Symantec Removal

Symantec NAV, NIS, NSW Removal

   This is an older Symantec Removal article page.
    The page names have been changed and the newest latest Symantec Removal article page you need is:
    Symantec 2008/2007/2006/2005/2004/2003 Removal Tool

     Other older article pages: Remove/Reinstall NIS/Norton AntiSpam/NPF 2004/2005/2006

By no means does my provision of this article have any intent for any ill-formed reason or purpose. I am an avid user of Symantec products and have been for many years. Unfortunately users run into many problems with Symantec products for several reasons, many after installing the product on an unsupported system or by installing the product without first uninstalling any prior version.

No matter what the reason may be, many times the user needs to uninstall the product by other means after attempting to do so through Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs or the applications own uninstall without success.

As well, there are many users new to computers and/or the web, that still have the learning curve ahead for experience and knowledge on what to do and where to look for help. Hell, even experienced web searchers have trouble finding what they require, and for this reason, and solely this reason, I decided to provide this article as a convenience.

For users with any problems other than the stated name and purpose of the provided article, go to Symantec's support site for help on your particular problem pertaining to your specific Symantec product.
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/

Notice, Please read before continuing any further:

It has been reported by many that when uninstalling Symantec applications the WinXP bits service can become corrupt which then has to be repaired/reinstalled. Please take the time to check out these links on the issue before continuing with any Symantec application removal/uninstall:

http://www.botmanfamily.net/~aurelien/articles/BITS_reinstall.html

http://castlecops.com/t106642 How_To_Fix_Windows_Update_BITS

http://www.faqshop.com/forums/viewtopic.php

** WARNING** ** WARNING** ** WARNING** ** WARNING**

The SymNRT removal utility will remove ANY/ALL Symantec/Norton products installed. If you decide to use it, make sure you have any setup disks and product/activation keys needed for each Symantec/Norton product you wish to re-install.

The latest updated Symantec removal tool reportedly will now uninstall products for 2003/2004/2005/2006/2007. I have created a new "for the time being" page as I do a bit of house cleaning with instructions for 2007 Symantec products. If you do not have a 2007 app installed, continue on reading this page thoroughly. If you have a 2007 app installed see: SymRem

Before continuing any further, if your issue is with any Symantec 2003/2004/2005/2006 application and you need to uninstall the application, follow the instructions in this article for automated removal: Using the Norton uninstall tool **Take any special precautions necessary, as noted above, this will remove ANY/ALL Symantec/Norton products.

This is the secondary (manual file download) solution. Follow these steps if the first (automated) solution mentioned above "Using the Norton uninstall tool" did not work.
Please read the article carefully for proper use to download/run SymNRT.exe, SYMMSICLEANUP.reg and MSIFIX.bat.
Using the Norton uninstall tool: Manual file download

Otherwise if your issue is with an earlier product version, continue to: Start_of_Removal_Section/Articles

Download Tools

**Note:** The linked articles have other links including download links for the appropriate removal tools and how to use them for your specific Symantec product. For your convenience, if you have read and understand the articles, and ONLY IF YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW to use the utilities, they can be downloaded from the links below. Do Not download or use any of these tools if you are not knowledgeable on which tool to use or how to use them, these tools are made specifically for each product and operating system and using the wrong tool will create more problems.

Please take note that: The Norton uninstall tool uninstalls ALL Norton 2003/2004/2005/2006 products from your computer, including Norton Ghost 10.0/9.0/2003 and PCAnywhere 9.0/10.0/11.5. I have made the above mentioned and earlier tools available here, updated on June 02, 2006.

2004/2005/2006 Removal tools

Please read the article carefully for proper use to download/run SymNRT.exe, SYMMSICLEANUP.reg and MSIFIX.bat.
Using the Norton uninstall tool: Manual file download

MSIFIX.bat SymNRT.exe SYMMSICLEANUP.reg

2003 and earlier Removal tools

Symantec NIS2003 & Earlier Removal Symantec NAV2003 & Earlier Removal

Start of Removal Section/Articles

Removing and reinstalling NIS,AntiSpam or NPFl (2006/2005/2004 versions)

Link to the actual Symantec articles removal links at the bottom of this page:
To uninstall NAV,NIS or NSW 2003/2004/2005 if Add/Remove programs fails

Uninstalling and reinstalling your Symantec program after you see error messages

The article below "Uninstalling and reinstalling your Symantec program after you see error messages" is authored/owned by Symantec and provided on their support site at: ( The link below is to the actual article on Symantecs support site, scroll down to read the article provided on this page instead of clicking link if you wish to read it here.)
Uninstalling and reinstalling your Symantec program after you see error messages

The article also includes links to other articles at the bottom of the page on how to remove your Symantec products after first using Windows own Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs" without success.

