Windows 7: Problems with Java JRE and Google Chrome

I have Windows 7 Professional 64bit on a Lenovo Thinkpad x120e laptop. Earlier today I tried to sync up Zotero with LibreOffice, and I got an error message telling me that the Java Runtime Environment wasn't installed. I've spent a good part of the day uninstalling and reinstalling the JRE, Google Chrome, and LibreOffice and rebooting my computer, but the problem has gotten worse. Now the Java website viewed through Chrome doesn't recognize that I have Java on my computer and Chrome won't uninstall (I get a dialogue box telling me that I need to close all chrome windows even though I have none open).

When I type %java -version in my command prompt it tells me that java 1.7.0_02 is installed for the 64-bit server.



So my question is, what can I do to get Java recognized by my browser? Also, I'm curious as to why I can't delete Chrome (I have in the past).

Thank you for any help.