Is he trying to open a file when this occurs? Ask him to try the following two things.
1) Rename the file without underscores, spaces in the path, or any special symbols and try loading again.
2) If that does not work, if he can at least get the IDE open, go to File->Recent Files->Clear
If he can't get the IDE open I'll take a look in the registry at how to remove the recent files. Let me know how it goes!