That is a thought question.....
You could put a proxy address of 127.0.0.1 in the IE settings. That will not stop IE from opening, but at least it will time out instantly.
If you want to stop IE from opening the best solution would be to remove whatever is making IE open in the first place. Since it is a new laptop it is unlikely that it is spyware, but I would still recommend to run Spybot and Ad-Adware (full scan) to remove Spyware. The other thing you might want to try first, is to take a quick look at the add/Remove programs applet and uninstall any program suspicious or that you don't need. Sometimes, PCs, come with bloatware that can cause the pop-ups (old e-machines had them for example).
In Spybot also, if you put it in Advanced mode, in the section for tools, there is a startup listing that identifies problems. You can go thru your start up list and un-check everything that is red, but also everything that you don't know what it is. You only need to leave the services for the antivirus and the firewall. What windows needs it will load regardless. You can also export the list and we can tell you what to Toggle