Cakewalk Pro Audio 9

[Michael Keating]

I KNOW THIS IS A OLD PROGRAM,  BUT I LIKE THE WAY IT WORKS WITH MY MIDI FILES

 i USE WIN XP USUALLY BUT NOW I'M TRYING TO USE WIN 10 WITH COMPATIBILTY MODE

WHAT MY PROBLEM IS AS FOLLOWS

I OPEN CAKEWALK PRO AUDIO 9 IT OPENS FINE

I GO TO OPEN FILE - I SELECT A FOLDER WITH WORK FILES- PICK A MIDI FILE IT OPENS

WHAT MY PROBLEM IS, IF I CLOSE CAKEWALK AND GO TO THAT FOLDER - THAT I HAVE PROPERTIES OPEN WITH CAKEWALK PRO AUDIO 9 

AND CLICK ON A FILE IT OPENS CAKEWALK, BUT IT DOSEN'T OPEN THE FILE

WITH XP IT OPEN CAKEWALK AND THE FILE

I PLAY LIVE WITH THE PROGRAM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT WORK LIKE IT DOES WITH XP

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME-SORRY ABOUT CAPS

MIKE

 

[User 905133]

Just to let you know, I have used Cakewalk by Bandlab (aka CbB) successfully to open *.wrk files which predate Cakewalk Pro Audio.

Have you tried using CbB instead of CPA9?

By the way, I had trouble understanding what you were trying to say, so I reformatted part of your post in order to try to understand. With the following, have I reworded/reformated correctly what your problem is?

46 minutes ago, Michael Keating said:

. . . my problem is as follows:

• I open Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 [on a Windows 10 PC in XP Compatibility mode].
  •  It opens fine.
• I go to open a file
  • I select a folder with *.wrk files [and] pick a MIDI file.
  • It opens.

What my problem is:

• If I close Cakewalk and go to that folder
  • I have [a] properties [box] open with Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.
• and [when] I click on a file [in the folder/box with the list of *.wrk files] 
• Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 opens
  • but it doesn't open the [*.wrk] file. 

[reworded and reformatted to try to understand - User 905133]

If I understand correctly, you are saying Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 opens but the *.wrk files is not in the program.  If so, and if you haven't tried Cakewalk by Bandlab yet, maybe you could try that.  

PS: I just opened a *.wrk file from a Windows file listen.  I had to tell Windows 10 to associate *.wrk files with Cakewalk [CbB], but once I did that, it continued to work.  

If you really like Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and want to continue to use it, maybe someone else with detailed knowledge of Windows 10's Compatibility Modes can tell you how to get it to open the file or can suggest an alternative. 

Edited September 30, 2022 by User 905133
various edits (to add details/info)

[Michael Keating]

Thank you for your response

I'm sorry I didn't explain very well

When I open cwa9 and go to open file top left hand corner,  and open a folder with the midi file I want, I double click it and it opens

Now I close cwa9, I go to that folder, and double click on a file, and caw9 opens, but not the file

Than while cwa9 is open I do the first thing I said I did

 (open file top left hand corner and search for a file, I go and open midi file I want, I double click it, caw9 shuts down)

I have tried BL by cw I just don't like the way it is organized. If I could get the cwa9 look it would be great

Thanks for your time

Mike

[User 905133]

Thanks for the clarification. Since I don't have Cakewalk Pro Audio, I will let others who do make other suggestions about the file opening issue.

Based on my experience, the jump to the SONAR series had a bit of a learning curve, but the jump to the SONAR X series had an even larger curve. Since Cakewalk by Bandlab (CbB) is based on the SONAR X / SONAR Platinum GUI, going from Cakewalk Pro Audio to CbB is an extra large jump.

Hope you can find a solution that works for you.

[57Gregy]

4 hours ago, Michael Keating said:

Than while cwa9 is open I do the first thing I said I did

 (open file top left hand corner and search for a file, I go and open midi file I want, I double click it, caw9 shuts down)

When opening a project file from the File menu, I have never had to double-click; a single click opens it.
I have never had CA9, I started with Music Creator 2003 in 2002. Try single-clicking it?

[msmcleod]

Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 was designed for Windows 95, 98 and NT.   Windows 95 & 98 were 16 bit, and Windows NT was 32 bit.  Since NT, there has been Windows 2000 / ME, Windows XP,  Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 10 and now Windows 11. 

Although CWPA9 uses standard Windows API's, those have likely changed over the past 23 years - and certainly in the case of security, significantly so.

So it's not surprising that CWPA9 doesn't quite behave as expected on Windows 10.

All the 32 bit versions of Windows can run both 32 bit and 16 bit programs.  The 64 bit versions of Windows can only run 64 bit and 32 bit programs.  I don't know if there are any 16 bit components to CWPA9, but if there are, they definitely won't work in Windows 10 64 bit.  If you've got a 32 bit version of Windows 10, it may behave better.

Personally, I'd stick to Windows XP if you can for running CWPA9.  You can install it on a separate drive and have a dual boot with Windows 10 if necessary.   You could also try running Windows XP as a virtual machine. VirtualBox by Oracle is free, and I run an XP virtual machine to run old 16 bit patch editors, and also CWPA9!

The only other thing I can suggest is, in addition to running it in compatibility mode, make sure CWPA9 is running as administrator.

