After spending a week trying to solve this error on my Windows 7 32 bit PC, and finding forums frustrating as there seen to be so may causes for this problem, I wish to add a post with the solution that worked for me.
Following a PRE 9/graphics driver crash, PRE 9 would no longer start a new project or open any existing project. My week's efforts have been based around uninstalling/reinstalling PRE 9, graphics card drivers, rolling back to old restore points, updating my OS, and all ths solutions at http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/406/kb406747.html and http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/515/cpsid_51552.html, I finally encountered a tech support person who recommended that I try creating a new catalog.
So following the instructions at http://forums.adobe.com/message/3419305?tstart=0 I deleted and recreated my catalog's and WOW, a 30 second solution fixed the problem.
I can only assume that the catalog became corrupt and that this catalog is essential to PRE 9 starting correctly. It had to be associated with PRE 9 and not anything else on my PC as nothing else had changed in the few minutes between when the application would and would not work other than a PRE crash.
Hope this helps someone else.
I could go to India to hug this Tech!
