Illustrator not working, cant edit files

I recently installed photoshop and illustrator. i have photoshop working without a hitch, but illustrator isnt working properly. i can start new files or open old ones and it will take me to a space to edit them but the art board shows up blank, only white. if i tab and back it it changes to gray. when i try to edit the space it doesnt show edits such as creating a rectange with the tool. It will show on the tab that the file has been edited but not saved (the * nexted to the title of the file). i dont know what is causing the problem. heres a picture of the problem Imgur: The magic of the Internet