Chaps

If you have your 8.5 installation files you can reinstall it. Select Advanced Mode when installing and you have a Custom Installation and can pick which elements to install. You can select everything or just Channel Tools. If you don't have the files handy you can download them by logging into the Legacy Cakewalk Site and going into the Support/Download Products section. Hopefully, that will solve your problem. https://legacy.cakewalk.com/

Roger that. These days many computer cases have AIO (All In One) Liquid coolers already built into the case. Might be good for someone who wants to avoid the hassle of installing one.

I've never experienced that behavior before. Perhaps there are other meter/key changes that need to be addressed. Try this; In the main menu select View>Meter/Key. That will open the view that Alt+Shift+6 should open. It is in the Multidock and will show any changes to the key or meter you have made. Select and delete any changes you don't want, if any.

Are you using Cakewalk by Bandlab? The vertical line that moves with your mouse sounds like Aim Assist Line, which can be toggled on and off with the x key. The only other vertical line I am aware of is the Now Time Marker. Try pressing the x key to see how that affects your project.

Different brands may use different components; motherboards, RAM, drives, etc. Not all components are equal and cheaper computers will (generally) have cheaper components. Some may be more expandable/upgradeable than others, have different ports and things of that nature. Another important factor is the amount of software the seller puts on that they want you to need but you really don't. Also known as 'bloatware'. My own preference with desktop computers is to build my own and install Windows from scratch. Researching the brand is good, but don't forget to research what is in the case because what is not important to you now may be important to you later.

That's what I do. I disable everything I'm not using in the Device Manager>Sound, video and game controller tab.

Try running it without running as an administrator. I have it always running as an administrator because I had problems using Adobe Audition as a tool in Cakewalk and I couldn't get it to work unless both were run at administrator level. You can change the default by selecting Run this program as an administrator in the Compatibility Properties.

Do you run Cakewalk as an administrator? When you open Cakewalk and you get that message, in that window (Windows 11) should be 'Show more details', click that and on the next window click 'Change when these notifications appear' and that will take you to your User Account Control Settings. That will show you the global security setting for that warning. Here is mine with the default setting. Is yours set differently?

That message is a function of the Windows User Account Control Settings. Do you get that message for all programs you run or just Cakewalk? You can enable/disable the message and select the 'sensitivity' of the warning in your Windows User Account Control Settings. It's a normal security function of Windows to keep unwanted apps from running on your computer. I just leave it on the default setting for security reasons.

Have you tried holding down the Windows key and using the arrow keys?

I would check the tracks and buses to see if there were any automation nodes past the end of your project, and delete them.

I did it by selecting the My Products option in the Plugin Alliance Installation Manager. It has to be activated from your account page on the website after installation.

I have nothing to offer than a comment about your NVIDIA graphics card. For years NVIDIA users used GeForce Experience to keep their card's drivers up to date, and it was designed to optimize drivers for games. It is being phased out and replaced by the NVIDIA App, which gives the user the choice between GeForce Game Ready Drivers or GeForce Studio Drivers which "Provides the ultimate in functionality and stability for creative applications." There is also support for RTX cards. "NVIDIA RTX Drivers" "Additionally provides stability, performance, and certification for professional and creative applications." I don't know if it would have any affect on your problem but the NVIDIA App is the best way to keep your video card's drivers up to date.

Are the two guitar tracks the only tracks playing? Have you tried reversing the phase on one of the tracks?

Do not discount msmcleod's idea yet. As an experiment I exported a song in stereo and played it in Winamp (my audio player of choice) and it played normally in stereo. Then I changed my Windows Audio setting to Mono and rebooted. My Cakewalk project still plays normally in Stereo but when I play the exported audio file in Windows Media Player the song plays in Mono. So double check your Windows Audio Settings and make sure it is set to STEREO so you can either correct it or rule it out. Don't forget to reboot if you make any changes. Your screencap doesn't show the Stereo/Mono option but it should be in there somewhere. We may be using different Windows versions. Here is what it looks like in my Windows 11:

Are you bouncing everything to a stereo track and then exporting that track or exporting the entire mix? Can you post a screen capture of your export options window?

Try RIGHT-Clicking the Smart Tool Icon and selecting Enable All. Then the icon, and function, will change according to where you click. If you don't want the Smart Tool to do those things you can disable them in that menu.

It does have some nice features. The only things I can think of to mention are that it uses software (Focusrite Control 2 ) to control direct monitoring, and other mixing tools. I like that kind of control with my Steinberg UR24C (which also has a dial on the front for direct monitoring blend) and Focusrite Control 2 looks more sophisticated than what I use with my UR24C. I have seen one review of a similar Scarlett interface and the reviewer hated using software for direct monitoring and preferred using a dial on the front panel. Also, the USB protocol for the Scarlett 4i4 is USB 2.0 and not the faster USB 3.0, which may or may not make any difference on your system.

UJAM Finisher Micro? It's another of their freebies. I have it but have never used it. UJAM Finisher Micro

It's an interesting plugin but I'll have to spend a lot more time with it before I know how useful it will be for me. Block chords? Arpeggios? Mixed block chords and arpeggios? Single notes? It seems to react differently to all those, but it does have interesting sounds and a nice GUI so it's just a matter of putting in the work so I'll know what it's going to do before it does it.

Yeah, Clips Muted, Position Locked, Data Locked.

Can you post a screenshot of what you are seeing?

I believe your interface uses only software to control the Input Monitoring balance. The software app is called UAD Console. Below are links to the page where you can download UAD Console and its manual, and one of many YouTube videos that explains its use. Also search out other Videos on YouTube about UAD Console. There are a LOT of them. This kind of software can be very useful once you get the hang of it. UAD Console Get Started with UAD Console Video

What kind of Audio Interface are you using? Are you monitoring through headphones? Are you using Direct Monitoring? Many audio interfaces have a knob, or software control, that balances the audio between what is coming in through the Inputs and what is coming out of the DAW in the headphones output. If this is set wrong it can easily cause the problem you are having, if you are monitoring through headphones.

I use it in every project, but mostly in the PRV, where it's very handy when fleshing out keyboard parts and harmonies.