[Byron Dickens]

I would just say that it's well past time to bite the bullet and get with the times.

That might sound harsh, but insisting on continuing to use ancient, obsolete, no-longer-supported software is just asking for trouble.

Eventually, you end up having to run 23-year-old software on a 23-year-old operating system which will only run on 23-year-old hardware and once that hardware starts breaking down try finding replacements! Now what?

[Michael Keating]

Thanks for all the responses 

I have windows xp on a dell precision M6300 and I use that, so I guess I'll have to stay with that.

It sure would be great if Band lab had a way of getting the cwa9 screen look on the program.

It's so simple, all the settings in boxes, easy to change Not colorful like other programs, but really easy to see and use

Thanks again to all for your help

Mike

[Starship Krupa]

On 9/30/2022 at 6:30 PM, bdickens said:

insisting on continuing to use ancient, obsolete, no-longer-supported software is just asking for trouble.

Especially in light of:

On 9/30/2022 at 6:19 AM, Michael Keating said:

I PLAY LIVE WITH THE PROGRAM

😱

All I can say is....bring a laptop with the entire set on it so that you can mime to it when your Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 setup finally packs it in for good. Which will be during a gig, after which you will then be forced to learn a new program in time for the next one.

I suggest you not even bother trying to get it to work under Windows 10. Even if you got it to the point where it seemed stable, there's no way you can test it under every condition you might encounter on stage.

This almost seems like an anxiety dream: I'm up on stage to do a set and I look down at the screen and it's Cakewalk 9!

And I forgot to put on trousers before I left home. And all of my teachers and the cute girls from high school are in the audience.

If what you're doing with Cakewalk is playing backing tracks, and you don't like the complexity of the current interface, there's a handy feature called workspaces that you can use to hide elements of the program that you're not using in a given context. It's very customizable.

There's also a free program that's purpose-made for that scenario called Cantabile Lite.

[fwc]

It seems like you have a "file association" issue - probably due to running win 10 in compatibility mode.  There surely is a way to do this in win 10 compatibility mode.

In95, 98,  XP you could set the default program that opens when clicking on a particular file type  i.e. "WRK", "BUN" etc.

If you can answer that question, it might provide a solution.

Good Luck -  PS - I like Pro Audio too....It never tried to be a pro tools clone.

[Walcers]

K, first of all. The midi layout is the simplest and best workflow I have seen for playing midi live. It's quick and also powerful in case you'd like to change key or shorten your song while at a gig. That is the reason he is using a dinosaur version of the software. I know this for a fact as I am doing the same thing live. I've tried multiple versions of cakewalk, sonar and cubase, none are as simple and efficient to use live.

I'm using xp sp3 as well. The problem you are having is typical. Basically, you need to close the program and go back to the folder and double click the midi to have Cakewalk open it up, I don't know why it's not working for you.. it's kind of a hassle but it's easier than using the dropdown menu in the program. That being said, I'm probably going to switch all my midi to audio and that way I'll be ready if my old laptop decides to stop working. 

I'm running CWPA9 in windows 10, it just gives you "failed to update system registry"warning every time you open the program.

Have you tried using the Virtual jukebox that's included in 9? You can make a master list or setlist up and they will open easily without having to reopen the program. It works great for planning a setlist or just having your most played songs readily available. It might be a workaround for your problem.

 

 

[Promidi]

The only reason I use CPA9 on Windows 10 is to edit CAL scripts and Studioware panels.  But open in Windows 10 it does.

Note: I am running Windows 10 as a user that has administrative privileges.  (Yeah, I know, I should not be doing this blah blah - but I am as careful as I can be))

[Hoop26]

Hello,  im a fan now for 20 yrs of cakewalk pro audio 9, do you by chance have a copy of the program or know where one can be purchased? Computer crashed and ive tried sonar, the new cakewalk bandlab,but man the CW pro audio 9 was the ****.,i has acid 2.0 and 4.0 plus 1000's of loops for drums,had all the waves plug ins for all effects,I recorded around 50-75 songs with CWPA9 and managed to save them on flashdrive, but lost my Cakewalk and acid programs, thanks for any help, email jeffhooper26@yahoo.com if cant reach in here,

[msmcleod]

On 1/3/2024 at 9:46 PM, Hoop26 said:

Hello,  im a fan now for 20 yrs of cakewalk pro audio 9, do you by chance have a copy of the program or know where one can be purchased? Computer crashed and ive tried sonar, the new cakewalk bandlab,but man the CW pro audio 9 was the ****.,i has acid 2.0 and 4.0 plus 1000's of loops for drums,had all the waves plug ins for all effects,I recorded around 50-75 songs with CWPA9 and managed to save them on flashdrive, but lost my Cakewalk and acid programs, thanks for any help, email jeffhooper26@yahoo.com if cant reach in here,

CWPA9 isn't available any more, unless you can find one on eBay - note you'll need both the CD Key and the Serial Number, and probably a Windows XP 32 bit machine (or earlier OS) to install it on.

CbB can load CWPA9 projects - I converted around 50 CWPA9 projects over to CbB without issue.

For best results:

1. Create a new Basic project
2. Drag your CWPA9 project in from the Media Browser
3. Clean up any tracks as needed, then re-save.