Clean System Reinstall Advice Needed

I have had a problem with my wife's computer continually freezing or crashing.

If you want details and the trajectory of attempts to resolve the problem (LDTate really tried hard to help), please take a look at http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?showtopic=74602

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Following is my last post from that topic thread, which LDTate recommended I repost here. I explain what's happening now and what kind of advice I would like next.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

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The current situation that I was finally able to run a COMPLETE HouseCall scan. It detailed several items it recommended I remove (which I did); others, which it said it could not remove for some reason or another.

I'm sorry to be vague but, after all this time, I was just thrilled to have gotten this far and neglected to take notes of all that happened with this scan.

When it was over, HouseCall recommended I conduct a second scan to be certain that it caught everything that might be lurking in the system. I clicked the button to okay a new scan and…that's right, it froze.

At this point, I'm ready to throw in the towel and go the route of a clean install.

HOWEVER, I would appreciate any advice and/or reference to any sites that explain, step-by-step what one should do before, during, and after a clean install of the system.

I am particularly interested in the best manner to back up files and some programs, which are not on CDs or easy to acquire from the Internet.

Finally, when I DO back-up my files and programs, how can I be certain that I am not also backing up a virus, trojan, or worm, as well? If it is possible to back-up one of these nasties, then it strikes me that I'm about to do a whole mess of work only to find myself in the same place when I'm finished. No?

I'm wondering about some of these new, online back-up services. If I can back-up to a remote location and their system can then scan those backed-up contents, maybe they will be able to locate what's lurking and where (assuming it is, in fact, a stray, contaminated file). What do you think?

a freezing/crashing computer can be hard to diagnose. malware gets the blame alot, poorly coded malware can do that, but for the most part it wants a smoothly running computer with internet connection.
i can think of afew suggestions you might try before wiping the hd.

have you installed any new software lately?
updated any drivers?
since you have been in the case already you might try re-seating your RAM, video card and any PCI cards you have. also check ribbon connections/power to make sure there secure, also get a close look at the capacitors on the board for any leaks which has been aproblem with certain boards.

link:
http://www.badcaps.net/ident/

Okay, there have been some new programs and, especially, updates that have been added to this computer several times since this problem began. It would be difficult to backtrack and ID each and every one of these that took place. It's also my gut feeling (and nothing more) that none of these new programs or updates is a direct cause of the problem. It would only be so if one of these was a carrier of a viurs, worm, or trojan horse (which, as I say, I cannot fully scan for as each attempt freezes in mid-scan).

However, your badcaps.net link was very instructive. After visiting that page, I then took a closer look at our board. I noticed that the grating, inside the fan housing had a fair amount of dust caked inside. Also, there were some significantly sized dust wads hiding in corners around several capacitors. I carefully cleaned out as much of this as was possible and then took another, close look at the caps.

The badcaps.net site states, "Beware that not all capacitors will bulge, swell, and burst. They can fail and you would never know by looking at them." Assuming this to be so and since I ain't no technician (least ways not at this level), I imagine the only thing to do is to take this to a professional shop to have them do a proper, comprehensive check of the motherboard and all of its several caps and connections, yes?

Beyond all of this, it seems to me that two of the caps MAY be displaying slight bulging. So, once again, my best bet is to bring the CPU into the shop, yes?

Your response will likely lead me to some form of closure on all of this.

Thanks in advance for your help.