This is a bit of an odd issue: (This is with JRE 7u7 32bit.)

New Lenovo W530 laptop, everything is shiny. I tried to use a java applet for the first time recently (in Chrome). I got the Java logo and it started spinning like it was going to load, but didn't get anywhere and the browser locked up. I tried IE. Same deal. Tried Firefox. Same deal.

So, I did the usual things: Rebooted, nothing. Un-installed Java, rebooted, re-installed, nothing. Tried it installing a 64bit Java as well. Same thing. I tried JRE6. Same thing. I uninstalled and manually deleted all the registry entries I could find related to it, then re-installed. Same thing. I un-installed and used the JavaRa utility. Same exact thing.

I've not been able to use web applets or desktop stuff (minecraft), until yesterday. I did a graphics driver update and I was able to play minecraft for small amounts of time. It crashed regularly and wouldn't start reliably. No change in web applets.

I'm at my wits end here. I'm to the point where reformatting is my only option. If anyone has any ideas at all, that would be awesome.