing a great deal of the content of what the video was teaching …the how to's and some of the feature orientated stuff …
my mind seems to have a built in forgetter …like any other complex skill that requires repetition , i was at least able to see that it can be done ….i did get it right once or twice so as long as I keep practicing it …
it can be done consistently at some point in time if I stay with it...
 
I think what I have here is 3 separate problems  ….
 
1) I have a Windows 8 problem 
2) I have a cresting the learning curve of SONAR X 3 problem ...
3) I have hardware , settings and configuration issues that need the kinks worked out ...
 
Windows 8 , Oh boy …well , it wasn't my first choice . the only reason why I have it is because I got a good deal on the lap top and that was the OS it came with ….
 
i think we can pretty much agree that X3 is not the problem . I do suppose that once some of the config issues get solved i might be able to make up for lost time learning to get comfortable using X 3 and eliminate my current level of frustration ...
 
the lap top has never been run w just the battery power as a power option . when I use it it is always plugged in ..
here's my current settings 
 
…………………………………………..on battery……………………Plugged in ……….
dim the display …………………..never…………………………….never ……….
turn off the display……………..never…………………………….never………...
put the computer to sleep…..never……………………………never…………...
 
my wifi is set to airplane mode ….I'm under the impression that means my wifi is turned off …yes ? no ?
 
under windows default sounds I have no sounds 
 
not sure how to check my hard drive settings  if they are idling or not ..
also need to look up the core idling …...that is what i have so far 
 
other than that this computer has a thing called ASUS instant on thing , supposedly it conserves battery power and gives a fast boot time …could this be part of the problem ? 
 
thanks 
 
Kenny

I'm jumping up to this post real quick because this is one I can address pretty easily 
 

Anderton

kennywtelejazz
Yikes , with my current machine only having 2 usb ports , and my only real option is having to use my one and only usb 2 hub to go direct using the 2i4 ….

 
Try the 2i4 with the USB 3 port. It may work, and if it does...it does. If it doesn't, no kittens will have been harmed during the testing process.

Hello Craig , I really appreciate you offering your help 
I have X3 currently open and there is an all audio project running . this project is streaming from the internal HD 
currently my 2i4 is plugged directly into the usb 3 port ( no hub ) and the playback is fine with out any problems.
as far as I can tell so far , the kittens are purring .
I still need to read some of your previous posts and do / read what you have suggested  .
thank you, 
 
Kenny

There is this thread in the Hardware forum
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Need-help-again-interface-issue-m3081757.aspx
 
I would get the word from Focusrite support about the USB 3.0 ports. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere not to use them with Scarletts,  but it doesn't make sense to me as the 2i4 is buss powered and USB 3.0 is a more powerful output for this reason. 
 
I hate to say it but I have read a lot of threads with people having these issues with the 2i2 and 2i4. I think buss power is a bad idea. It's one reason I went with the 6i6 as it uses a wall wart. 
 
And defiantly check that laptop out with a DPCLAT utility... that is #1 with laptops. Some laptops are just plain un usable because of the bios settings you can't even change. 

So, is there a wi-fi adapter present?  And, have you tried turning it off or disabling it prior to launching Sonar?
 
And, it you are recording, what sort of latency is Sonar reporting when your ASIO Buffer Size is set to 128?
 
Bob Bone
 

hockeyjx
This may help a little:  http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/pc-optimization-guide-for-windows-8/
 
I am in IT and dislike Win8. Most businesses will not upgrade because of the lost productivity learning Win8 causes. My Dell business rep has sold a whopping 3 laptops with Win8 since it's introduction.
 

 The best way to optimize W8 is uninstall, install W7.   If I switch to W8, I'd have to replace a lot of legacy gear.

Anderton
Although Cakewalk hates it when I say this, if all else fails, Sonar runs very well under Boot Camp   Cakewalk doesn't support this because they don't have the resources to help people troubleshoot problems with Mac desktops running DAW software but Sonar even works under Parallels.

 So does Live 8 which is odd for a cross platform app.  
 
 

Scarlett's are not great RTL performers. They run around 20- 50 ms at a safe setting. 
But this is no big deal unless you toggle the Input echo on an audio track. Just don't. 
You won't experience any latency issues otherwise. Timing is rock solid on mine. 
And of course MIDI latency will happen if you have certain effects turned on. 

Ok let me bounce around real quick to get back up to speed
 

robert_e_bone
So, is there a wi-fi adapter present?  And, have you tried turning it off or disabling it prior to launching Sonar?
 
And, it you are recording, what sort of latency is Sonar reporting when your ASIO Buffer Size is set to 128?
 
Bob Bone
 

Hello Bob  , Yes there is Wi-Fi but I have it disabled . on my machine it is called Airplane mode .
when it is placed in the on position the charms section shows it as Wi-Fi off .
incidentally I only bought this machine so I could upgrade to X 3 and run various current musical software applications …using it as a lap top in the traditional sence of how people use lap tops is actually the last thing I'm looking to do  .
 
the reporting of the 128 ASIO buffer that I mentioned was from the Yamaha card that I use for my I Mac .
at that buffer setting I can play my guitar in real time , trigger synths , monitor and print to track exactly what I want to hear...
 
Kenny

Kewl.
 
Bob Bone
 

slartabartfast
Whoa, Kenny.
 
The work you put into your post is appreciated, but it is a lot to chew on. Might have better luck breaking it down into multiple threads.
 
The USB problem is probably Windows related and is common enough to have prompted the following from Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953367
 
Unacceptable latency with your audio interface is probably not related to the interface per se, almost any reasonable quality USB device can get to something you can live with. I assume you mean that you are unable to set the audio buffer low enough without experiencing dropouts. With an off-the shelf laptop, a DPC latency issue is usually to blame. Most common is to have drivers for the wireless adapter or video display hogging resources. It is usually easy to disable the networking in BIOS, but often not possible to re-set priority on the video.
 
Did I miss the brand and model number of the computer?

Hello slartabartfast, 
 
Yes, I'm sure it's a lot to chew on …I understand...
 
 
I'm not usually a regular poster up here in the X forum …Yet, I do read many of the threads and posts .
 
I have found that I do learn a lot from the general SONAR user collective experience 
 
In my current situation I started hitting a lot of brick walls …
the idea of breaking it down and starting multiple threads is honestly not how I feel 
having sat out a lot of upgrades in both SONAR and Windows , I thought it might be best for me to pool whatever available funds I could spare and just take the leap to upgrade to a clean slate all across the board ..
 
 
at this point since it's bought and paid in full I honestly feel that this rig would be a good place for me to start as a Placeholder rig … 
Say, I wonder if it's OK for me to use Craig's Placeholder phrase ?
any way I hope that my Placeholder (™)  rig would at least offer me the opportunity to stay in the game .
 
spec' s huh  this wretched thing is an ASUS RS510C …Core I 3 ..6gigs of ram ..
 
thanks for helping i plan on looking into the link you posted 
 
Kenny