I had the same problem yesterday, it was so bad I had to run a fresh load.
the problem is with media player, as it is trying to create thumbnails for
your video files. The bad thing is that Vista pretty much has to make those
thumbs.
What I found is that after I re-loaded and put my Live One Care security
suite on, I downloaded 2 codec packs, DivX and XviD then I started going to
my folders to check out my movies, past that, I just gave windows enough time
to build my thumbs. Now, no "Com Surrogate" issue.
I know, sometimes it seems that everyone's answer to most issues is "Fresh
Load"
The bottom line is this, man, you got issues, and unless you have a restore
point from before the issue started, you really ain't got a choice..
Hope this helps.