Wow, since I've been running Windows 2000, or later on, graduated to Windows XP, I've never had to reinstall Windows as I used to with Win 9x. I always do the updates and I use Windows Explorer, run a hardware firewall, and AVG now for anti-virus.
Hardware failure will trash the best system though, and sometimes it happens as a coincidence.....
First you get good, then you get fast. Then grouchiness sets in.
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)