In my first real project using X3, it crashed. I was hoping this was a thing of the past since updating from 8.5, but no. Still, it generates a minidump and asks me to submit a bug report. Great! Except... it failed due to a "connection problem", and offered no attempt to retry. Not very professional. Instead it gives me a link to submit a report manually.
 
I go to do this, fill in all the tedious stuff like serial number and version (hint - if your program is going to give me a link to click, encode this information in the link), then try to upload the minidump.... but it's too big and I get a "404 - File or directory not found." error at the end when I submit the file. I click back... and it's put me back at the beginning again. I think the details might still be there, but it's an annoyance.
 
Come on guys, this needs to be a smooth process for what is likely to be an already-annoyed user whose project just crashed.

I agree.
 
A simple option to save the dump and prompt the next time Sonar starts to try to send again would be great. This would give us a chance to connect to the net and then send it the automatic way. I don't have my Daw connected all the time and this would solve the problem.
 
 
Having said that I am not having any trouble with x3e. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. 

I used to get those connection problems with the problem reporter quite often but now they seem to upload without problems. I had thought that maybe they'd fixed something at their end. 

What was the nature of the crash, by the way?
 
Were you using any 3rd-party 32-bit plugins, by chance?
 
Maybe someone here in the forum could help you get it figured out, if more information was provided.
 
Bob Bone
 

I cannot see signatures using mobile, is the OP on X3e? I have not seen issues like this for some time now.

Automatic failed because you can't reach cakewalk servers for some reason. That's likely because a) Their server is down b) Internet connectivity issue which could be at their end, your end, or somewhere in-between.
 
If you want to send a minidump via Cakewalk problem reporter you could upload it via www.wetransfer.com and give them the link to download it if it proves to be a problem.
 
Did you give them steps to reproduce your issue? If you don't have steps you are much better off contacting support if you are convinced the issue is to do with Sonar. To be honest if it's a one off crash you might want to hold back for a while to see if there's any particular pattern to it.
 
Personally I think you are far better off troubleshooting on this thread and see if your problem can be resolved in these forums. Have a look at the Windows event viewer and paste the entire error message here I suggest (right click on the red exclamation mark, copy -> copy details as text, and please give us steps to reproduce. Also give us your full specs (See my signature for the sort of info that is useful).
 
Thanks...

In hindsight I was just really frustrated that when I get a crash in Sonar, it was then followed by other annoyances. I know ranting on here isn't all that productive. So I apologise to anyone who feels their time was wasted by reading this!
 
To answer points above:
 

A simple option to save the dump and prompt the next time Sonar starts to try to send again would be great.

 
Totally. The error reporter is a great idea - just make sure the stuff goes into a queue and can be sent later. (I'd also suggest that the minidumps get zipped before sending - they shrink to about 10% of the size.)
 

What was the nature of the crash, by the way?
 
Were you using any 3rd-party 32-bit plugins, by chance?

 
The nature of the crash was that I changed a value in a plugin (the Play engine for EWQL Symphonic Orchestra, 64bit) and then Sonar crashed. I know people are quick to blame the plugin in such cases but it is actually possible to catch most exceptions and - if nothing else - point out where in the code the crash actually happened.
 
I don't think I was using any 3rd party 32-bit plugins, but even if I was, that shouldn't make Sonar crash - they run in a separate process, right?
 

I cannot see signatures using mobile, is the OP on X3e?

 
I don't have my software details in my signature, but yeah, I'm on X3e, 64 bit.
 

Automatic failed because you can't reach cakewalk servers for some reason. That's likely because a) Their server is down b) Internet connectivity issue which could be at their end, your end, or somewhere in-between.

 
I can go weeks without encountering any sort of connectivity problem to any other site. If I can't connect to their error-handling server, I'm going to be willing to bet a lot of money the problem is on their side. Ideally they will just make their system more robust so that it can try the operation again.
 

Did you give them steps to reproduce your issue?

 
It's not a reproduceable issue. That's why sending the minidump is probably more useful. I did send it - after zipping it to make it small enough to go through their web interface.
 

Personally I think you are far better off troubleshooting on this thread and see if your problem can be resolved in these forums.

 
I appreciate people are trying to be helpful but I'm not trying to find ways to fix this crash. It shouldn't happen, but it did, and the chances of me finding the cause and being able to fix it without stopping using either (a) Sonar or (b) the VST in question approach zero. What I am interested in is making sure that when these things happen, I can report them to the developers without hassle, so that at least there's a good chance that it might get fixed in future.

The way to rule out as I'm sure you are aware is to see if the next crash is with that plugin. And again please check the windows event viewer to see of there is an error related to that plugin, check the full details. Sorry Sonar will crash with dodgy plugins and that's not really a Sonar issue. If it does happen again with the plugin EastWest should be your point of call, reporting it to Cakewalk will not end up in the right hands.

Having said that I totally agree there should be some enhancements made with error reporting... Sonar really needs more error trapping built in so we can get more relevant and meaningful error messages. So +1 in that area....

Cheers...

Thanks for the reply.
 
32-bit plugins need to use 'bridging software' to be able to run in 64-bit Sonar.  Sonar comes with something called BitBridge, which attempts to allow 32-bit VST plugins to run in 64-bit Sonar.
 
It doesn't always work, and MANY problems have been reported with 32-bit plugins causing crashed and also really wacky behavior when used in 64-bit Sonar.  That was why I had asked.
 
Another similar piece of 3rd-party bridging software is available - called JBridge, and for some 32-bit plugins, it worked better than BitBridge, at allowing them to run in 64-bit Sonar, but here to, MANY problems were reported with both crashes and weird behavior.
 
Soooo, generally speaking, it is the general consensus that if running 64-bit Sonar, then trying to eliminate all possible 32-bit plugin use is best.  Many of the more supported plugin vendors have released free 64-bit versions of many 32-bit plugins, so you might wish to check that for any that you really want to try to hang on to.
 
With regard to your thought that Sonar should be able to intercept and report on plugin failures, this is not always possible, as control can get turned over to the plugin for processing, and then it is the responsibility of the plugin to handle any exceptions - including reporting on them.   (as far as I know).
 
If you call Cakewalk Technical Support, and provide them with the report number for what you sent them, they may be able to give you more information to go on - which may include either a workaround, or they may have been in contact with East West folks and could possibly pass on information as to what happened and when something might be available to stop it from happening in the future.
 
Best of luck with the situation - I HOPE to be able to pick up some East West strings version, and am looking forward to getting access to better sounding solo violin sounds.  :)
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
With regard to your thought that Sonar should be able to intercept and report on plugin failures, this is not always possible, as control can get turned over to the plugin for processing, and then it is the responsibility of the plugin to handle any exceptions - including reporting on them.   (as far as I know).
 

To clarify Sonar should be able to report which plugin (DLL) has crashed, but nothing more specific than that. The likely reporting mechanism for this would be the windows event viewer. Anything more specific would be down to the plugin code.

Cheers...