I hope I'm posting this on the right forum

Before I describe the problem, I would like to say I am in no way "computer smart." I was stumped when given the option for safe mode and etc. If possible, go for a understandable response.

So, after having my desktop for about a year and a half, I'm now just recently getting some problems. I am a gamer, and while opening up a game, I recieved a message saying some vital program terminated and my computer had to restart. My computer restarted and upon powering on, I got to a screen giving me the option to restore my system to the last working date, enter in safe mode, or open Windows normally. I had no idea what was going on so I just tried getting it to work normally. Basically, all I got was a black screen after the traditional windows startup screen. After being hung up for a good 30 minutes, I got to the desktop, to find that most of my appearance settings had been reset to default. I tried opening Internet Explorer to see if I could find any answers about my problem, but it wouldn't open. (It actually opened, but closed right away.) I hopped onto my laptop and googled my problem. A lot of similar threads seem to suggest the driver for a graphics card may be the problem. I have had an NVidia card for about a year now, and actually got the most recent driver a couple days ago. I tried uninstalling my current driver and reinstalling it, (I have the most recent driver installer saved on my computer) the problem is that I get an error when installing it back on. I get a message telling me to end some program and try again. I have nothing other than control panel opened, so I was a bit confused. Now, I currently, don't have a driver, but I'm still getting the horribly delayed start up, along with the fact I can't open internet explorer. Is there any way I can narrow down my problem and find a solution?