Graphics setting in Sonar Platinum big problems

[Dana Moore]

I use Sonar Platinum.

My Windows graphics is set at 175% - Yesterday I was trying to create a 5-min video WMV and MP4 with one of my own audio files.

The end result was that at some point the Sonar Platinum graphics setting became so high that I can barely see the text, even with my reading glasses.  Something happened to the graphics settings that I can't reverse.  I tried system recovery and it failed - for the first time ever.  Tried clean re-install - and it doesn't respond to Windows graphics when I change the resolution there.

I've been using Cakewalk since it came out in the early 90's and have now run into a situation where I'm not even sure I'm in the right product community.

Should I download and install BandLab?  

[Wookiee]

@Dana Moore what size screen are you using. SONAR Platinum does not have variable size graphics screen? I am not sure how they can change during a session.

Only Windows, the OS,  has scalable text sizes. Are you talking about Cakewalk SONAR Platinum from 9 years ago? Or the new Cakewalk Sonar?

[Amberwolf]

What do other programs look like when you open them?  

 

Also, keep in mind that Bandlab is a completely different thing than any Cakewalk product, and probalby doesn't open any of your files.   

You could try Cakewalk by Bandlab (CbB), whcih is the successor to what you have there, and should open your files, but since your graphics zoom settings are part of Windows itself (or your video card's control panel software), it's probably going to have the same issue with any program you use on there until it's changed back to normal.

 

I don't know if you ever use it, but Windows10 (and up?) have the magnifier tool, which you can engage with the windows logo key and + or -.  If you accidentally held these down or hte keys are stuck on the keyboard, or you have a helpful cat or dog like I do  then you could try these to unmagnify it.

 

 

[Dana Moore]

I did end up installing Cakewalk by Bandlab, and I essentially get exactly what I had in Sonar Platinum, but I can already see some probs I'll have to clear up with vst's like amplitube 5 - the graphics resolution is correct in this program, so I'll prolly end up using it instead.  I prefer Sonar, so I'll continue trying to roll back, also to look for problems communicating between Windows 10 and Sonar over graphic resolution.  

Thanks for the good poop yo Wolf - I'll let ya know.  😎

[Dana Moore]

I'm using a 27" screen.  All my other programs are running in the right resolution.  Something I did must have triggered it to go into this higher resolution.  Mighta been when I was messin with mp4 video files and their codecs.  

[mettelus]

Have you tried cycling Windows scaling to another value and back to see if that has any effect?

It is possible that you did alter display drivers and Cakewalk is using one that may be affecting you. Is the video still active in the project and where did you get the codecs from? K-Lite has codec packs that are robust, and one nice thing about the installer is that it will detect/remove known bad codecs (quite a few older apps may fall into this category). It can get rather complex if you delve into customized installation (unnecessary in most cases), but there is a pretty streamlined process to install otherwise (just run with defaults). The bakers would need to chime in if having a video in a project can affect the resolution settings (I am not sure on this one).

When working with video, it is often better to split/re-assemble audio in a dedicated video editor. More and more of them have expanded their audio workflows to be more DAW-like which can make using a DAW for simpler tasks unnecessary these days.

[Wookiee]

On 6/7/2025 at 2:42 AM, Amberwolf said:

Also keep in mind that Bandlab is a completely different thing than any Cakewalk product, and probalby doesn't open any of your files.   

 

Somewhat incorrect @Amberwolf Cakewalk Sonar and CbB will open any Cakewalk WRK or CWP file going back to the DOS days.

[Amberwolf]

8 hours ago, Wookiee said:

Somewhat incorrect @Amberwolf Cakewalk Sonar and CbB will open any Cakewalk WRK or CWP file going back to the DOS days.

 

So Bandlab over here:

https://www.bandlab.com/download

can open Cakewalk files? 😕

 

AFAIK Bandlab is a completely separate thing from Cakewalk by Bandlab (CbB), and the OP simply said Bandlab in the post I replied to, so I distinguished between the two of them in my post to see which they were referring to and make sure they use the right one. 

