I have had a number of problems with AOL in the past, usually resolved with a complete uninstall and reinstall of AOL. I have also had to uninstall avast, related to AOL trying to update AOL safety and security components I didn't have installed in the first place, and had better luck uninstalling AOL (again), without saving settings for reinstallation, before using the avast uninstall utility, with reboots between each step. (I don't use AOL's Safety and Security Program because for me, it seems to cause more problems than it is worth. I still use AOL, somewhat reluctantly, for internet access.)
I don't know whether this approach would help in your case, but it might be worth a try if you have an easy way of reinstalling AOL.
BTW, I have always appreciated having a reliable computer expert to help with hardware problems. Now I appreciate him even more. He has never rearranged my software!