Audio driver help please!

[Charles Oakley]

Hi all,

    I'm new to this forum and saw a lot of posts concerning Realtek audio drivers, ASIO issues, etc .... I was impressed at the depth of the computer knowledge of many of the members!  I am NOT one of those with much computer knowledge.

    I've been running Cakewalk for the past few years on a 6 year old HP laptop running Windows 10.  I recently got a new keyboard, MODX 8+, and added it to my little laptop system with NO issues.  The MODX keyboard also acts as a soundcard with 10 inputs (8 USB, 2 Analog) and 4 outputs (2 USB, 2 Analog) and works wonderfully with my laptop on Cakewalk.  

     I just got a new PC and as I was setting up Cakewalk on it and somehow I think I clicked on WDM Kernel Streaming. I had a message earlier saying that the Realtek driver was not compatible with ASIO, or something like that.  But I clicked it anyway and the computer sort of locked up with the mouse point just spinning, so I clicking around and somehow clicked a the WDM Kernel Streaming selection.  Turns out THAT WAS NOT VERY SMART OF ME!  ?

    Now every time I try to open Cakewalk I get the message (see attached picture... Wave Profiler (WDM Kernel Streaming) (Not Responding), and Cakewalk shuts down.   I have tried reinstalling Cakewalk numerous times but to no avail. 

    Any and all help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,  Chuck

[bitflipper]

Start by deleting %appdata%\cakewalk\cakewalk core\aud.ini. When you run Cakewalk, it will automatically recreate this file with default settings. That may let you start up the program again.

Realtek is compatible with ASIO, but you'll probably want to download the official driver from Realtek.

If you still have issues, try WASAPI. Pretty much works with anything and the performance rivals ASIO.

Interesting that the message you're seeing doesn't seem to be the result of testing your Realtek interface, but rather something called "HD Audio Driver for Display Audio". Do you maybe have an external display with built-in speakers? See if you can disable this driver. Open Device Manager (type "device manager" into the Windows search bar) , expand "Audio Inputs and Outputs" and see what's listed there. Anything other than the Realtek driver can be disabled.

Oh, and welcome to the forum, Chuck.

[Byron Dickens]

The Realtek ASIO driver is absolute garbage.

[Charles Oakley]

OK thank you bitflipper! I'll give it a try when I get home next week and let you know how it goes.

Byron, I have no plans to use the Realtek ASIO driver for any part at all of my Cakewalk setup.  What works well on my laptop and was recommended by Yamaha (for my MODX8+) is the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver V2.1.4 for Windows 11/10 (64-bit).  Somehow I didn't manage to see it when I was setting up this new computer.  

[John Vere]

The Yamaha ASIO driver is a good driver and that is what you download and install. It has nothing to do with your Realtek driver. Realtek is only involved when you use the on board audio. Follow the instructions in this video for best results. 

https://youtu.be/JM8rKHQ9GIo  -  Audio set up in Cakewalk 

 

[Charles Oakley]

John, thank you very much for your response. Your YouTube video was very helpful, and more importantly introduced me to your YouTube channel! Wow! EVERY Cakewalk user (including professionals) could find something helpful that they did not know about Cakewalk or audio in general.  Well done brother!

Chuck

[John Vere]

Thanks a lot ! glad to hear that it worked for you.