First, try opening up your computer in safe mode. Then see if you can run your browser in safe mode.

Ugh! Good idea, I will definitely back up my files. It seems to have started when I did the latest Windows update, but I've undone and redone it so who knows?

Those sound like pretty deep problems, but you might try downloading Pale Moon, which is a Firefox clone. If that doesn't work, then I think you've got Operating System issues, perhaps related to hard disk corruption. Maybe back up all your files if you have not yet done so.

I love the idea of taking the laptop to class. I bet someone in the class will know how to help. At least I hope so.

I have googled it and rebooted it. I've tried all the suggestions. I've seen a few programs that I can download that claim to fix it, but they seem sketchy. Maybe I'll bring my laptop to class and find a techy person to help me .

I'm not the tech wiz you need, but two thoughts...

I assume that you have actually rebooted your computer, but that's often effective at resetting whatever may have gotten out of synch.

Have you googled the specific error message? That may give you helpful suggestions.

Good luck! (Oh, and you might ask others in your masters program what browsers work best for Blackboard.)

I cannot get Google chrome or Firefox to open on my computer. I've tried deleting and reinstalling.All it says is "this application was unable to start correctly, 0xc0000007b".
I've done all the Microsoft updates and undone/redone them just to be sure. I cannot stand using Microsoft edge or Internet Explorer. Plus things like AESOP and Blackboad (a program I need to use for my masters program) are sooooo slow on these two browsers . Any ideas? I've run numerous virus/malware scans and everything else runs well.
Are there any other decent browsers I can use?