A modern PC does not have to be off line. If you’re careful and don’t visit dodgy sites you’re going to be ok.

The PC maestro of Sound on Sound once said this.

But YMMV depending on how neurotic you are. Antivirii take such small footprints nowadays, there is no excuse.

Better to be safe ok, but to be off line, well, thats a bit luddite in todays world, no ?

My humble opinion, and no, i’ve never yet caught a virus.

Jerry

Well... I'm still running 8.1 on XP SP3 and no probs here :-)
 
Completely off-line and locked down.
 
FWIW, I use Mixbus for mixing and only use Sonar nowadays for tracking as I do like the features for this (and MIDI).  I would be running Mixbus 32C if my machine were 64 bit.  I plan to upgrade some day but given my usage 'if it ain't broke don't fix it" works out.
 
In the past few years I've even recorded my friend's band (AC/DC tribute) and gotten two songs placed on mail order CDs.  So yes it is possible... using a 10 year old system lol.

Freezing your image is a [perfectly legit thing to do.  Corporation do it for many reason as aticulated above.  The one reason that is NOT legit is to say IT is stuck in the mud.  SO NOT TRUE! Whoever said that doesn't understand IT enterprise solutions at all.    Fact is, NO DAW out there does all that Sonar can do.   If you're careful AND Gibson supplies Auth codes if they decide to take  server goes down, there should not be any reason Sonar can't be used well into the future.   As I've stated earlier, the technological advances coming down the road will more likely render you interface obsolete before SOnar.  Things like thunderbolt vs USB will be larger issues than any possible new feature we wil be missing.    Sonar is the only DAW that has all the functionality of all the other DAWs PLUS ARA.   Studio has ARA but lacks a lot of the functions.   Cubase doesn't support ARA which I think is a HUGE factor.    Even if you choose NOT to freeze your Windows, the chances of things permanently breaking Sonar is slim.   SO.... feel free to spend 3 - 500 bucks on one of the OTHER DAWs  or just maintain backup and restore points,  keep your ear to the ground and pay attention to whats happening in IT land so you can make educated choices on whether to update  your operating system or not.    I do not foresee any thing new in the way of features or even fixes to current SOnar that could possibly be a showstopper in making any kind of music to the level of any "real" studio.   I will be happy using this version for the next 10 yrs.   the 64 bit quality has been in sonar for years while Cubase, pro tools are just now bragging how they are upgrading.   I'll bet in 10 yrs the "OTHER" DAWs sill won;t do everything Sonar does today.   We Sonar users already decided for a variety of reasons long ago to not use protools or other DAWs as our main platform so no reason to start now

JDNelson
Well... I'm still running 8.1 on XP SP3 and no probs here :-)
 ...So yes it is possible... using a 10 year old system lol.

Apples and oranges.  Please read some of the other related-threads on this (Older versions of Sonar do not require online activation.  Sonar Platinum, the latest version, does).

A modern PC does not have to be off line. If you’re careful and don’t visit dodgy sites you’re going to be ok.

As "the IT guy", I am advising everyone to please not think this way. It is wrong. Period. There is So much more to this and tons of non-dosgybsites websites websites websites get infected with Malware every day. This is simply incorrect and irresponsible advice.

Blades

A modern PC does not have to be off line. If you’re careful and don’t visit dodgy sites you’re going to be ok.

As "the IT guy", I am advising everyone to please not think this way. It is wrong. Period. There is So much more to this and tons of non-dosgybsites websites websites websites get infected with Malware every day. This is simply incorrect and irresponsible advice.

Agreed.  I've worked in IT, plus been a web developer who had to be very tuned into clients' security, etc.  And yes, you are 100% correct.

Blades

A modern PC does not have to be off line. If you’re careful and don’t visit dodgy sites you’re going to be ok.

As "the IT guy", I am advising everyone to please not think this way. It is wrong. Period. There is So much more to this and tons of non-dosgybsites websites websites websites get infected with Malware every day. This is simply incorrect and irresponsible advice.

Plus with Windows 10 (other than the Enterprise edition), unplugging is the only way to be sure Microsoft won't bring you down with one of their patches (which can be as bad as a virus.)

Right there with you Chuckbaby....Win8.1x64 all the way. Since it came out and until, well forever unless Gibson buys Microsoft....
 

One of my dear friends once imparted a few words of wisdom about 25 years ago that made me think, quite hard.  I'm only paraphrasing, but Nick's post to some USENET forum stated, 'a synth or piece of software will never be worth TO YOU less than it was when you acquired it'.  Yes, Windows may change (and likely will), but nothing prevents you from immortalizing the version you already have.  If the current version of SONAR works for you, all you need to do is to put it on its own computer platform with that platform's current version of Windows, and SONAR will work, just like it does now, for as long as you can keep that platform running.

mosspa
If the current version of SONAR works for you, all you need to do is to put it on its own computer platform with that platform's current version of Windows, and SONAR will work, just like it does now, for as long as you can keep that platform running.

I wonder if anybody has done much with virtual machines and DAWs/VSTs.  If this works without big latency problems, that can be an excellent way to freeze system images.