If I start a new project and go to preferences/ metronome and click the "play" box, then hit "okay", I get a message box that asks if Cakewalk can make changes to my computer.
 
Whether I check "yes" or "no" I get a "fatal error" message and it crashes. If I try to send the report, it chokes halfway through and crashes.
 
What's up with that?

Update: Just opening and closing the preferences/ metronome window crashes Sonar.
 
I opened an existing project and checked the metronome window; both "record" and "play" boxes were checked.
Then I closed the window and it crashed as described above.
 
Win 7 Pro
Intel Core i7-3770 @ 3.40 GHz, 3.40 GHz
16 GB RAM
64 bit op sys
Lynx Aurora 16 ADC w/ AES16e card

Update #2, just opening and closing the "preferences" window crashes Sonar, and the "markers" dropdown menu, which I use all the time has been replaced with a "snap" thing on my projects.

A video problem would be my first guess, but the only way to know is to look at the crash dump. You may be able to get actionable information from the Windows Event Viewer or from a crash dump analyzer such as the free WinDbg utility from Microsoft, or the also free WhoCrashed tool from Resplendence (the folks who gave us LatencyMon).
 
If you're unfamiliar with crash dumps, read this.
 
Here's an old thread where I posted some instructions for using windbg: http://forum.cakewalk.com/SONAR-serviceswhat-to-kill-when-SONAR-crashes-m3036636.aspx
 
[EDIT] On second thought, I don't think WhoCrashed can see SONAR dumps, just Windows dumps.
 

Thanks, Bitflipper, I'll check that out later when I get a chance.
 
Another possible clue is that playback was getting jittery sometimes (and I'd have to stop playback) despite having bumped the mixing latency up to 2048 samples.

WinDbg apparently doesn't work with Win 7

Question:
Since this is most likely a graphics problem, is there regular maintenance I should be doing to prevent this?
 
Right now, it won't crash but it's acting flakey, inconsistent. I have to close it and open it again if the audio stops or plugin graphics won't load.

Bitflipper mentions Latency Monitor above... have you run that? This sounds like background processes interfering. 
You should not have to run with more than a 256 Buffer on your system. Actually going too high can cause trouble I do believe. 
 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
 

Hmmm. So I have to buy 3rd party software to find out what the problem is?
 
Which won't even actually solve the problem?
 

This is a post from Scook I copied and pasted from another thread:
 
I used Windows Control Panel > System > Device Manager > Sound, video and game Controllers  and disabled everything I do not use.

 
I found, to my surprise that "Intel Display Audio" and "Realtek High Definition audio", neither of which I ever use, were enabled.
 
I disabled them, and the crashes have stopped.
 
I'm not sure if that was the solution or it's just a coincidence.