Cannot get my Elements 9 serial number to work and am getting nowhere with Adobe. Any suggestions?

Elements 9 worked fine. It had been preloaded by Dell. I had a hard drive go bad and put in a new one. When I re-installed it Elements said the serial was invalid. Dell says it is an Adobe license and I must deal with them. Adobe sent me to the point of purchase (Dell). Dell says the yellow sticker on the disc sleeve was attached by Adobe and the serial number on it was assigned by them. If that is the case Adobe should rectify this. I paid for a product and nobody has been willing to help me out. I've spent 2 hours going back and forth with Adobe and an hour with Dell. This crap is giving me an upset stomach.