Hi all,
 
Since installing X2a, I am finding that my Win7 32bit- 4GB system is really being taxed and I'm having droputs and audio engine stalls/lockups a lot, along with white-outs.  X2 really was the end of the line for my system, and I need to roll back to that version from X2a.
 
What's the best way to do this?  Do an Uninstall, then reinstall X2?  I have the discs.  I don't think System Restore will do it, but I may be wrong.
 
Any advice greatly appreciated.  (And I AM in the process of designing my next PC... lol)

Hi Tony,

I had a thread with this same question the other day
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2783929

I am in the same boat as you.
Not sure I want to go thru all this.
Am considering just using X1 until a fix comes out that makes me happy with X2a(b)..

Hope this helps
Dave

Many thanks to all!  Looks like I have my day's work cut out for me.

As the other thread pointed out, the only way to roll back is to uninstall/re-install from the discs or download.

I have to be honest though, I'm curious as to the specifics of your issues. I'm curious as to if X2a is indeed less stable for you, or if it is a matter of perception or even coincidence.

We resolved hundreds of bugs with the X2a update (many of them stability related). I personally monitor a lot of the crash reporting that comes in, and the numbers definitely indicate X2a being much more stable the X2. Not to mention a lot of raw functionality fixes went into the update. Rolling back to X2 is guaranteed to be rolling back to a less stable version.

A good place to get started with audio dropouts is with some of the information here: http://www.cakewalk.com/S...reader.aspx/2007013007

Any version of SONAR can experience dropouts if external factors are getting in the way. Check out the above link if you get a chance to see if it helps. I'm sure the folks here might have a lot of other suggestions as well.

In regards to the GUI going white and freezing, I'd be curious as to what a crash file indicates was the cause. We have an article on our website in regards to how to obtain/create this file if the Fault Reporter in SONAR isn't coming up. If the Fault Reporter is coming up, definitely send the report through. Anyhow, you can find manual instructions for generating the .dmp file here: http://www.cakewalk.com/S...px/2007013196#MiniDump

If you send this file along to Tech Support, they can see if there are any clues to your crash. It could be something internal to SONAR, but it could also be an external factor like a plug-in or device driver. I'd get on the phone with Tech Support if you get the chance to see if they can determine any cause.

It would be a waste to go through the trouble of rolling back to X2 release only to find out it didn't resolve the problem. If you get on the phone with us, best case scenario is that Tech Support is able to help you and you continue on with recording and making music. Worst case scenario is that Tech Support isn't very helpful, but identifies an issue that should be corrected in further updates and escalates it with the goal of making even better future products.

Either way, I would spend a little bit of time investigating.

Ryan Munnis [Cakewalk
]

As the other thread pointed out, the only way to roll back is to uninstall/re-install from the discs or download.

I have to be honest though, I'm curious as to the specifics of your issues. I'm curious as to if X2a is indeed less stable for you, or if it is a matter of perception or even coincidence.

We resolved hundreds of bugs with the X2a update (many of them stability related). I personally monitor a lot of the crash reporting that comes in, and the numbers definitely indicate X2a being much more stable the X2. Not to mention a lot of raw functionality fixes went into the update. Rolling back to X2 is guaranteed to be rolling back to a less stable version.

A good place to get started with audio dropouts is with some of the information here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013007

Any version of SONAR can experience dropouts if external factors are getting in the way. Check out the above link if you get a chance to see if it helps. I'm sure the folks here might have a lot of other suggestions as well.

In regards to the GUI going white and freezing, I'd be curious as to what a crash file indicates was the cause. We have an article on our website in regards to how to obtain/create this file if the Fault Reporter in SONAR isn't coming up. If the Fault Reporter is coming up, definitely send the report through. Anyhow, you can find manual instructions for generating the .dmp file here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013196#MiniDump

If you send this file along to Tech Support, they can see if there are any clues to your crash. It could be something internal to SONAR, but it could also be an external factor like a plug-in or device driver. I'd get on the phone with Tech Support if you get the chance to see if they can determine any cause.

It would be a waste to go through the trouble of rolling back to X2 release only to find out it didn't resolve the problem. If you get on the phone with us, best case scenario is that Tech Support is able to help you and you continue on with recording and making music. Worst case scenario is that Tech Support isn't very helpful, but identifies an issue that should be corrected in further updates and escalates it with the goal of making even better future products.

Either way, I would spend a little bit of time investigating.

How many times should we report?  Every project that crashes?  Every time there is a crash?
 
 

Ryan,
Thank you for taking the time to post here.
It is good to see this effort given how the forums are here lately.

As for me and X2a, my biggest problems have come with erractic behaviour of lanes.
Actually lanes in general are more cumbersome for me than layers, but THAT
is just a preference thing for me.

The other day I found I cound not open any pre X2 projects.
I used safe mode, loaded no plugiins and  they up.
I did not have the time to diagnose which plugin was the culprit.
That is probably on my to-do list this weekend if I decide to stay at X2a.

Not really how I want to spend my studio time though.