[Wookiee]

@Amberwolf it clearly states in the bit you quote that Cakewalk Sonar and CbB will open Cakewalk WRK & CWP files which are the file extensions used for Cakewalk Projects. At no point do I say that the Projects created inbthe Web based app Bandlab can open Cakewalk WRK or CWP files.

You also miss the fact that using the Cakewalk transfer app Cakewalk Sonar and CbB Projects can be opened in Bandlab as can Bandlab Projects be opened in Cakewalk Sonar and CbB.

[Amberwolf]

Nevermind.  

[Dana Moore]

Thank you all for responding to this.  The problem had to have been graphics, and it reared its ugly head about 12 hours before my Verizon Personal Hotspot got throttled down to land-line speeds.  I've got one of Jim Roseberry's DAWs with 4 hard drives, and I know my project files would survive, so I was forced into a situation where I had to do a Windows 10 Reset overnight, and it took the entire night to get it done.

Some of the things that may or may not be players:

1)  I'm using the intel graphics option, but I've also got a GeForce 960 card installed that I don't use.  It's disabled in Device Manager.  

2)  Before I decided on a reset, I installed the Sonar Platinum doppleganger, Cakewalk Sonar Bandlab ( or whatever they call it now), and it seemed to work like a charm.  But I wasn't totally satisfied with it - so I kept working with Cakewalk Command Center to roll back my Platinum updates.  At some point I had a solution, but something about the graphics performance prompted me to restart the computer, and that's when the black screen of death showed up.

3)  At various times, I would see this banner representing some free graphics program, RAD, - it would come and go - I assumed it was some component of the Intel graphics feature - but now I want to find it and delete it.  Maybe it's malware, idk, but it's not listed in my programs.  My priority has been to get back my ability to work the computer, and I've got that now - I just have to begin the process of rebuilding the software environment for full operation.  I'll go after it at some point here in the next few days, but right now I'm busy building back Platinum, with the throttled-down  speed I've got until the end of the month.  Then I've got all the Native Instruments and IK vst's to reinstall.  Then we'll see about producing some new music again. 

4)  I should mention it here, that I've been a Cakewalk user since it first came out in the 90's.  It quickly became Twelve-Tone Systems, and everything was fine - it was still Cakewalk, then it was Sonar - still no problems.  I found a user community online, hosted by Cakewalk, where I could go and talk technical issues, musical issues, and just about anything else.  The problem came when the new owners seemingly obfuscated the whole issue of product support and community forum.  IMO.  Here's how I see the business ethics side of Cakewalk now:   - You hire a limo to take you to the prom.  Halfway there, another limo pulls up in the next lane and says, "Dive in through the window - we're here to get you there, and your current limo has been sold and is no longer an option, but we're still Acme Limos, so the ride is free."..Then, miles down the highway, the original shows up next to you.  "Jump in through the window, but you have to leave your friends behind - trust us.  It's a great ride, but,er, you're going to have to pay for it again."  IMO, this is what's been happening to Cakewalk support for original products, specifically Sonar.  I really like Sonar and don't plan to swap over to any Bandlab or other such hybrid deal.  But I've paid my dues, and I don't like to be jerked around, and therein lies the problem.  We bought in early and used the features and had a functional support system.  But our national investment into big business laws and ethics has been on behalf of corporate profit.  Now they want to sell us a workable system that we originally bought, for $14.99 a month or some ****.

5)  There must be hundreds of Sonar users like me, who have come to rely on it, only to be told, "We're swapping limo's - Make the jump - be very careful and have your wallets open."  There is a current atmosphere in Consumer America that has Bait and Switch written all over it.  The trust is gone.  I'm sticking with Sonar based upon the belief that I can navigate the problem and get back on the road to producing music.  If they don't get their business plan together and it all falls apart, then I start to consider Pro Tools and Propellerheads and Cubase.  6) Again, thank you, and I hope to be able to give you an update in about a month.  If this is the Community Forum I need to be part of, then I'm glad to have finally found the right one.  

