I had exactly the same problem as the first poster. After log-on an error box pops up saying
'Vista VAIO Survey has stopped working'. The error details were only slightly different:
Description: Stopped working
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: CLR20r3
Problem Signature 01: vista vaio survey.exe
Problem Signature 02: 1.0.0.0
Problem Signature 03: 45776977
Problem Signature 04: mscorlib
Problem Signature 05: 2.0.0.0
Problem Signature 06: 4536f11f
Problem Signature 07: 2336
Problem Signature 08: 23
Problem Signature 09: System.FormatException
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.6
Locale ID: 1033
Alternatively I get the error message
'VSC has stopped working' with the following details:
Description: Stopped working
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: CLR20r3
Problem Signature 01: vsc.exe
Problem Signature 02: 1.0.0.0
Problem Signature 03: 45f74c0c
Problem Signature 04: mscorlib
Problem Signature 05: 2.0.0.0
Problem Signature 06: 4536f11f
Problem Signature 07: 2336
Problem Signature 08: 23
Problem Signature 09: System.FormatException
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.6
Locale ID: 1033
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I chatted with Sony esupport on the web, and they recommended
1) That I uninstall VAIO Survey via Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs and reinstall it via VAIO Recovery Center (Help and Support>Backup and Recovery>click on 'Launch VAIO Recovery Center' at the bottom of the page)
I did this and it did not work.
2) That I restore the system to an earlier point via System Restore before a recent JAVA update had been installed.
I did this and it did not work.
3) The assistant also told me that I could remove VAIO Survey if I wanted as it wasn't necessary:
"VAIO Survey is just a survey program supplied with VAIO Computers, if you wish you may remove it from the Computer"; What does the program do? "if you want to participate in the Survey of the Product feature you can use this Program"
I haven't done this yet but probably will if it serves no purpose and runs all the time in the background. (I couldn't get any more specific information about it on the web)
My situation:
My computer is only a couple of weeks old. I'd removed the unwanted 'Bloatware/Trialware' after many hours (Symantec; AOL; Napster; MS Office Business; Spiderman; AIM; MobiTV; links to Gametap; NY Times Reader; ...) and don't think I did anything damaging there.
I also installed and used Tune-Up 2008 and ccleaner afterwards. For protection I'm using BitDefender and installed the free AVG.
I haven't yet transferred over my data and programs from my old computer.
So I'm mystified why this software needs to be running at all and think this problem hasn't been well researched.
Any one else with experience on this?