Quite awhile ago now, sometime last year, a Firefox update made the browser turn into an Asio driver thief.  I'm sure fellow Firefox users know what I'm talking about.  Before that update, I could have Sonar open and a browser at the same time with no problems.  Handy for being on a Forum, discussing a problem right then when a problem project is open in Sonar, for instance.

Now if Firefox is opened when Sonar is already open, it usurps the driver and when you go back to Sonar, there's no sound-the browser hasn't given up the driver.  You have to close Firefox to regain Asio - BUT, that sometimes doesn't work, and you have to completely shut down Sonar and re-open it.  You also need to be sure your browser isn't open when you open Sonar in the first place, otherwise you'll have no audio outputs available.

WHY did this happen, I'd like to know?  It's one of those very annoying upgrades to something that results in a step backwards for users.  

Any thoughts, possible solutions?

Randy

I know exactly what you are talking about but never bothered coming up wit ha solution other than making sure Sonar is open before I open up a browser.  I'm sure this can be worked around by tweaking settings for sharing drivers in Sonar and other programs but it has never bothered me enough to act on it

I am running FireFox 28.0 and use a Presonus interface with SONAR running in ASIO mode. The Presonus is my default windows sound card. I have just testing running a Youtube video, X3 and Windows Media Center playing TV, all at the same time. So, it is possible. The "Share Drivers With Other Programs" is not selected in Preferences > Audio > Playback and Recording. Also in Windows I made sure to have the default format on the Advanced Properties tab agree with my SONAR Sample Rate and do not allow applications exclusive control of the device.

You sure it is not Windows?
No browser needs any drivers for music, because it usually is done with Flash.
And with my setup I can have the sample rate of my unit at anything and it still plays music over the Internet, unless perhaps downloading a piece of music at a certain sample rate and bit depth then it would be Windows Media Player.
 

While I generally use Chrome, I also have the latest Firefox (28.0).
 
I'm running Windows 8.1 Upgrade.
 
I have not encountered any problems with the 8.1 upgrade, nor this issue with Firefox.
 
Whether I start Sonar before or after Firefox launch, I have full audio capabilities.
 
I use the latest Focusrite Firewire ASIO drivers.
 

I always run with my audio interface ONLY used by music applications, such as Sonar.  The Windows default audio device is set to use either the speakers on the HDTV I use as a display monitor, or set to use the on-board sound.
 
This way, I never have anything conflicting with Sonar for access to the audio interface drivers.  The reason I have both the HDMI speakers from the TV display monitor as well as the on-board sound is that if I need the interface inputs I will switch the Windows default audio device to use the TV speakers.  If I do not need the interface inputs, then I run a splitter from the PC speaker jack, and connect a left and right 1/4" cable from each to inputs on the audio interface, but still not sharing the audio interface itself.
 
Bob Bone
 

Randy, when you get a chance could you please update your signature with your system/hardware configuration? It will help us a lot to understand things more quickly.

On second thought, perhaps it is just the drivers of your hardware.
?? I usually am not in Sonar being on the Internet, and if in Sonar, I am only there.
 

Hello, all. Been dealing with some crap but wanted to make a suggestion here.
 
Yes, you could/should not allow the interface to share with other programs if possible but you may not want to change that within windows for whatever reason (such as... well you want other programs to access the interface).
 
So maybe you should try disabling some of the Firefox plugins that could be hooking into the ASIO driver.
 
In Firefox click the orange Firefox Tab in the top  left corner > select Add Ons > then disable the Flashplayer and Shockwave Player stuff or whatever else you think might be using the interface. You can set it to "Ask to Activate" instead of completely disabling the plugins.
 
However... this is why I have a cheap laptop to do surfing/research on that I can do whatever internet crud I need to without having the DAW doing multiple things at once. Seriously a netbook or cheap Acer can be had for $300 or less these days and is really worth the extra expense. Good for keeping internet bugs off the DAW too.
 
Cheers.

wow--popular thread-!  Thanks, everyone, for your input.  When I have time, I'll try yet again to straighten this out.
 
Central to the issue I'm having is that I use my audio interface for playing things online.  I like having the control knobs for playback so handy, rather than using the (disabled) motherboard card which would have to be plugged into a second set of inputs on my amplifier, and it would be very inconvenient to control the volume.
 
That's the same set up I was using back when there wasn't this ASIO conflict with Firefox.
 
Mettelus - thanks for the prompt on getting some system info in my sig.  I've been meaning to do it - now, done!
 
Randy