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Starting over - backup and reinstall?
I am seeking to help a relative clean up their pc. She is running XP and has had problems ever since she installed SP1. She basically had to do a reinstall and now gets a BSD every few days. Additionally, she recently tried to install the latest patch for IE6 and had more problems than it should have been. While IE is up and running, it appears to be slow. A few other applications crash every once in a while as well. So... I was seeking to start over and clean up the mess. My question is: how best to do this (as I've never done it before). I was thinking to basically reformatting her HD and than reinstalling the OS and all of her apps. Seems extreme but than I know we've gotten rid of failed previous installs/upgrades, etc. What is the easiest way to make a backup and ensure I have something to fall back on should I mess up? I'm fearful that I leave her with an unbootable machine and thus far worse off. Should I install a second drive and install everything on that and than fix the current drive? What other solutions for a novice would you recommend....
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