Situation:
You were sent to this document by another knowledge base document or by Symantec Technical Support.

This process should only be used when there is a possibility that specific shared Symantec components may have become corrupted, or when you suspect that older components of Symantec software may have never been properly uninstalled. Because many Symantec programs share parts, uninstalling your Symantec program in this way requires uninstalling all of your other Symantec programs as well. Only follow the procedure outlined in this document as a last resort, or if you were sent here by another Symantec document or Symantec Technical Support.

If you are using Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows XP, then start with the first step, "Step 1: Enabled services on Windows startup (Windows 98/Me/XP only)." If you are using Windows 2000, then start with the second step, "Step 2: Uninstall all Norton and Symantec programs." Because this document requires that you restart your computer multiple times, it is recommended that you bookmark or print this page before continuing.

Step 1: Enable services on Windows startup (Windows 98/Me/XP only)

In some cases, certain Symantec startup items may become unchecked. In this case, rechecking those items may allow your Symantec program to uninstall successfully. You must perform the steps in this section before proceeding with the rest of this document. Click the icon next to each section to either expand ( ) or collapse ( ) each section. (If you cannot expand a section, then either your Web browser has been configured to stop scripts from running or the Windows Script host component of Windows is not working correctly. Read Cannot expand sections in a Symantec Knowledge Base document for detailed instructions on how to fix this. Return to this page when finished.)

To enable startup services in Windows 98/Me

To enable startup services on Windows XP Step 2: Uninstall all Norton and Symantec programs
   Follow the steps in this section to uninstall all Norton and Symantec programs.

   To record your product or activation key and uninstall all Norton and Symantec programs Record your product or activation key for your records.
   You will need this key to reinstall your program. For detailed instructions on how to find your product or activation key, read the document:
   Locating your product or activation key.

   Do one of the following:
   In Windows 98/Me/2000:
   On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
   Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

   In Windows XP:
On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Control Panel.
Double-click Add or Remove Programs.

Click the name of one of the installed Norton or Symantec programs.
(For example, you may have one of more of the following programs installed: Norton AntiSpam, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Ghost, Norton GoBack, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, Symantec pcAnywhere, Symantec Ghost, Norton PartionMagic, WinFax PRO, ACT!.)

If you have WinFax PRO and you want to back up your fax data, follow the steps in:
How to use the Add/Remove Programs option to remove WinFax PRO or TalkWorks PRO.

If you have ACT! and you want to back up your contact data before uninstalling the program, follow the steps in:
How to Back Up and Restore Your ACT! Database.

Depending on your version of Windows, click Add/Remove, Change/Remove, or Remove or Change, and follow the prompts to uninstall the program.
When uninstalling Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security or Norton SystemWorks, if the uninstall stops responding or you see an error message saying that the uninstall cannot complete, go to the Technical Information section at the bottom of this page. In the Technical Information section, go to the section that applies to your Symantec program version.

     Restart the computer, if asked to do so.
     Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all Symantec or Norton programs are uninstalled.
     Make sure that you restart the computer before going on to Step 2 below.
     Go on to the next step, "Step 3: Using the Windows Installer CleanUp utility."

    Step 3: Using the Windows Installer CleanUp utility
    Read the Microsoft article Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility Article 29030
    This article gives instructions on how to download and run the Microsoft Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. For your convenience, here are the steps to follow while you are reading the above document.

To run the Windows Installer CleanUp utility

   Click the Microsoft Download Center link in the linked article in step 3.
   Download the Msicuu2.exe file, and save it to your desktop or a folder on your hard drive.
   Double-click the file to install the utility.
   On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Programs > Windows Installer CleanUp Utility to run the utility.

