Alex,
Ran into the same issue with IE 9, Java 7 Update 51 on a Windows 7 workstation. The first thing I would check is that your Java Applets enabled, in IE, go to Internet Options, Programs, Manage Add-Ons, scroll down until you see "Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper" and "Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper") and make sure they are enabled. If you don't see the applets you should re-install the 32 Bit Java JRE Client (x86) and make sure the applets are enabled.
Good Luck, let me know how it goes....
Gary