Don't know the length and resolution of your videos, but speed has improved in recent VP versions when compared with older releases. Crashing has not been reported by others, AFAIK, so this may be a PC issue. Do update the video driver and confirm the latest Direct-X as instructed above.
Saving a project creates a VPJ file that is not playable; it maps the source files and what to do with them. Exporting is used for the final product, as you know.
If you provide a PORTABLE project file of a video that crashes your PC, someone will analyse it. This can be done privately via the folder at the top-right of this forum. It will not be shared.
Though you have uninstalled, check these folders and remove all files that they contain...
"C:\Program Files (x86)\NCH Software\Components" or "C:\Program Files\NCH Software\Components
"C:\Users\<PC name>\AppData\Roaming\NCH Software\Components"
Test the latest release.
Older versions can be found here... http://oldversiondownload.com/