Change driver to WDM/KS and Cakewalk won't launch

[DaveMichel]

I've purchased a new XtremPro 96kHz/24bit USB headphone interface to replace my old 48kHz max nuForce headphone interface. The XtremPro didn't get recognized by Cakewalk, so I switched to the WDM/KS driver, and now when I launch Cakewalk it goes through  the audio interface setup but won't run Cakewalk. No obvious Cakewalk processes in Task Manager (running Wn11).  I don't have a way to switch driver types since I can't open the Preferences dialog from within Cakewalk, and I've not found any files or registry settings that contain the driver settings (no, I've not changed anything - yet).

I normally use either an RME UFX or MixPre6 in ASIO, and they work fine within Windows, but Cakewalk still won't launch.

What's the fix? 

[DaveMichel]

More info:

Renaming %appdata%\Cakewalk\Cakewalk Core\aud.ini (using the RME UFX as a Windows sound source) does not fix this issue.

Renaming %appdata%\Cakewalk\Cakewalk Core does not fix this issue.

Renaming C:\Cakewalk Content Core does not fix this issue.

Edited August 11, 2022 by DaveMichel

[scook]

Try setting 

OnboardingShown to 0 

in 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Cakewalk\Core

then run CbB.

 

This should start the onboarding process when CbB is run, the first screen can set the audio driver mode (in the advanced options) and the CbB device i/o preferences.

[DaveMichel]

I set OnboardingShown to 0, but that did not solve this problem. Also tried a reboot with OnboardingShown=0 to no avail.

I'm back to using the RME UFX as the Windows sound output, which works fine, but CbB still won't launch. Note that I still see the driver inventory running every time, but the main UI doesn't load.

Edited August 11, 2022 by DaveMichel

[DaveMichel]

@Noel Borthwick Wondering if you could help with my can't launch Cakewalk issue.

[scook]

The audio driver mode setting from preferences is stored in

Core 

under

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Cakewalk\Core

 

When I have driver mode set to ASIO, Core is 0x29a 

When it is set to WDM/KS, Core is 0x7d0

[DaveMichel]

That did it. Thanks a bunch @scook!

I also got the onboarding dialog, which I didn't want, so I ended the Cakewalk task, set OnboardingShown to 2 and fired up Cakewalk successfully with my old working settings.

Greatly appreciate the help.

@Noel Borthwick - I think this constitutes a bug. We shouldn't be able to paint ourselves in a corner by a simple preferences change to WDM/KS driver choice.

Version: 2022.06 (Build 034, 64 bit)

Edited August 12, 2022 by DaveMichel
Additional info

[scook]

The onboarding process runs once the first time CbB is run.

It may also be run on demand from the Help menu.

Re-running the onboarding process is harmless. The process uses the previous entries as its defaults.

I was not sure if onboarding ran before or after CbB tries to discover drivers for the current driver mode. Looks like it runs after checking driver mode.

[azslow3]

If I remember correctly, "unplugging" the device on which Cakewalk was stuck have enabled me to choose different one. That was with one of virtual interfaces inside virtual machine,  but I think that should work with real device on real computer as well. Probably disabling the interface in Windows also helps.

PS. things  with names sounding like "extreme professional" are normally not professional ?

[DaveMichel]

2 hours ago, azslow3 said:

If I remember correctly, "unplugging" the device on which Cakewalk was stuck have enabled me to choose different one. That was with one of virtual interfaces inside virtual machine,  but I think that should work with real device on real computer as well. Probably disabling the interface in Windows also helps.

PS. things  with names sounding like "extreme professional" are normally not professional ?

@azslow3  Kind of an unnecessary PS for someone using RME and Sound Devices. I sometimes need a dongle that would allow me to edit 96kHz/24bit projects on headphones without additional hardware beyond a laptop. Do I wish it was ASIO compliant? Sure. I'm open to suggestions.

Edited August 12, 2022 by DaveMichel

[azslow3]

9 hours ago, DaveMichel said:

@azslow3  Kind of an unnecessary PS for someone using RME and Sound Devices. I sometimes need a dongle that would allow me to edit 96kHz/24bit projects on headphones without additional hardware beyond a laptop. Do I wish it was ASIO compliant? Sure. I'm open to suggestions.

You have probably misunderstood my point (or humor in which it was packed). I just mean such devices are not targeting the same applications as specialized music creation interfaces nor have the quality/stability of RME. In other words such problems can be expected.

If possible, WASAPI/Exclusive  is preferred over WDM/KS mode these days.

[Noel Borthwick]

22 hours ago, DaveMichel said:

That did it. Thanks a bunch @scook!

I also got the onboarding dialog, which I didn't want, so I ended the Cakewalk task, set OnboardingShown to 2 and fired up Cakewalk successfully with my old working settings.

Greatly appreciate the help.

@Noel Borthwick - I think this constitutes a bug. We shouldn't be able to paint ourselves in a corner by a simple preferences change to WDM/KS driver choice.

Version: 2022.06 (Build 034, 64 bit)

Hi Dave,

With all due respect, I don't think it's a Cakewalk bug if your audio driver hangs the app  
However, your point is taken - within limits there are things that can be done to mitigate bad audio driver behavior. I'm not sure if it would help in your case however. 
In WDM mode we're at the mercy of how Windows drivers interact with the app if the driver deadlocks there isn't much the app can do. However perhaps we can remember an improper shutdown and reset the driver mode on next launch. Also did you already try launching in safe mode?

[Jon Collins]

I just experienced the exact same issue as the OP.  Found a different solution :

I couldn't spot the variable in the Registry as suggested above,  so tried a reboot into Windows10 safe mode , after which I was able to start Cakewalk fine and re-set the driver mode to ASIO.   Once rebooted in normal mode, all was OK.   Phew. 

I believer this works becaase it disables the audio drivers which are hanging the normal Cakewalk restart, so probably a useful trick for many types of driver issue.

@Noel Borthwick - I also think that Cakewalk ought to figure out when it is caught in a driver issue loop, and offer the user some way to switch drivers (eg to ASIO) on a restart - this issue seems too easy to fall into, and then novice users are lost  . Cheers !