CoffeeTime
 
Regarding the advice to use a different soundcard: I bought a proper one that I put in my old XP machine to use the music software that came with the keyboard. But I could not configure the soundcard properly, so I tried it with the internal soundcard and it worked ok. (This makes me think that even when people say it's better with a proper soundcard, it does not necessarily mean it is impossible without one).
 
I do plan to get a good quality one, but I was hoping to be at least able to play around with Sonar first.
 
Are you saying that even to play around with the basic version, I still have to have a proper soundcard?
 
thanks

It's not " impossible " without any proper soundcard , but do not expect any performance ...
Just read my post above once more, and it will work..

But it is absolutely recommended to use a good soundcard
for performance and stability.


 

Source  asio4all : 
What started as a bedroom project in early 2003 - for the sole purpose to get ASIO support for the AC97 on my laptop - has become ASIO4ALL - the universal ASIO driver for WDM audio.
Honestly, I did not expect this project to become as popular as it has become (but this popularity does not particularly dissapoint me either ;-)
ASIO4ALL is a hardware independent low latency ASIO driver for WDM audio devices. It uses WDM Kernel-Streaming and sometimes even more sophisticated methods to achieve its objectives.
In order to successfully run ASIO4ALL, you need:

• A WDM-compatible operating system, such as Win98SE/ME/2k/XP/2003/XP64 or Windows Vista x86/x64.
  
• A WDM-driver for your audio hardware. (Under Win2k/XP/Vista... this is implicit, not so under Win98SE/WinME.)
  
• A couple minutes of your time and a little bit of luck.
  

 
What ASIO4ALL will NOT do:

• Replace your existing sound card drivers or mess with them in any way.
  
• Install any kernel mode components that could potentially affect the stability of your system.
  
• "Overclock", or otherwise operate your audio hardware in ways that could potentially be harmful and/or void your warranty, except, of course, in cases where the manufacturer of your hardware has specifically stated that the use of ASIO4ALL would void your warranty indeed.
  .............................................................................................................................................................
  
  
  So ASIO4ALL is an Emulation of ASIO driver ( fooling ) your onboard MME driver to act
  like an "ASIO driver" routine !
  it is the best way i can describe it...
  
  Good luck
  Jan
  
  
  

 

Soundblend
Source  asio4all : 
What started as a bedroom project in early 2003 - for the sole purpose to get ASIO support for the AC97 on my laptop - has become ASIO4ALL - the universal ASIO driver for WDM audio.
Honestly, I did not expect this project to become as popular as it has become (but this popularity does not particularly dissapoint me either ;-)
ASIO4ALL is a hardware independent low latency ASIO driver for WDM audio devices. It uses WDM Kernel-Streaming and sometimes even more sophisticated methods to achieve its objectives.
In order to successfully run ASIO4ALL, you need:

• A WDM-compatible operating system, such as Win98SE/ME/2k/XP/2003/XP64 or Windows Vista x86/x64.
  
• A WDM-driver for your audio hardware. (Under Win2k/XP/Vista... this is implicit, not so under Win98SE/WinME.)
  
• A couple minutes of your time and a little bit of luck.
  

 
What ASIO4ALL will NOT do:

• Replace your existing sound card drivers or mess with them in any way.
  
• Install any kernel mode components that could potentially affect the stability of your system.
  
• "Overclock", or otherwise operate your audio hardware in ways that could potentially be harmful and/or void your warranty, except, of course, in cases where the manufacturer of your hardware has specifically stated that the use of ASIO4ALL would void your warranty indeed.
  .............................................................................................................................................................
  
  
  So ASIO4ALL is an Emulation of ASIO driver ( fooling ) your onboard MME driver to act
  like an "ASIO driver" routine !
  it is the best way i can describe it...
  
  Good luck
  Jan
  
  
  

 

 
thanks Soundblend
 
 
I have installed ASIO4ALL and it is very pleased with itself because its box is sitting on top of everything  - even this forum page!
 
I also don't know what the settings mean. Here is a screenshot:
 

 
How do I set it up properly please?  It doesn't appear to have an OK button or a Save button. Only the Close button, but every time I close it and try to use Sonar the ASIO4ALL icon keeps blinking at me from the taskbar as if it wants me to do something.
 
Also still no sound. But I am not getting any error messages now (touch wood).
 
Could it be that I don't have the right window/View open within Sonar?
 
thanks a lot
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Soundblend
 

It's not " impossible " without any proper soundcard , but do not expect any performance ...
Just read my post above once more, and it will work..

But it is absolutely recommended to use a good soundcard
for performance and stability.

thanks Soundblend,  I read your previous post and am currently reading the other linked post, which I am struggling with a bit, as I have a headache and I don't know the terminology.

