I had sonar x1d running on windows xp and was used to crashes and ctrl alt del and killing the process SONARPDR.exe in task manager.

Now I've moved on to windows 7 64 bit and the crashes are the same as ever, but now killing the sonarpdr.exe takes a long time, 1-3 minutes before I can launch sonar again. I right click the process in task manager and click End Process Tree, yet it takes a long time. In windows xp it was instant and i could restart sonar and start working immediately.

Any advise on how to get sonar to launch again quickly after a crash?

Any advise on how to get sonar to launch again quickly after a crash?

FWIW, If Sonar is crashing that frequently, I'd look to resolve that issue.  
I would test your system's RAM and stress-test the system as a whole... just to be sure all is well.
Once you're sure the core hardware is fine, look at the audio interface and overall config.
Bridged 32Bit plugins are a common culprit under Sonar x64.

If you have another DAW application, run some tests with it.
Do you experience crashes with it as well?
If so, that would suggest the issue isn't Sonar itself.

Sonar is not inherently unstable... 

Thanks for the advise Jim, but Ive been using cakewalk since Cakewalk 3 to sonar8.5 to sonarx1 on multiple different systems. I love it but its got to be the most crash prone daw out there. Cubase and logic are much more stable. I'm also a heavy user with 10 or more heavy vstis running at all times (kontakt 5, omnisphere, stylus rmx etc). I do have 32 bit plugins running (virtual guitarist etc) but I can't do without them.

Nuendo is running very stable on this same system. It's a brand new i7 based system.

Im used to the crashes, but the waiting for the restart is getting on my nerves!

And there are other reasons for restart besides crashes. Like after some time of use my Elastik vsti will stop listing the patches and I have to restart sonar to list the patches again. In this case as well after closing sonar sometimes sonarpdr.exe takes a long time to disappear.

I do have 32 bit plugins running (virtual guitarist etc) but I can't do without them.

I too am a long time Cakewalk/Sonar user (all the way back to the CompuServ forum days).  


If the issue comes down to Bridged 32Bit plugins, you can try using jBridge (little over $20) to bridge them.

Sonar isn't that unstable for the vast majority of users.  There's got to be a reason why you're experiencing said behavior.  I use Kontakt 5, Omnisphere, Ivory II, etc... and don't experience stability issues.

I'd look at two things if Sonar is taking a long time to restart:

• MIDI drivers (I used to have a problem with older Korg USB MIDI drivers - would cause Sonar to hang when exiting)
• BitBridge (this would be my guess - since you're using 32Bit plugins and experiencing odd behavior)

I'm sure you know this, but when comparing apps/stability, make sure you're comparing all 64Bit hosts. 
A 32Bit host wouldn't need to bridge plugins... and would thus circumvent any related issues.

Youre right, I was comparing 32 bit hosts to sonar 64 bit. But sonar 32 bit crashed a lot as well for me. Still the crashes arent my issue.

I will try the jbridge method. I still haven't got a hang of bitbridge, jbridge etc, my 32 bit plugins mostly just work. I've updated my midi and soundcard drivers but will check them again.

Oh you brought back memories of the old cakewalk forums! I've forgotten what they were called.. newsservers?? I dont think I used compuserv.

I've forgotten what they were called.. newsservers??

Yep... I was there too   

@Neole: I was having a similar issue. Contacted cakewalk and a tech and myself walked thru what I thought was the issue. And he ended up telling me the samething jim is telling you. Its not sonar.

I didnt believe him. But My setup was to the point where sonar wouldnt launch anymore, but the exe would run for a bit in background (task manager). Now Im no sonar exp. (Im a convert from logic, which was very stable, but that is due to apple making the OS and the application.)

Now I solved this, one: by going down to 32-bit (which may or may not be an option for you) And I reinstalled win7.......and this is after reinstalling sonar 10x(which didnt work at all).....and it works fine now....I think its the way win7 is talking to sonar that is the issue.

(Im a convert from logic, which was very stable, but that is due to apple making the OS and the application.)

I'm literally choking on this... If Apple and Logic were so great, why are you using Sonar? 

LOL, @dav......good question. quick note: i had never used sonar before, so I didnt know anything about it (if it was good or not, and didnt know anybody personal who had, which is how it was when I first got logic)

answer: my mac died and I didnt have the money to get a new one (and by that time a new version of logic). so i reseached and got sonar. And unfortunatly it is true the more inside knowlegde of the code processing layers of the OS, the better you can get the app to "talk" to the OS. Up until now OS X didnt have to worry about other DAWs but a few. Plus the one they push (logic) can get on the phone a call next door to make sure logic and OSX work well together (that is just the way apple has worked. plus a few other techincal things like file placement and storage and doing away with .ddl's which are a mess to fix and deal with)
Where as win7, by its all inclusive nature has a lot more to service. And there in lays half of the issues, you application gets to talking to the wrong code block and either crashes or forbid, corprupts a ddl...because cakewalk doesnt know EVERYTHING about the coding layer of the OS...