Charlie, I decided to post again because I partially blew it. I didn't read Robert's posted error message. I don't have IE8 yet, and didn't realize this new error could be the result of an add-on. If 8's like 7 you can trouble shoot it by turning off all your add-ons. Go to your IE icon and right click on it. Select "start without add-ons" from the menu. If it then starts, you can open the properties dialog box either by selecting "Properties" from that right click menu, or - as you likely know - Tools>Internet Options from the menu when IE is open. It's the same box either way. Select the Programs tab and you can select "manage add-ons" and then scan for any funky looking add-ons, or, if nothing else, you can turn groups of add-ons on and off and try restarting until you find it.
If you don't want to go through all that, then you can always do the DEP exception. The problem with that, though, is you may still be working with an add-on that's either damaged or actually malware, and just masking it.
If you see this, good luck! With time, you should be able to fix it.