Recovery strategy -
1 - Have all of your files on a physically separate disc from your operating system and programs.
2 - Download AND USE a FREE copy of Easeus home backup to make a clone of your system drive (usually C:/) onto another drive, preferably a physically different one, preferably while the system is working properly.
3 - Make a rescue disc using the Easeus program.
If the worst happens, you have the opportunity to boot from the rescue disc and reload your C:/ drive from the copy, overwriting and thereby destroying all of the bad stuff and getting all of the programs and settings back in one go. If it happens to be a dead drive, you can do the same onto a new one. Takes around 20 minutes to get back to a fully working system as opposed to an hour or so reinstalling windows and the next month or so getting it working again.
But if you don't have back-ups, conventional wisdom is that you didn't want it that much anyway.