   The following graphic is for Norton AntiVirus 2004 on a computer that is running Windows 98/Me. The list of programs may vary slightly depending on your operating system and the version of your Symantec program. You will not have a problem if you remove for all entries that are described in the next step.

win uninstall cu

    For each entry that begins with "CC," "cc," "Norton," "Symantec," "Sym," or "MSRedist," click the entry, and then click Remove.
    Restart the computer.
    After you use the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility, go on to the next step, "Step 4: Remove Symantec program folders."

    Step 4: Remove Symantec program folders
    Follow the steps in this section to remove all Symantec program folders.

Note: In the following steps, if Windows does not let you to delete a folder, then restart your computer into Safe mode. After restarting your computer in Safe mode, then complete the steps in this section. For detailed instructions on restarting your computer in Safe mode, read the document:
Starting your computer in Safe mode.

    To remove Symantec program folders:

    On the Windows desktop, click Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
    Delete the program installation folders for all Symantec program that you had installed.
    If you accepted the defaults, the installation folders will be in C:\Program Files and will have the name of the program that you installed. Here are the default program folder names and locations listed by program:

    C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus
    C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security
    C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks
    C:\Program Files\Norton Personal Firewall
    C:\Program Files\Norton GoBack
    C:\Program Files\Norton Ghost
    C:\Program Files\Symantec\pcAnywhere
    C:\Program Files\Symantec\WinFax
    C:\Program Files\Symantec\Norton PartionMagic 8.0

    Delete the following folders:
    C:\Program Files\Symantec
    C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared

    If you cannot see any of the folders listed in this step, then Windows is not displaying all folders. To complete this step, follow the steps in the document:
How to make Windows show all files, then click the Back button to return to this document. Then, delete the folder.

    Do one of the following:
    If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, then delete the following folder:
    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec

    If you cannot see any of the folders listed in this step, then Windows is not displaying all folders. To complete this step, follow the steps in the document:
How to make Windows show all files, then click the Back button to return to this document. Then, delete the folder.


    If you are using Windows 98 or Windows Me, then delete the following folder:
    C:\Windows\All Users\Application Data\Symantec"

    If you cannot see any of the folders listed in this step, then Windows is not displaying all folders. To complete this step, follow the steps in the document:
How to make Windows show all files, then click the Back button to return to this document. Then, delete the folder.

    Close Windows Explorer.
    If you restarted your computer into Safe mode as a part of this section, then restart your computer into Normal mode before continuing.
    Go on to the next step, "Step 5: Remove Symantec registry keys."

   Step 5: Remove Symantec registry keys
    Follow the steps in this section to remove the Symantec registry keys.

WARNING: Back up the system registry before making any changes in it. Incorrect changes can result in permanent data loss and corrupted files. Only modify the keys that are specified. See the document How to back up the Windows registry for instructions.

    To remove Symantec registry keys:
   1. Click Start > Run.
    2. In the Run dialog box, type:   regedit and press Enter or click Ok.
    3. In the registry editor, go to the following key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec

    4. Right-click the Symantec key, and click Delete.
    5. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
    Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the following key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Symantec

    Exit the Registry Editor.
    Restart the computer.
    Go on to the next step, "Step 6: Reinstall your Symantec programs."

Step 6: Reinstall your Symantec programs
Follow the steps in this section in order to reinstall your Symantec programs.

To reinstall your Symantec programs
Follow the instructions in Reinstalling your Symantec program after a failed installation
This document tells how to start the computer without any programs running on startup and then reinstall your Norton and any other Symantec programs.
Technical Information:
Click the icon to the left of the section that applies to your Symantec product version to either expand (

) or collapse (

) the section. (If you cannot open a section, then your Web browser does not let scripts run, or the Windows Script host is not working.
Read Cannot expand sections in a Symantec Knowledge Base document for how to fix this. Come back to this page when you are finished.)

To uninstall Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security or Norton SystemWorks 2005 if Add/Remove programs does not work

To uninstall Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security or Norton SystemWorks 2004 if Add/Remove programs does not work

To uninstall Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security or Norton SystemWorks 2003 or earlier if Add/Remove programs does not work