I can get into content manager from start menu but try to do anything and it freezes, can load game from start menu ok. saving route now about 30g worth wil take a while.
That sounds a little like a problem I have with CM in TS12 SP1. N3V have said that it was a known fault for that version.
If you do a re-install I'd be inclined to do an install into a new folder and leave the existing one alone. I believe Shane has advice for copying existing content from a faulty installation.