Getting Norton OUT? How?

A friend on the West Coast wrote to say she had had a problem with the installation of SP2, and had gone back to her Restore Point and uninstalled SP2. She wanted my advice on trying a second time, so I asked her whether she had any problematic programs on her machine -- especially anything with the name NORTON.

She had what she called "Norton 2003." I told her to UNINSTALL it, then go through my online instructions for installing SP2 (http://editorsdesktop.com/SP2inst.html), and report back.

She writes:

Can anyone give me (her) suggestions as to HOW TO GET NORTON OUT of the machine? (So that she can re-try the SP2 installation with no Norton conflicts.)

 

The only way that I could get Norton (SystemWorks) out of my WinME box was to go to the symantec site, obtain instructions for removal, and then remove by hand. Add/remove does not do the job. In fact, that caused more problems for me. I had to re-install and then remove according to their instructions. Being a newbie at the time, it was quite daunting.

 

Hey Wise,

Send her this link, http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...5694500552355&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=

The Rnav.exe removal tool seems to do the job.

Steve

 

Thanks, guys. I'm following up now.

 

Keep us posted on how you dood it, please Wiz. This might call for another "How to" post in the spyware specific section. (well, in many ways Norton is a virus: invasive, nosey, unwanted outgoing communications, interruptive behavior and it's damn hard to kill) .
Bill

 

Wellsir, I took the advice of the guys here and went to Symantec to get instructions, and wound up telling her about the Rnav2003.exe removal tool and sending her there to get it. She got it and ran it, and reported that after the removal exe ran and she hit reboot, her computer started a lot faster than it has booted ever since she first installed NAV on it.

I told her just about the same things you were saying: Norton products seem to create a slew of registry keys and values, throw tentacles into all sorts of folders, including tentacles into the operating system folder, and bugger up the boot process with "services" and "scans" that you probably don't want to run at every boot.

She hasn't reported on how the second attempt at the SP2 installation went yet, but I'll post a note here when she does, just so's you'll know. I'm betting that it was Notorious Norton that fouled up her first attempt. You just can't get it to LET GO.

 

Hilary wrote this, after the eradication of Norton AV 2003 and THEN her second attempt at SP2:

Seems the thing Norton users need to know about SP2 is NOT on the Norton site: You need to REMOVE Norton utilities from the machine, not just turn them OFF, to get a clean installation of SP2.

Somebody is bound to show up and say "Well, I use Norton (Whatever), and I got a clean install of SP2 the first time I tried." To him or her I say "It never ceases to amaze me how much pure LUCK there is in the world."

 

Well as an experienced person of Norton, I can tell you right now that Symantec buries itself deep within your system. And the instructions on removal from Symantec are the best thing you can do. I had to go in and do it step by step, including editing the registry. Finally after all that and more, it was done.

 

She's got a good sense of humor, that's pretty good.

Boccemon is right there, I tried it awhile back removing 2002 and had all sorts of problems.

Steve

 

The thing that's amaaazing is that Norton continues to be one of the top-selling software developers. Mebbe that's just because they advertise more and sell through more big-box stores and wholesalers, but you'd think their reputation on all the tech-support sites would catch up with them eventually, and they'd be driven right out of business. Just consider all the times we solve a problem here on MG by suggesting that the user kill Norton (name of application).

But, of course, almost NObody in the real world of computer-users out there is a knowledgeable geek, and people who shop Wal-Mart for computer software outnumber us a thousand to one.

 

I thought that would get a rise out of at least ONE Norton fan.

Maybe there ARE NO Norton fans on this board.

 

I had to assist getting NIS 2004 out of a friends machine, and it was burried so deep in the system it took hours of work. It appears to have tenticles into so many layers and really slows a machine down something fierce. Norton does post how to do it, but it is very hard to find that info on their site. I am no fan of this product due to their extreme lack of tech support. Bloatware. However, it does the job of protecting your system overall. The reality is that one can find the same level of protection for free with Avast or at reduced size with some of the paid product, and avoid the headaches.

 

Yeah, welll...........you didn't figure on the wrath of Wal-Mart fans, did 'ya???

 

the reason people use norton is that it comes free on the machine. if you forget to cancell it then you start getting in the comfort zone with things you know and recognise. the only reason that didnt happen to me was prior dealings with AOL. i didnt uninstall either AOL or norton. i simply took the shortcuts off and 'buried' them. i have never had problems because they have never been accessed but they are still there...lurking.....waiting.....