The following helped me out a few times when the system crashed
I have several partitions
one for the operating system
one on which I install my programs
one for documents, swap, internet files, backup and so on
Then I make an image (backup) of my c: partition (with the OS on it)
When the system crashes, I only have to restore that image and everything will work fine again !
The program I use is Symantec ghost or Powerquest Drive Image