Cakewalk Won't Run

[HeatherHaze]

Today I went to open Cakewalk but it wouldn't run.  I see the logo, I see it start to load in...then it just suddenly and completely exits.  Poof.  I haven't made any drastic changes to my system or VSTs.  Cubase runs perfectly fine.   I have no idea what happened, but I need it resolved ASAP.  Any help?  

Thanks,

Heather

[msmcleod]

If you've installed anything recently, your redists could have been messed up.  You can install the latest redists by following the instructions here:  

If this doesn't work, try launching Cakewalk with SHIFT held down. This should reset your configuration.

Next think to try is uninstalling/re-installing Cakewalk.  You can use the web installer for re-installation:
 

If it's still not starting, it could be your Cakewalk registry settings are corrupt. 

In this case:

- Uninstall Cakewalk
- In RegEdit delete the following key:  Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Cakewalk\Core
   Note:  Do NOT delete the  "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Cakewalk\Cakewalk VST X64"  key - this will save you having to re-scan your plugins.
- Re-install Cakewalk using the web installer above.
 

[HeatherHaze]

Thank you for the quick reply, Mark.  I tried every step you provided.  Unfortunately, nothing worked.  Cakewalk still won't run.  It looks like it's loading in, then "POOF!"  What's the next step?  Rescan plugins, maybe?  How do I force a rescan? 

Edited December 11, 2021 by HeatherHaze

[scook]

Check the Windows Event log.

[HeatherHaze]

15 minutes ago, scook said:

Check the Windows Event log.

Thanks for the reply.  I took your suggestion and found the following error:  

Faulting application name: Cakewalk.exe, version: 27.11.0.18, time stamp: 0x6189a39d
Faulting module name: ucrtbase.dll, version: 10.0.19041.789, time stamp: 0x2bd748bf
Exception code: 0xc0000409
Fault offset: 0x000000000007286e
Faulting process id: 0x678
Faulting application start time: 0x01d7eec322044615
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Cakewalk Core\Cakewalk.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\ucrtbase.dll
Report Id: e95b7b9c-5aa9-4025-947c-49130ad35f49
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 
 

[Noel Borthwick]

That's listing a stack overflow in ucrtbase.dll is most likely a redist problem.

What version of Cakewalk are you running? Try installing the latest early access release.

[HeatherHaze]

15 minutes ago, Noel Borthwick said:

That's listing a stack overflow in ucrtbase.dll is most likely a redist problem.

What version of Cakewalk are you running? Try installing the latest early access release.

Thanks for the reply.  I was running the latest public version.  I took your advice and updated to the latest early access release.  Sadly, it didn't work.  I'm still having the same exact problem.  Ugh!  

[HeatherHaze]

UPDATE:   Hallelujah.  After spending the afternoon banging my head against the desk, I've finally made Cakewalk work again.  I uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times.  I ran the Cakewalk runtime downloader.  I tried the early access version.  I cleaned the registry settings.  I made sure Windows 10 was fully updated.  Finally, after another reinstall, I made some progress.  I managed to get to the setup process, so I let it import settings from a (very) old install of Sonar X2.  That actually got me into the program, but the driver settings were all crazy.  So yet again I uninstalled, deleted the core registry settings, reinstalled...and bingo!  It suddenly and inexplicably worked again.  I had to redo a number of settings, but not as many as I'd feared.  It appears, at least for the moment, that everything is working okay.  I just opened one of my more complex projects and it seems fine.  

I have no idea why this happened.   Lucky I guess?