I was running 14.x ubuntu for a long time.
I could plug in my external hard drive without any problems, I could plug in my scadisks without any problems, I was able to run VMPlayer and VMWorkshop without any problems.

I upgraded to 18.04.1.

Now, I can't run any of my VM programs, VMPlayer or VMWorkstation, I can't find my external hard drives. I can't find my thumb drives.

the closest error message I get, is:
Error in loading application.

It asked me if I want to send the error to the developers, and I answer yes.
Is there an answer to this problem?

Is the system seeing the external drives and just not automatically mounting them? Take a look at your /dev directory before you plug one in. Then plug one (and only one) in and see if there is a new device listed. If there is your problem is one of not automatically mounting. If that is the case go to the Removable Drives menu in Settings and the 'Mount removable drives automatically when hotplugged' box is probably not set. Set it and your drive problems should be solved. You can also make entries in /etc/fstab but the settings option is probably easier. If the system is simply not seeing the drive then it is a different problem. But take one step at a time.

When you upgraded, did you do this "in-situ" through the Ubuntu upgrade, or did you do a fresh install?

I asked Linux if there was any upgrades from my laptop, and hit came back saying version 18.04.1
is the newest version. It asked me if I wanted to update, and I said yes.

Few hours later, after updating I found out my external drives didn't work, my VMWare programs will
not load either.

It sounds as if the upgrade didn't go smoothly. It's a heck of a jump between 14.04 and 18.04.1, including if I remember correctly the introduction of systemd.

Did you make a system image/backup/snapshot before you upgraded? Or have you done so at any point in the recent past?

No I did not make any type of system backup etc.. .I don't know how to. . .
What I may end up trying to do, is use WiFi to save my VMdisks to another
computer, and the rest of my files, and try to reinsall from a thumb drive.

I might be able to boot from a thumb drive, attach a hard drive, and back
everything to it. . .then I would have my data saved.

Yes, saving your data and VMs to another device is a great idea.

If you want, I can go through your package management system after that and see if there are any inconsistencies. Or you could go for a fresh install.

It would also be a good idea for you to learn how to backup your system but we can leave that until everything is sorted.