[X-Unix] System upgrade dilemma

[Ethan Rips]

Disclaimer: I'm a UNIX igno, so please be patient with me...

I upgraded from OS X 10.2.8 to 10.3.8 a few days ago, & I've been 
experiencing continual crashes from Safari, iTunes & occasionally Mail. 
(I'm running a B&W G3/350MHz with an 80GB hard drive & a 40GB external 
drive on which I've got a backup of 10.2.8.)

It's occurred to me that my installation must've been faulty in some 
way (I did an archive & install). A look at the crash logs shows 
invalid address for the apps in question. This raises the question, 
should I restore the old OS from the external drive or perhaps do a 
clean install of 10.3.8, then copy my backed up preferences from the 
external drive to my Mac?

Has anyone got any thoughts on the best approach I should take & how to 
go about it?

Thanks.

Ethan