Clean installs
Yes, performing a clean install of the OS maybe the ultimate solution but it takes a great deal of time, if you factor in the need to download and install all Windows Updates, reinstall all your programs plus get their updates and not to mention setting up all your user accounts and other settings from scratch.
I prefer to make a system image of the newly installed system AFTER all the Windows updates and programs have been installed and AFTER you have set up all your user accounts and refined all your settings and then to use this to return your PC to the date you created the sytem image. Then you only need to download and install any Windows Updates that have been released since that date, at which point you create another up-to-date system image to use next time!
