Rob[atSound-Rehab]

abacab
 
I always make two system images monthly.  One before, and one after, any Windows or Cakewalk update. 

which tools are you using? windows build-in backup, acronis true image, ...???

I used Norton Ghost and Acronis on Windows XP.
 
I have Macrium Reflect Free, but I haven't gotten around to switching to it yet.  That's because since Windows 7, I have used the Windows built-in image backup.  It's free, but a little bit fiddly.  If you enjoy learning and consider yourself techy, it gets the job done. Making an image is one thing, but doing a bare metal recovery is another.  You need to test that your image procedure and recovery tools work both ways.
 
I have looked at Macrium, Paragon, and Acronis.  The first two offer free editions that don't do anything fancy, but just make images.  You would need to find a separate way to backup files/folders for projects and documents.  Drag n drop to an external drive, or the cloud works fine.  This should be done anyway.  In my mind, the image is just for recovering the entire system, not for backing up files.
 
If I was going to switch now, I would choose Macrium Reflect Free.  http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
 
Two reasons:
 
1. the user manual is complete, friendly, and doesn't seem to skip over important steps that a beginner may need to know. 
 
2. the Rescue Media Wizard!  The recovery environment is Windows PE. The recovery part that I highlighted in bold below is one thing you must be comfortable doing on your own with just the Windows repair disk, if you go the built-in Windows route.
 
Explanation from the Macrium Reflect v6 manual:
 
"If you lose your Windows operating system, you can start your PC using Macrium Reflect rescue media on CD,
DVD, or USB stick. This makes creating rescue media the first thing you need to do with Macrium Reflect. It contains a bootable, lightweight version of Windows and a full version of Macrium Reflect.
 
This lightweight version of Windows is called Windows Pre-installation Environment (also known as Windows PE or
WinPE) and is provided by Microsoft. When you create rescue media, Macrium Reflect downloads Windows PE automatically for you and writes it to your media. It downloads just those components you need to rescue your system."

Vice Versa sounds handy!  Thanks for the tip.  Will have to look into that one.

I would say for project backups, use anything that works for you, but just do it!
 
I have never trusted incremental backups, nor used them.  In my mind it's just another potential point of failure.  It adds complexity to the process.  My motto is always to keep it simple, and then you are less likely to overlook something, and Murphy is less likely to bite you.  I've got my complete image in one file, just grab it and restore, bang I'm back in business!  Disks are fast enough now, and space is cheap enough, to justify only complete system images.
 
My final thoughts, if you haven't already done so, you should run a complete restore with bootable recovery media to ensure that your recovery environment actually works.  And that you do know how to do it.  Use a spare hard drive, if you don't want to risk overwriting your real system drive.  Unplug your real boot drive to ensure that you select the right one to restore to.
 
Or at least boot to the point that you can access your recovery image from the recovery environment.  Better to find out when you have some free time, just in case it doesn't work, or that you are missing drivers, etc.  But this still doesn't guarantee that you won't have trouble with the image file.  An actual restore is the only way to be 100% sure!

gmp
Great advice, abacab! Actually we share the same view of this. Like you, I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law. Disaster recovery should be tested like a fire drill. Don't' ever assume anything. I have never trusted incremental backups either.
 
When I do my nightly 3 computer backups using Vice Versa i also do a total backup of my C drive. Even though I have many images, there may be just one file that I regret losing when I revert to a previous image.
 
Most nights I check after Vice Versa to make sure it did it's job by opening a shortcut to my Sonar CWP file location backup, since that's the most important folder to backup. Many times I've found problems and determined how to prevent them from happening again.
 
You're right it's always very good to test your recovery boot CD, not only to see if it works but also to learn how to use it, so when you're in a hurry trying to recover from a disaster you aren't slowed down by something puzzling.
 
Also sometimes an image file is corrupt for some reason and won't work, so I also have a log that lists all the little changes to my C drive I make in case I need to backtrack. Sometimes I list changes and before I can make an image file I have to revert and then I know to make those changes to get back up to speed.
 
My system has worked really well for years until this strange Dec. bug, where even my image file restorations ended up being corrupted by, I assume, MS making some changes over the internet. This will be just another experience to add to my bag of tricks when something goes haywire.

Yup!  On the same page for sure.  When you first started reporting about your recent issue, I didn't doubt it, because you sounded very knowledgeable about your system and where you stood.  I kept looking for clues as well.
 
It was certainly a mystery, and maybe we'll never know the answer.  But I sure wish we had one, LOL!  Things that mysteriously fix themselves leave me with an uneasy feeling.  I have been working with computers for 40 years ...

Uninstall all of the extras.  You just need the main AV program.  As I recall, you can go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Avira Antivirus, and click on "Change".  You will get a custom installer where you can un-select the extras that you don't want or need.
 
The only parts that won't uninstall is the Avira Connect, and the Avira system tray application.  These function as a launcher and status for your protection.  It's not really necessary, because it was designed for folks with two or more of their apps.  But you can disable them in Task Manager startup tab if they bug you.

gmp
I found these in Control Panel > Programs and Features > 

Avira connect
Avira phantom VPN
Avira antivirus
Avira system speedup
 
I clicked on Avira Antivirus, and clicked on "Change".  ON the custom installer I un-selected
mail protection
It seemed like I needed the other ones
 
I uninstalled 
Avira phantom VPN  and
Avira system speedup
 
 
 
In the startup group I found these

Avira system speedup
Avira connect
Avira system tray app
Systray
 
I disabled Avira Connect and the Avira system tray application
 
After uninstalling I found that these are the only 2 in startup group
Avira connect
Avira system tray app
and they're both disabled
 
Did I do somethign wrong? Seems like I should have something in the startup group

Nope, you're fine.  Avira still starts up.  If you wish, you can re-enable Avira Connect and Avira system tray if you want the quick launch for the Avira interface.
 
Otherwise, you will need to find the Avira shortcut in the Windows menu > All apps > Avira start, and drag it onto the Windows taskbar as a quick launch icon.
 
No need really to disable the startup items I only mentioned it just in case you were bugged by them.  They are a convenience and don't take up much memory or cpu cycles.