Just went up from X2 to X3.  What took seconds to render to audio in X2 is taking a half hour in X3.  What in the world is going on?

Please install X3D,
....and do it in a brand new project.
 
If no dice, please give us the specifics please. We need to know your system (please update your footer like mine), and give us full steps to reproduce please (you are not giving us any real info to go, there are a thousand scenarios you could be explaining).... Thanks..

Not likely it's X3 though... if there's a background process accessing the disk - that usually kills it ) and everything else too!)

>if there's a background process accessing the disk
 
Couple of utils as well:
 
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx


http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
 
 

Yeah, that's good stuff too, Alex.
 
There's also the resource monitor that's built into Windows, accessible through the (three-finger salute) task manager. That tool can sort processes by category (disk, CPU, memory, network) according to usage.

luv it when someone "seems" to be posting a problem, gives no data surrounding the variables,uses hyperbolic language, then disappears for a long time after several suggestions/comments have been made... If ya got an issue, always tic "get instant notification" in the subscribe to thread thingy...seems the polite way to respect others time....

Mine seemed to take forever in Xc but it's better in Xd. Not as fast as X2 was though. Yes fast bounce is enabled.

Disappears for a long time?  I just posted this last night. Since nothing else in my system has changed, only switching from X2 to X3, and X2 performs the bounce perfectly a few seconds.  I didn't think that giving complete system information was really necessary.  I guess I was wrong.  I apologize.
 
Sonar X3 latest patch, Windows 7 64 bit, Maudio Fast Track Ultra.
 
It is a single Kontakt 5 track I am trying to render.  24 bit 44.1.  I tried it again last night.  When I woke up this morning it was about 90% done.

Sorry. not the latest patch, but X3.
 
I forgot ask, what background processing would effect X3c that would not do the same thing regarding X2?  I performed these bounces the first time in both daws with an hour.  I have never had this problem in X2, and did bounces day in and day out.  I don't see a process suddenly popping in out of nowhere that just happens to kick in at the same time I try a bounce in X3c.  I'm sorry but I am not a real technical Windows 7 user so my thinking may be a little naive.  

I am using Kontakt 4 and X3a, b, c and now d and my bounces only take seconds.
 
Have you tried a new project with a single Kontakt 5 track and does it also take a long time? Also are there another programs running in the background such anti-virus/malware programs?