Thanks for your helpful suggestions regarding Windows 11. I do optimize my system and will try some of these additional recommendations. Not sure that I need to go back to Windows 10 at this point. Cubase 12 was working for a few weeks a couple of months ago with Windows 11. As usual though updating to the latest Cubase version screwed things up again. Why can’t Cubase get the simple stuff right?
After reading my response again, it seems a little harsh. So, a little background on my Windows 11 opinion… I’m a Network Administrator for an MSP as my day job. I deal with around 100 Microsoft servers and several hundred PCs as part of that. I’ve found Windows 11 to be cumbersome in the way Microsoft have taken simple 1-click or 2-click tasks and made them 3 or 4 clicks all over the OS. There’s numerous GUI changes where I can only assume that someone fresh out of college who can barely remember Windows 7 must have made the decisions. The whole Settings area is an exercise in wasted motion and poor organization.
Add to that the fact that items like the Start menu now run as executables (so more like a program than part of the OS) and the bombardment of online crap like weather, stocks, news, and all manner of methods to get you buy crap are constantly running. The background processes, DNS lookups, and web searches that are not user initiated are just drains on the system and begging malware and/or worse to ‘come on in’. It’s like an advertising and sales hub more than an OS in my opinion.
Finally, audio in Windows is all over the place traditionally… now add the Settings menu toggles that make it more like a cell phone than a computer where you have to hunt relentlessly for settings to stop other apps/applications from accessing your mic and/or speakers. It’s a wonder a DAW works at all on it… since there’s a gig or more of RAM consumed by startup trash like Teams or MyPhone type apps that unknowing users have no clue start consuming resources as soon as you login. Oh and… God forbid you have an Adobe subscription or a Brother printer.
So, other than “get a Mac for Audio Production” my best advice is to disable the internet before you start your DAW, any DAW, to minimize the chatter and free up resources that could be dedicated to making music instead of serving you a sales pitch or pillaging your privacy in the background
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I agree that there are some optimization tweaks one should perform for a machine you intend to use for serious music production, but my experience with Windows 11 has not been as grief stricken as some others may report. I know every system is different but I don’t think my experience is in the minority to be completely honest.
I can understand if someone doesn’t have the proficiency or patience (or both) with computers may gravitate toward Mac, but I think the days of Mac being the best choice for this work is long gone.
Thank you again for your informative responses. Other than turning off internet access when using my DAW are there other relatively simple ways to turn off or delete some of these nonessential functions in Windows 11 without causing additional problems?
Disable your antivirus and/or exclude the project folders where you keep your Cubase projects. That way it isn’t scanning audio or MIDI files ‘on creation’ or ‘when accessed’. Do the same with any anti-malware products you have installed.
If you haven’t already, definitely take a look at the Task Manager and disable any startup items you don’t need when creating music and/or running in the background even when you’re not using them.
I have the proficiency. I stated my background in my post. I’ve been a Windows Domain Administrator in one form or another for 19 years. It’s exactly why I use a dedicated Mac for Audio Production - I don’t want to troubleshoot my OS after working on troubleshooting operating systems all day. Also, Core Audio on a Mac runs circles around Windows handling of audio. Case in point; it’s 2024 and people are still installing ASIO4All on Windows PCs.
I’m not saying don’t use Windows or that you cannot produce music on Windows. But I won’t pretend it’s ideal just for the sake of it. I switched to using a Mac as a dedicated DAW in 2011 and the benefits were obvious and remain so to this day. YRMV
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Good grief…windows 11 and cubase runs like a dream. Absolutely no problems, high track count, demanding VSTs and Plugins are a breeze.
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No need to asio4all if you have an audio interface with asio drivers. Never had problems on win 10 or 11
It’s funny to me that you guys chime in to defiantly and/or proudly state that ‘it does the bare minimum’ and “runs fine” or whatever… but mention nothing about having Skype as a startup item in your Task Manager 
Quietly ignoring any unnecessary bloat and the OS GUI becoming more cumbersome (as a feature) adding no meaningful value whatsoever (other than for data miners and marketing departments) while the Start menu has become an electronic billboard and web browser extension. Candy Crush anyone?
Hand Up - Not me, Music PC is just for that, Music.
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for me as a Mac and PC user. Windows wins for me on a few things when using Cubase.
Main one is ASIO direct monitoring. On windows with Direct Monitoring Checked , the cubase channels control the RME total mix channels automatically in the background so I don’t need to keep looking at a separate mixer. On Mac I have to have the total Mix mixer open and ajust levels on that, which then means Cubase has lost focus so you have to click it back into focus again… Not so with Windows 
Also on mt M1 Max there’s a few graphic niggles with Cubase/Nuendo 13, the cursor someties dissapears or doesn’t set itself back to the correct tool.
I’ve also had strange sample rate issues on the Mac whereby it seems to get stuck at one sample rate yet open a project in another with no warning from Cubase, it’s random and strange but I’ve seen others mention the same thing.
Any way none of the above issues are present on Windows.
Once set up Cubase runs well on either OS and I use the M1 max when I’m away from the Studio as I only use VST3 plugins so projects open on either machine.
For the above reasons I do prefer running Cubase on my 7950x Windows 11 machine though.
M
Thanks again for your responses. Back in business again for now…
I still wish that the developers would focus on making sure that the basics work with the most common OS updates, most common third party plugins (eg. Kontakt), and most common antivirus programs, and have nonprofessionals do some of the beta testing before they release new versions. This might make a dent in the overwhelming frustration that many of us experience working with Cubase. They should understand how close they are to losing business to more user friendly programs.
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Microsoft/Apple and 3rd party devs are equally capable of screwing things up. Steinberg can’t help in those cases.
You only need 3rd party “anti-virus” if you’re a patron of, shall we say, paths less frequented.
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it’s you though, not Cubase. rant at a mirror.
@copperknob has left the building 
Since I’ve made the Mac-Switch I have no problems to run Cubase on it. And after switching to Mx Macs the performance is incredible.
I can’t believe I’m still reading this sort of stuff. I have never had Candy Crush appear in my start menu.
That post was more presumption than substance, wasn’t worth my response.
I can’t believe I see it in business PCs. Microsoft Server literally has 2 XBox Services in services.msc
It’s a non-issue. It’s really just all in the mind of some people.