Byron Dickens

Have you considered just taking a chill pill and just letting CW do it's thing while you get some coffee or something?

Sorry to tell you this but you might have wasted your money. Should have gotten a real audio interface from a known, reputable manufacturer of pro /prosumer gear.

How long have you been struggling with this? There is an easier way. Practice good project hygiene. Approach things in an orderly, logical and systematic manner and document them as you go along. Spending a little bit of extra time on the front end can often save tons of time on the back end.

Any plugin that problematic I ditch and move on to something else. That's an easy one. In the preferences, check "suspend audio engine when Cakewalk is not in focus "

Now you know one of the reasons why pros meticulously document every session with copious notes.

Your best bet will be to take a line out from the Fractal into your interface.

Outside the US, there isn't the same fetish about every product having to be xx% profitable or it gets killed.

Ooh, I missed that. DEFINITELY get rid of ASIO4ALL.

If those are what I think they are, then that's probably the problem right there. How is Windows supposed to distinguish between generic devices and keep track of which is which? That could also be an issue. It sounds like what you need is a real MIDI interface: https://www.sweetwater.com/c677--MIDI_Interfaces

Because ASIO allows only one driver at a time.

The documentation is your friend: https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=Cakewalk&language=3&help=Tools.19.html

The documentation from NI will tell you how to install libraries. No, the plugin manager doesn't do that. Kontakt is the plugin, not the individual libraries within.

^^^^^^ This for starters. As far as improving the Staff View: if it was that easy, don't you think the Bakers would have done it by now? There must be some technical reason - beyond laziness or disinterest - why it hasn't been done. I suspect it has to do with the fundamental difference in how DAWs and notation handle things. Music notation is merely a guide - a roadmap for the performer whereas a DAW is built on the paradigm of a tape recorder which captures and then reproduces a specific performance. Notation can not convey all the subtle intricacies of performance and interpretation that a musician brings to a piece but a recording can. A strict rendering of notation produces a stiff and lifeless result and an attempt to precisely notate every aspect of a performance results in an extremely messy score that is nearly impossible to read. My preferred solution is to use each application for it's intended purpose, based on it's strengths, instead of fighting with things. I ultimately find life much easier that way.

I always try out any new plug-in with a dummy test project before I use it on anything I would care about.

Which was pretty stupid when you think about it. How did the naysayers think these synthesisers were going to get played? None of these products write the music for you. Even with loops, it still takes work to mold them into something worthwhile. Same with Band-in-a-Box; you still have to write the song and the more you put in to working with the tools, the better results you get.

Iron Maiden is still bringing it. As is Judas Priest. Rush did it up until the end.

Clear the picture cache.

You should not run it in admin mode. Causes all kinds of problems.

You are likely to have better results if you have everything connected before launching CW.

Seen locally: CLEAN DIRT WANTED DOOR MUST REMAIN UNLOCKED WHEN IT IS OPEN

Coke?

I see a bunch of clearly labeled inputs....

https://www.soundsonline.com/support

None. Also, unless you really need to be mobile, a desktop is a far superior choice.