(1.) Did you run Wave Profiler ahead of time? There is an icon for this in the same program group or folder as the Cakewalk program. This program goes out and finds your .wav device and adds setup information in a Cakewalk init file.

(2.) Are you using an 8-bit sound card on the system? Cakewalk Pro Audio requires a 16-bit card, and will not even start if you're using an 8-bit card. With v4.0 there are two solutions:
a) Remove the card and the driver
b) Add/change the following line in the [Wave] section in AUDMM.INI:

[Wave]
DriverID=-1

(The DriverID=-1 will disable the audio features in Cakewalk Pro Audio. The CWPA 4.01 maintenance update due to ship 1/30/96 will allow you to start the program even if you're using an 8-bit sound card, but you will not be able to use any of the audio features.)

(3) You're using a 16-bit sound card, but there's an 8-bit sound card or driver installed on your system. This will not be a problem in 4.01.

(4) You're using a 16-bit sound card, but the current DMA channel is 8-bit (usually a low DMA channel.) Change the DMA channel to a 16-bit channel. The only 16-bit DMA channels are 5, 6, and 7.

(5) The Windows system sounds MIGHT interfere. Try disabling Windows system sounds from Control Panel | Sounds.

(6) Another application that uses audio might be running in the background. Exit all other applications in the Windows StartUp group. Make sure nothing is being loaded by the Load= and Run= lines in WIN.INI.

(7) There is a hardware or driver conflict. Double-check the Port Address, IRQ, and DMA settings of every installed device and driver, and make sure there are no conflicts.

(8) If you have a sound card that has a Sound Blaster emulation mode, it should be disabled. The emulation mode is 8-bit, and will not work in Cakewalk Pro Audio.

(9) The AudExtDLL line in WINCAKE.INI is pointing to the wrong file (should be TTSAUDMM.DLL for sound cards, and TTSAUDS8 for Session8.)