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Thread ID: 105245	2009-11-24 19:16:00	Deleting Registry entries.	smurf (6545)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
833230	2009-11-24 19:16:00	My friends computer is playing up because she tried to uninstall Nortons and used the wrong uninstaller with the result that there was an incomplete unininstall. No matter what has been tried eg using the correct uninstaller and when that didn't work, reinstalling..which wouldn't work....nothing will get rid of the problems. As a result of the latter...the Windows installer is constantly on the screen and won't get rid of itself and the Symantec(Norton's) Symbol remains in the bottom right hand corner of the task bar. Would deleting registry entries for Symantec get rid of the problem? Any suggestions please. She has regularly run Malwarebytes, Glary's utilities etc and nothing shows or helps. Are there any steps that need to be taken when deleting the registry entries if that is an option. Thanks.	smurf (6545)
833231	2009-11-24 19:46:00	Go to this Norton site,(service1.symantec.com) download their uninstaller & work your way through.	kamo1 (14583)
833232	2009-11-24 19:52:00	Thanks Kamo. That has been tried but with no luck...We have exhausted all the main ways of trying to get rid of it and the Windows Installer...hence the drastic option to be considered...the registry :)	smurf (6545)
833233	2009-11-24 20:14:00	www.ccleaner.com	stainton (15333)
833234	2009-11-24 20:24:00	Try this first, (support.microsoft.com), then reinstall and uninstall again using the Norton installer. Norton products have many entries in the registry, hence their uninstaller is your best option.	kamo1 (14583)
833235	2009-11-24 20:43:00	Norton does have some tools on its site to help with uninstalling the application fully (see Commonly Used Symantec Tools but if you're like me, you'd rather do it yourself. Well, I like to know how to do it myself, but we're all quite fortunate that PC fixit guy David Rice has made his very detailed Norton removal instructions available, and that's what I'm including here... 1. Go to Start --> Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs. 2. Scroll down to your Norton/Symantec program 3. Click Change --> Remove All. Upon completion of the Remove All process, you will be asked to restart your PC. Do so. 4. Now go to Start --> My Computer --> Program Files. Right click on each Symantec (or Norton) folder and select Delete. Restart your PC. 5. Go back in to Program Files. Except now go to the Common Files folder at or near the top of the Program Files window. Delete every Symantec (or Norton) folder there. Restart your PC. 6. Go to Start --> Search --> All Files and Folders --> More advanced options. Check each option except for Case sensitive Now type Norton in the search box. Delete each Norton folder from the search results (Again, right click, choose Delete) Restart your PC. 7. Repeat step 6 except type Symantec in the search box. 8. Now let's go into the Registry. Be Careful here. First thing to do is Back up the Registry. I'll be saying more about the Registry later, but suffice to say the presence of uninstalled security software in the Registry can conflict with newly installed security software and cause system freezes. For that matter, so can folders of "uninstalled" programs. Once again, go to the Start menu, but this time, you want to click on Run then type in regedit. 9. Go to the top of the Regedit window. Click the + next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER to open the section (Hive). Go down the thread until you see Software. Click on Software and scroll down until you see Symantec. Right click on Symantec and choose Delete. 10. From there go down to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and repeat step 9. Restart your PC. 11. Again, go to Start, click on Run. Type in regedit Click (+) next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Click (+) next to Software. Click (+) next to Microsoft. Click (+) next to Windows. Click (+) next to CurrentVersion. Select the Run folder. Right-click and delete each Symantec and NAV (Norton Antivirus) entry you see (if present). Go To HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and do the same thing. Restart your PC. There is more we could do in the Registry but for now these steps are sufficient. [Not quite done. David includes the following important update that explains some additional litter that Norton drops into the registry and nees to be deleted --DT] I was a little hesitant about adding additional steps in the registry when I first put this procedure up on the net. I didn't want users to spend too much time in the Registry given how dangerous it can be to make even a tiny mistake therein. Upon further reflection, though, I think adding one more step to this procedure does not really constitute any more of a risk for users than following (carefully!!) the steps I outlined above. The benefit of taking another step to remove Norton from your Registry outweighs any possible risk to your system. It's critical that you follow my instructions to the letter to avoid risk! The additional step I want you to take is to go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is the top section (Hive) of the five sections in the Registry. It's on top of HKEY_CURRENT_USER which is on top of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Click on the little + to open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT hive. Scroll way down until you get to the Symantec entries. Now just right click on each Symantec entry and hit Delete (making sure not to delete anything that isn't explicitly listed as Symantec!!) Restart your PC. Last Step: If you don't already have it on your PC, I encourage you to download a copy of CCleaner. It's a good disk cleaner that gets rid of leftover program files. Upon completion of installation, open CCleaner and hit the Run Cleaner button in the lower right of the CCLeaner window. After CCleaner has finished, keep CCleaner open and click on the blue square icon on the left panel with the word Issues under it. Hit Scan for Issues. When it's doneyou should click on Fix Selected Issues in the lower right hand corner of the program window. Follow each prompt, clicking on "yes" for "Do you want to backup changes to the registry?" Then click Save to save the backup to disk, and click on the Fix All Selected Issues button. Click on OK when asked "Are you sure you want to Fix all selected Issues?". Click Close and... Restart your PC. Source: Ask Dave Taylor	DeSade (984)
833236	2009-11-24 21:56:00	Thanks De Sade...i will work through this with her. To other that have replied...thanks I have tried CCleaner etc :)	smurf (6545)
833237	2009-11-24 22:39:00	Use this if its still in add/remove programs (support.microsoft.com). I wouldnt use the registry for something like Symantec. There's a LOT of entries!	Speedy Gonzales (78)
833238	2009-11-24 23:55:00	Go in safemode and use the proper removal tool Trying to manually remove it via editing the registry will only lead to problems.	apsattv (7406)
833239	2009-11-25 00:01:00	Thanks for the replies. We have tried using the "proper" Symantec tool but it doesn't delete the entire programme and that is the problem :(	smurf (6545)
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