Regarding clean install

if I ever manged to buy an external hard disk.

Under £60 for a 2Tb hard drive e.g. from Amazon... and given that imaging, kept up to date, gives you a full backup, can save you having to try arduous technical 'fixes' over days, and a clean install, and lets you recover from viruses and ransomware by restoring to a previous good state... a good investment.

It does mean you need to keep creating a new disk image periodically. For my half-full 256Gb SSD that's maybe 10 minutes over USB3 - and I can use my PC while that's happening.

Thing is, if restoring an image saves you a huge amount of time, and could mean you're not dependent on others giving their free time to help... it's a huge advantage.

Having a well thought-out backup strategy is key to avoiding stress, fatigue, and even potential health risks... perhaps even criticism from family members when photos are lost which weren't backed up..

A very quick search suggests there are cheaper options - less than a restaurant meal perhaps..