Dave

Hi Kevo,

If the fault reporter is coming up, go for it! The entire goal of it is to be helpful in the long run. The information gets automatically parsed through an automated system and logged with our developers. It detects duplicates so if you're pushing through the same crash it won't be wasting anyone's time, it will just be appending the same report with additional details. It will also match reports if others are experiencing the same symptoms. For reference of how this is helpful, the QuickFix we released right after X2 was expedited largely due to the fact that the fault reporter was identifying an issue impacting tons of people. Definitely a helpful system for detecting trends.

If you can easily repeat a crash with a certain procedure, don't forget to add the details into the note for the fault report. For your own sanity, if the crash is that easy to replicate however, I'd consider doing your best to avoid that behavior if possible :)

I wouldn't necessarily call about every crash, that's what we implemented the fault reporter for. Realistically, the details of the crash analysis are more helpful for developers then for regular humans such as myself. When you're hitting something debilitating though, sometimes we can extract some clues as to behaviors to avoid or third parties to get on the phone with if necessary.


Hi dxp,

Thanks for following up. We made some improvements to take lanes in X2a actually... rolling back to X2 might bring about some behavior that you might not be so fond of.  I know this has been a hot topic for a lot of other folks as well. I'd be happy to hear your overall experience with lanes though, so you're welcome to share with the community as well as with Cakewalk directly. If you have any direct feedback for our Product Managers, hit up our Feature Request form here: http://www.cakewalk.com/s...ct/featurerequest.aspx

kevo

Ryan Munnis [Cakewalk
]

As the other thread pointed out, the only way to roll back is to uninstall/re-install from the discs or download.

I have to be honest though, I'm curious as to the specifics of your issues. I'm curious as to if X2a is indeed less stable for you, or if it is a matter of perception or even coincidence.

We resolved hundreds of bugs with the X2a update (many of them stability related). I personally monitor a lot of the crash reporting that comes in, and the numbers definitely indicate X2a being much more stable the X2. Not to mention a lot of raw functionality fixes went into the update. Rolling back to X2 is guaranteed to be rolling back to a less stable version.

A good place to get started with audio dropouts is with some of the information here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013007

Any version of SONAR can experience dropouts if external factors are getting in the way. Check out the above link if you get a chance to see if it helps. I'm sure the folks here might have a lot of other suggestions as well.

In regards to the GUI going white and freezing, I'd be curious as to what a crash file indicates was the cause. We have an article on our website in regards to how to obtain/create this file if the Fault Reporter in SONAR isn't coming up. If the Fault Reporter is coming up, definitely send the report through. Anyhow, you can find manual instructions for generating the .dmp file here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013196#MiniDump

If you send this file along to Tech Support, they can see if there are any clues to your crash. It could be something internal to SONAR, but it could also be an external factor like a plug-in or device driver. I'd get on the phone with Tech Support if you get the chance to see if they can determine any cause.

It would be a waste to go through the trouble of rolling back to X2 release only to find out it didn't resolve the problem. If you get on the phone with us, best case scenario is that Tech Support is able to help you and you continue on with recording and making music. Worst case scenario is that Tech Support isn't very helpful, but identifies an issue that should be corrected in further updates and escalates it with the goal of making even better future products.

Either way, I would spend a little bit of time investigating.

How many times should we report?  Every project that crashes?  Every time there is a crash?
 
 

I don't think that's unreasonable. If you're experiencing so many that reporting becomes onerous, then equally it shouldn't be difficult to find a fix.

It's the ones that don't happen very often or are non-repeatable that causes most grief with the developers.

Ryan Munnis [Cakewalk
]

Hi Kevo,

If the fault reporter is coming up, go for it! The entire goal of it is to be helpful in the long run. The information gets automatically parsed through an automated system and logged with our developers. It detects duplicates so if you're pushing through the same crash it won't be wasting anyone's time, it will just be appending the same report with additional details. It will also match reports if others are experiencing the same symptoms. For reference of how this is helpful, the QuickFix we released right after X2 was expedited largely due to the fact that the fault reporter was identifying an issue impacting tons of people. Definitely a helpful system for detecting trends.

If you can easily repeat a crash with a certain procedure, don't forget to add the details into the note for the fault report. For your own sanity, if the crash is that easy to replicate however, I'd consider doing your best to avoid that behavior if possible :)

I wouldn't necessarily call about every crash, that's what we implemented the fault reporter for. Realistically, the details of the crash analysis are more helpful for developers then for regular humans such as myself. When you're hitting something debilitating though, sometimes we can extract some clues as to behaviors to avoid or third parties to get on the phone with if necessary.


Hi dxp,

Thanks for following up. We made some improvements to take lanes in X2a actually... rolling back to X2 might bring about some behavior that you might not be so fond of.  I know this has been a hot topic for a lot of other folks as well. I'd be happy to hear your overall experience with lanes though, so you're welcome to share with the community as well as with Cakewalk directly. If you have any direct feedback for our Product Managers, hit up our Feature Request form here: http://www.cakewalk.com/support/contact/featurerequest.aspx

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
 
I was curious about this because I have a few projects that will crash Sonar X2a when loading (Only when they are the first project loaded after launching Sonar).  If I launch Sonar and load a different project, close the project, I can then load any problem project without any problems for the remainder of the day.
 
I sent in a couple of reports for each project causing the crash.
 
 
EDIT: Oops! Heh! Wishful thinking... fixed

X2b?