 

[John Vere]

I have abandoned all the Bandlab owned products and have installed the very last version of Platinum using the CCC.
No more problems with authorization and I can still open all my projects. I get a warning about missing features but once it is saved they go away. 

A lot of people have moved to other Daw’s now mainly because like me , they can’t trust Bandlab to maintain software that we will have unobstructed access to. 
So Platinum is the only choice for now just to always have access to my old projects. All new projects are started in Daw’s I have unobstructed access to for the foreseeable future. 
Biggest bummer is Platinum is still controlled by Bandlab because they have control of the Command Centre. 
But then there’s X3. 

[Dana Moore]

John Vere - Same.  As it was, Platinum was fine - but I have to believe marketing rigged up this scheme to charge us twice for something that already belonged to us.  Bottom line imo - they messin' with our property.  

[OutrageProductions]

44 minutes ago, Dana Moore said:

... scheme to charge us twice for something that already belonged to us.  Bottom line imo - they messin' with our property.  

You obviously have never read the EULA.

You never 'own' any software, you just get granted the convenience of basically leasing it. Unless you write your own applications. 

Thank you for playing though. 

[Jeremy Oakes]

On 6/10/2025 at 7:22 PM, John Vere said:

I have abandoned all the Bandlab owned products and have installed the very last version of Platinum using the CCC.
No more problems with authorization and I can still open all my projects. I get a warning about missing features but once it is saved they go away. 

A lot of people have moved to other Daw’s now mainly because like me , they can’t trust Bandlab to maintain software that we will have unobstructed access to. 
So Platinum is the only choice for now just to always have access to my old projects. All new projects are started in Daw’s I have unobstructed access to for the foreseeable future. 
Biggest bummer is Platinum is still controlled by Bandlab because they have control of the Command Centre. 
But then there’s X3. 

IBTL - @John Vere, every time you come here now you seem make a point of dissing either CbB or Sonar or Bandlab. I generally ignore your input nowadays, BUT.....  OK we get it. You think you were hard done by at one point for whatever reason, now c'mon, move on and be productive instead of so negative. Try helping people like I remember you used to do so well.

@Dana Moore your reasoning is ridiculous. Points 4 and 5 made me laugh, really. Nobody is "jerking" you around. You should perhaps spend some time troubleshooting your system. BTW, the Splat of  the Gibson days has nothing whatsoever to do with Bandlab, who, I believe, simply bought the IP of the old Sonar software, then set about making it better.

 But if you installed Splat AFTER installing CbB or Sonar, then you've probably over written certain files in the Sonar set up. And BTW I have/had a GeForce 960 card, which worked wonderfully with Sonar (FYI the reason I updated it was to have more VRAM for games, nothing to do with Sonar graphics). 

I use the new Sonar, I have a sub, so what ? Its a great DAW and getting better and better all the time. But you can't please all the people all the time .......

J

[Wookiee]

@John Vere to clarify SONAR X3 is part of the intellectual property purchased by Bandlab Technologies. 

[Dana Moore]

Guy was trying to help me.  Last bit of that conversation was between him and me.  Your opinions are noted.   Jeremy Oakes -  I had a rough 48 hours.  It's all under control now, and I'm building back slowly.  You found my reasoning ridiculous.  You laughed at my frustrations.  Is that what kind of person you are?

[Barry Seymour]

One of the biggest changes to Cakewalk Sonar is that it was redesigned from the ground up to handle scaleable graphics. Prior versions of Cakewalk / Sonar / whatever did not. So if you scale your Windows resolution up or down, you're going to have issues. Some parts of the UI will look right, others won't. Some things may scale, others won't.

A relatively ancient software program from nine years ago won't handle the ultra-high resolutions that modern Windows supports. If you want modern functionality, you'll have to upgrade to modern software.

 

Edited June 16 by Barry Seymour