Windows 7 - Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

I have a brand new HP computer with Windows 7. Installed the above software and cannot open the preferences in the organizer. I have worked with Adobe for 3 months and they have really tried to fix the problem. They finally sent me Elements 9 and it did the same thing. I have installed Elements 8 on a laptop with Windows 7 and it works fine. Adobe finally said they could not do anything else, it has to be something with this computer. They suggested I reformat the harddrive. Has anyone heard of this happening and if so any suggestions on what in Windows 7 could be causing this. Thanks,