Java won't... run? At all?

I've been having extreme difficulty getting Java to work properly. At first, I was shown an... odd screen with rectangles/squares all over whenever I opened an applet or anything else meant to run on Java (this includes the Java control panel). Then I installed the update, which didn't help, tried uninstalling, tried reinstalling, and then eventually did a system restore. Now, I can't run ANYthing with Java; the control panel doesn't open at all, and whenever an applet in my browser uses Java, the browser closes/shuts down automatically. Any ideas as to how I can fix this? Thank you in advance.

I'm using Windows XP with IE7, if it helps.

 

Hello, and thank you!

I've done everything as directed (uninstalled and removed all traces of Java), and after reinstalling, I'm back to my original problem:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/21/671769/javascreenshot.png

I get a similar screen when I view Sun's test page:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/21/671769/javascreenshot2.png

Sun provides three different troubleshooting methods, but I've cleared my broswer cache and Java is enabled in my broswer. My only other option would be to check Java's control panel, but if that won't even open and display properly...

 

I had the same results in IE and Mozilla Firefox, and my third browser isn't Java-compatible.

Well... earlier this year I may have tampered with the Microsoft VM. After I reinstalled the Microsoft VM and enabled its Java console (and disabling Sun's JRE), I managed to get some applets to work. However... the appearance of the Java Control Panel hasn't changed (i.e. it's still unusable), and some applets show me a blank, gray screen (same goes for Sun's test page, actually).

I'm not sure where to go from here -- should I try reinstalling Windows?