First thing is internal soundcards are pretty much gone, everyone is using external ones now as it really doesn't matter if you use desktops or laptops. Please do take this the wrong way, but rereading your posts, there are warning bells. You have verey common hardware and software. You are using older, but common computers. The snag seems to be that for some reason, you cannot make them work. This isn’t the same as them not working, clearly loads of people have them quite happily working. At one stage you mentioned cubase wouldn't run and you were look8ng for an older version?
Which version of Windows are you running. Please say 10 or 11. Anything older is a problem. If you have a Windows 10 computer, it is on borrowed time. Warnings of ancientness pop up regularly on the screen.
Cubase, cakewalk and audacity ALL install even on lower spec machines over a threshold of ancientness. If they wont install, you have either crossed the line or maybe have your computer set up badly, by design or accident. If you cannot remember basic processes such as routing, you probably have also forgotten other critical things.
Being frank, EVERY computer DAW of any cost, requires routing. Things like pianoteq, running from the direct access app, scan your system for active drivers and just work. Native instruments run as a standalone will do the same. Used as a VSTi through a DAW, they relinquish control to the DAW, because you will not want that instrument to always be connected. My cubase system i noticed yesterday, trying to do something a bit more unusual, had the choice of around a dozen potential connected device coming in. The Swissonic master keyboard had three entries. Two did not connect it, but the remaining one did. When i saved the project in cubase, it started up again with that connection linked to the project.
One vry important comment. When a usb device is not recognised message appears, go to device manager and find it. You often get hints. One of my devices gets misidentified by windows 11 as a serial communication device, when it is not. The cure is downloading the driver again and making sure it is the windows 11 version. Even then, sometimes that fails, and an older driver, against common sense, installs properly. This is normal. Your posts indicate you're not comfy with this faffing around, which sadly is normal. You appear to buy lots of stuff, fail to find solutions, and buy something else. The problem is that its the user interface not the products, but perhaps compounded by older computers and operating systems?
You also rarely give detailed explanations of exactly what you did. You said you can assign specific sounds to your qmini! You didnt. The qmini is just driving something else. That is where your success went. What sounds, what daw or direct sound app? If you have that keyboard connected, it’s driver has been accepted. Pianoteq or what else running direct, found it. It makes a noise. This has nothing to do with recording. You need to make your daw connect to that device. That is done in the daw, manually, by you. You really have to sit down, engage patience and fiddle. There are no youtube videos that will tell you what to do exactly, because your circumstances are different. Videos give you a clue where to look. We can help if maybe you take screen shots we can study of things like what cubase or others are displaying in their menus for connecting devices. At least give us half a chance to help. You never provide details, just general comments like i cant connect. I appreciate maybe you just dont learn by experimentation, some people dont, but you need to give us something to work with?
