I don't follow. Did you copy the files from you Camera to your Hard disk using Windows XP File Explorer. Then use Windows Explorer right click and click select Edit. If so what Program is Edit setup to use. If Adobe Photoshop Elements did Photoshop Elements start up?
Did you try to open Adobe Photoshop Elements from the XP Start button. Then use File Open to open the image file in Elements. There is also a forum for Photoshop Elements