I have been using an old desktop setup, running XP Pro with Service Pack 3 since 2004 with very little hassles up to now. However, I am now finding that the hard drive has become full up with a lot of junk which I want to remove. I have tried to remove individual programs but this has created hang ups and I then have had to do a restore to get going again. I have done the normal disk clean ups, defrags etc so now think that a full re-install may be the best solution. To retain what is on the old drive first, I would like to create an image of it on an external drive. Would this be feasible or is there a better way forward?

For one thing, images aren't readily accessible so you won't easily be able to access your files if you only put them on the image. Other than that if you are having stability issues (perhaps because you removed the wrong programs) then the image is going to be just as unstable at best upon a restore as it is now. Therefore if you aren't willing to take the time to diagnose and fix the problem but instead would rather start over then I suggest that you don't try to image the current system. If you want we can try to help you fix the problem. Others may have a different opinion but I wouldn't fool around with backing up an installation that you can't depend upon. If you think about it you are reinstalling to get rid of whatever problems you currently have so why would you put that back?

Thanks for coming back to me.
In view of what you are saying, could you suggest some areas that I could look at to sort out why my computer has steadily slowed up so much even though there is much activity going on on the processor. I have tried using Ccleaner to clear the registry etc but that hasn't helped. I also tried sfc /scannow in case there might have been system files damaged.
Your help would be appreciated.

How much ram do you have? Anymore for XP I recommend 1 gb or more and that would be because today's programs require more resources than when XP came out or even when you bought your computer (also many programs like to have smaller programs run all of the time). I certainly wouldn't have less than 512 mb (1/2 gb). Please post more information about your computer. Also, have you run malware scans? We can help you out with that but not in this section. Malware can slow down your computer.

I have a home constructed desktop with a Gigabyte, GA-7N400, rev 2, motherboard, AMD Athlone XP 3200+, 2.19Ghz processor and 1.5Gb Ram, running Windows XP Pro, version 2002, SP 3. I have Kaspersky Internet Security 2010. I had Registry Mechanic but found that it slowed things down so much and therefore uninstalled it.
Hope this will be helpful.

I don't like registry cleaners but that probably isn't your problem. It could be though. You certainly have enough ram and a fast enough processor. Do you have any freezes or blue screens?

Why don't you right click on my computer, select manage, & then from computer management select event viewer (under system tools). Under that Windows Logs & then system. Look for any entries with a red ! (that say error) & tell me what the most common ones are if any.

Also I suggest that you read this first and post a new thread here to make sure that your system is clean.