Anderton
Well in that case, I'm stumped. Any problems I've encountered in the past were solved by what I mentioned.

Me too! However, I just unchecked Project/MIDI/Other Options/Zero Controllers When Play Stops and ../Send MIDI Sync/Transmit MIDI Start/Continue/Stop/Clock. I don't have any external MIDI devices connected. I'm hopeful this might be a workaround since there have been no glitches to about 10 minutes while starting and stopping playback numerous times. I'll keep you all posted on what happens over a little more time time and also when I try recording some soft synth stuff.

robert_e_bone

AdamGrossmanLG

Rasure
Just a thought, you could check to see if your USB selective suspend setting is not enabled. I had similar issues with USB hard disks disconnecting until I disabled it, never had a problem since. Not saying this is the issue, but worth a check. I`m on windows 7 so you`ll have to check for your settings in your own windows version :-)  

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the input.  Mine is ENABLED.  So I guess that's not it either :(  Thanks though.

Hey - I skipped any posts after this one, because I quoted it and it took me to the bottom.
 
You WANT the USB Selective Suspend option DISABLED.  Otherwise, Windows will disconnect USB-connected devices, which then knocks them out of working in Sonar.  Disable that option, and Windows will leave everything connected via USB alone.
 
Bob Bone
 

^^^ What he said.
 
Make sure that this is "DISABLED".

Rasure
You could also check individual USB devices in "Device Manager" to make sure "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is NOT enabled :-)

^^^ This too!!!

Well, I tried the Robotham power management setting and Anderton, I tried removing the hidden MIDI drivers exactly as your article stated.
 
Still no good. :(

If things work after a reboot, it seems some system or SONAR parameter is being restored to a default that works.
 
Just out of curiosity...
 

• What happens if you use an interface's 5-pin DIN MIDI ports instead of USB?
• Any chance you're using a USB 2 interface with a USB 3 port?
• What MIDI playback buffer setting are you using? I don't think that's the problem, but you never know.

Great post! Yet another Windows setting I had no idea about. Never underestimate the power of posting about your dilemma.
 

Anderton

AdamGrossmanLG
probably just poor coding as usual with Cakewalk.

 
Actually it's almost certain that it isn't, given that no one else is chiming in to say they've experienced this problem.

Not everyone reads every post. I've had USB issues like this since... ever. We'll see if my issues are fixed by these setting changes.

soens

Anderton

AdamGrossmanLG
probably just poor coding as usual with Cakewalk.

 
Actually it's almost certain that it isn't, given that no one else is chiming in to say they've experienced this problem.

Not everyone reads every post. I've had USB issues like this since... ever. We'll see if my issues are fixed by these setting changes.

I know not everyone reads every post, but I do monitor posts. Although there are quite a few posts about various issues with USB, particularly audio, I don't recall seeing any that were solved specifically by reboots (of course, I don't read every post either but I do try to keep on top of problems). Most fixes have involved techniques that have already been mentioned, along with quirks like certain interfaces being "wedded" to certain ports so if you unplug them and plug into a different port, the driver doesn't register (and this adds another port to the ongoing list Windows keeps).
 
There have also been threads that have gone on forever where people have offered a zillion different suggestions, only to find out that something was going through an unpowered hub that had multiple peripherals plugged into it, and plugging directly into the motherboard's USB port or a dedicated USB card solved the problem.
 
Because I haven't seen this issue appearing with regularity, if it was indeed "poor coding" then it should be fairly prevalent because the problem would relate to SONAR, as opposed to an interaction within the system. It really helps to isolate the issue as much as possible. A lot of people assume that if SONAR acts up, it's a SONAR problem so they re-install SONAR to no avail...or if Windows acts up, they re-install Windows and it doesn't make a difference because the problem may actually be a piece of hardware or driver.
 
If the problem is solved by exiting and opening SONAR, then that might point to some whacked SONAR preference. If the problem is solved by rebooting the computer, then it sounds like something computer-related. But I can't say for sure because I never needed to come up with a solution past "turn on the peripherals before turning on the computer." BUT that's not universally applicable advice, either 

Hi
I had an Akai MPK49 which I had endless drop out problems with - even though I liked it as a controller, in the end I gave up on it and purchased a Novation Impulse 61 which has worked perfectly ever since - same computer, same ports etc -  I have this on a Windows 7 system
No idea if this is relevant to your situation but worked for me
Nigel
 

Thanks for the info (and the sig).

Well as promised in my prior post (http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3643701), I'm letting you know that I no longer have a problem with Sonar freezes when playback or recording ends. Apparently unchecking the two MIDI parameters I mentioned does the trick for me. I've been banging away at Sonar for a day or two and no freezes so far.
 
I hope this workaround helps.