When you say you don't get sound, how do you mean that? Do you actually have any audio on any tracks?

To adjust the buffers in Asio4All , from 512

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 

To 256 :

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
You just adjust the slider in Asio4All to 256, then hit the " apply "  button in
Sonar, Audio - Driver settings,  and then you see that the buffer setting has changed.
Close the window.

Close the ASIO4All window.

You may also try de-click the ( always resample button in ASIO4All )
not sure about this option as i do not use Asio4All..
I guess it's best to leave the samplerate at 44.1 khz.

Search youtube for Sonar X2 basic to find any video how to use / set up Sonar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4DmJ0i7KM
 
btw, when you say u hit the Midi-Controller and it light up in sonar on the track's
that is probably the midi signal in that track. but that midi signal goes to no
softsynth to make any sound...
Watch basic video's how to set up and use Sonar 

Other than this i can't help mutch more !

Jan

get a decent asio soundcard, end of.
 
and no they don't need to cost the earth £100+
 
 

Sanderxpander
When you say you don't get sound, how do you mean that? Do you actually have any audio on any tracks?

no sound on any tracks. I imported a wav file from within Sonar, and also when I play my keyboard there is no sound.

Soundblend

To adjust the buffers in Asio4All , from 512

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 


To 256 :

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You just adjust the slider in Asio4All to 256, then hit the " apply "  button in
Sonar, Audio - Driver settings,  and then you see that the buffer setting has changed.
Close the window.

Close the ASIO4All window.

You may also try de-click the ( always resample button in ASIO4All )
not sure about this option as i do not use Asio4All..
I guess it's best to leave the samplerate at 44.1 khz.

Search youtube for Sonar X2 basic to find any video how to use / set up Sonar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4DmJ0i7KM

 

btw, when you say u hit the Midi-Controller and it light up in sonar on the track's
that is probably the midi signal in that track. but that midi signal goes to no
softsynth to make any sound...
Watch basic video's how to set up and use Sonar


Other than this i can't help mutch more !

Jan

Soundblend, thanks a lot - I have done what you said with ASIO4ALL:



I will watch the video now, and a few others I have found.

Fog

get a decent asio soundcard, end of.

and no they don't need to cost the earth £100+

 
Fog, not sure if you mean soundcards DON'T need to cost over £100 or they DO!
 
As the type of soundcard I buy is a different topic I have posted a different thread about it. Please see the other sound card thread.
 
But for now, I am told it is a drivers or settings issue, and that although it is recommended that I buy a proper sound card it is not vital. And I really need to HEAR at least SOMETHING in Sonar before shelling out money. I still have not heard a single note yet!
 
 

The term Sound Card goes back to the time when you had to put a card into a slot in the computers motherboard to be able to process MIDI and or Audio.

Today motherboards mostly have a chipset that provides all the electronics needed to do that job. It's usually OK for Windows Media player and such and some very basic stuff but programs that are powerful like Sonar tend to really tax such "sound cards" and it can be quite fiddly to get them to work. The people who tell you that on board sound devices are rubbish usually have themselves been frustrated by the effort that it can take to make it all work. I can run Sonar on my laptop using the on board sound card for listening to but I would never expect to be able to edit the audio based on the a quality of the sound but it's ok for doing some scratch stuff with MIDI editing and such.
Having an external sound card will make things easier but you don't seem to have a great. Deal of experience with this gear so expect a fairly steep learning curve.
Today there are other ways to connect sound cards/audio devices to your computer, the most popular for ease of connection and installation is using USB2. Others have mentioned that and there is no need to spend thousands on a reasonable external audio device. If you have a budget in mind we can certainly recommend something for you. All the best.

Thanks mudgel, I have just moved that question to a new thread as I wanted to sort out the drivers and settings on this thread. But it's reassuring that you use an onboard sound card at least for listening to.
 
 
Soundblend, I watched the video you linked to, but was not able to replicate what he did, as my settings are different:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4DmJ0i7KM
 
At 07:20  in the video he shows where to get access Ins and Outs - but mine look different to his. So I don't know how to change mine:
 
From the YouTube Video:




At 08:25 in the video he appears to be talking about tracks and says "that channel is set up to the output of the soundcard - makes sense",
he doesn't say HOW to do that:




 As you can see, mine look nothing like his. If I knew what they were supposed to be called, I would understand better.
 
Some other videos I have looked at are similar in that they assume you have your settings correct to start with, and the tutorioals are more to do with how to use the program, which I would love to find out - if I could just HEAR something!
 
 
More current error/settings boxes below. I am stumped by this one. No matter what I click or select it does not seem to make a difference!
How do I rectify this problem please?
 




 
What should I have selected at the bottom here please?

 
 
thanks a lot