Boy this is a show stopper! And, I haven't received a reply from tech support after a week:

While installing Vegas 8.0 from disc, I encountered a couple Vista "program stopped" messages for something called "Sony NGen." I rode the errors through and supposedly completed the install. But, any attempt to start Vegas results in a hard crash even before my opportunity to register the product. Even worse, now my Vegas 7 crashes!

I've tried uninstall/reinstall cycles, etc. The Sony tech bulletin on such issues suggests uninstalling everything else on my system! I don't think so. But if there are known issues, perhaps I'll uninstall certain tools/codecs that might cause trouble.

I had no trouble with an install on my desktop system.

system:
Windows Vista Home Premium
HP dv6253cl
AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-52
2gb RAM
nVidia GeForce Go 6150
Seagate ST912082 SCSI HD
TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D
Broadcom 802.11 Network Adapter
Conexant High Def Audio
HDAUDIO Soft Data fax Modem
HP DVB-T TV tuner
HP Pavilion Webcam
Ricoh 5-in-1 card reader
Synaptics Touchpad