Norton Blamed for re-install

[Krusty]

I installed the Norton antivivus and firewall package at Christmas and have generally been happy with it. It did let a Worm in a few months ago (w32) but there was a patch on their website and it cured it no problem. The latest issue I have though concerns a Trojan that got past (may have been there for some time) and decided to reek havoc last week. As soon as XP starts up it switches itself off again. Bit beyond my knowledge so I gave it to a pc shop to have a look at and they've come back saying that they need to reinstall windows, siting Norton as the reason.
Now, obviously, I'm devastated that I am likely to loose all my documents/music/photos etc but I just cannot believe that Norton would cause this. My thought is that the pc shop are saying this because it's an easier option that working out the problem. So
q1. Is it possible for Norton to do this and q2. Am I going to loose everything by reinstalling windows

[shadytree]

Krusty said:

Am I going to loose everything by reinstalling windows

sorry to hear that Krusty
This happened to me about six months ago. Same problem re-boot/shutdown, unfortunatley I think it's buggered. I had to do a re-instal and lost loads of stuff and have now reverted to keeping all my music, photos and documents on an external USB drive. No matter what virus software I have, i just never trust it. I know this isn't much consillation, but I've been there and feel for you. I now make sure I back everything up.

[Krusty]

shadytree said:

I back everything up.

Stuart,
I've got back up files of 90% of my music but it's the photos/documents that I'm going to loose. I guess it's like everything else, after initially backing up almost weekly, that turns into monthly and then quarterly. you just get complacent.
Nice car. Guess I'll be seeing you on the Hoon next month.
Cheers
Mark

[Podie]

I'm not a huge fan of Norton as I've seen problems before… doesn't always seem to work in harmony with a system.

It does sound to me like the PC shop are fobbing you off… you can normally rescue data the vast majority of the time, if you have the inclination to do so. Depending on where you are in the country you reside, I might be able to recommend someone to help…. (mail me if you don't want the world to know)

[Krusty]

Thanks for the offer Pod, I'm in Winchester. My wife (who works for IBM) is going to have a chat with one of the IT guys there to see if he fancies some cash OT. Should have gone down this road first
Will post the outcome tonight. Am leaving for UK in about two hours, straight to pc shop

[Podie]

Krusty said:

Thanks for the offer Pod, I'm in Winchester. My wife (who works for IBM) is going to have a chat with one of the IT guys there to see if he fancies some cash OT. Should have gone down this road first Will post the outcome tonight. Am leaving for UK in about two hours, straight to pc shop

No problem mate... that's basically what I was offering.. or asking one of the lads in the industry I know dotted around to do..!

See if one of the wife's colleagues can help... best of luck mate.

[FunkyNige]

Will reinstalling Windows lose any data? Whenever I've reinstalled I'm sure the only thing I lose is settings. Obviously you may need to do a complete reformat and all, but it may not all be lost.

[arcturus]

Without knowing all the details, it does sound as though you are being fobbed off.

Before wiping and starting again (always a last resort) try running a system repair. This restores windows without losing any applications or data files.

Boot from the Windows XP CD and select the options to install Windows. It will then examine your system and announce that it has found a previous installation and offer to repair it. Take this option, NOT the install a fresh copy option. It will then look as though it is doing a complete re-install and you will panic and curse me. But bear with it and when it has all finished you should still have everything intact.

Usual disclaimers appply, although this is a MS procedure.

Once up and running, go to Windows update and apply ALL critical patches. It will reduce the chances of this happening again.



>> Edited by arcturus on Friday 13th August 09:23

[Podie]

arcturus said:

...apply ALL critical patches.

Seems that XP SP2 has ALL patches...

[arcturus]

And another thing, recovering the photos should be easy. As long as the disk is not damaged, even if the machine wont start, the disk can be transplanted into another running machine and the files copied off. Suggest you find a more knowledgeable shop.

Shame you are not in the Midlands

[arcturus]

[redacted]

[pug406]

Surely you can start it in safe mode and uninstall Norton

[GregE240]

arcturus said:

Podie said: Seems that XP SP2 has ALL patches... You are indeed correct, but it's not widely available just yet. Official release date is 25 Aug. >> Edited by arcturus on Friday 13th August 09:29

Rubbish, the network download (255Mb) is available now. Around since earlier this week.

Can post URL if you wish.

Greg

[arcturus]

Don't bother - us rural techies still on analogue!!

Cant even get ISDN.

Don't assume everyone has broadband!!

And please don't assume that everyone else is like us. In my experience most 'normal' people would rather just have a CD than download it.

I was referring to the mass release to the people by saying 25 Aug which is when it will appear in places such as PC World and Dixons as a free CD.



>> Edited by arcturus on Friday 13th August 10:05

[Podie]

arcturus said:

I was referring to the mass release to the people by saying 25 Aug which is when it will appear in places such as PC World and Dixons as a free CD.

I thought techie's were banned from these places...

[plotloss]

GregE240 said:

arcturus said: Podie said: Seems that XP SP2 has ALL patches... You are indeed correct, but it's not widely available just yet. Official release date is 25 Aug. >> Edited by arcturus on Friday 13th August 09:29 Rubbish, the network download (255Mb) is available now. Around since earlier this week. Can post URL if you wish. Greg

Its available as a network installer for those who know what they are doing, the general consumer single pc automated update isnt available until the 25th though...

[Liszt]

Sounds a bit like blaster virus which is easy to fix. Just google it.

The next step as mentioned is try and repair it.

Failing that, try and reinstall windows with out formatting the hard drive.

Failing that, take it to a mates machine, which you know is patched up with OS patches and Antivirus patches and mount your harddrive to his machine.

Can then recover your files,etc and burn them to CD/DVD/ another harddrive.

Then you can format the hard drive and start again.

The computer shop is just taking the easy option for itself.

[Krusty]

OK, just spoken to the PC shop and they're telling me Norton is corrupted and will not uninstall. Because the programme is corrupted it also will not let them re-install Norton over the top.....Basically it doesn't sound good. Anyway, they say they are going to try and back up my personal stuff before starting again. Maybe I'll be able to save some stuff after all.
Thanks for all the advise, I passed it on and they actually thought I knew what I was talking about....What a blag

[ErnestM]

Krusty...

Have these guys tried a registry restore from the XP console yet?

One of my sales reps caught a virus ("I don't like that firewall because my boyfriend says all they do is slow things down") on her laptop and when I did a registry restore I was then able to remove the virus and re-enable the firewall (Norton).

also recommended that she find a more intelligent boyfriend and/or suggested that if her boyfriend would like to pay for her kit, then he can make the rules. Dropped her from admin to limited user on the laptop...

ErnestM

[XM5ER]

If you need to recover your files I can recommend "Get Data Back" from www.runtime.org .

I had to use it to recover all my music and pictures from a USB hard drive that died a few months ago.