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Norton Utilities Question

Discussion in 'Other PC Software' started by James Martin, 2004/01/25.

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  1. 2004/01/25
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Hi All,
    Has anybody had any experience with Norton Utilities?...I was encouraged to stay away from anything that had the Symantic label on it, but I would like to know if anybody has had any experience with this product...Good or bad.

    Is it worth $50.00, or can something else be had that is just as good, for less money?

    Thanks,
     
    James Martin,
    #1
  2. 2004/01/26
    merlin

    merlin Inactive

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    Since Symantec bought out Norton some years ago, this once
    excellent suite of programs has become gigantic bloatware and
    astonishingly less effective. I removed Norton 2000 and have
    never really missed having it.
    Some items eg Norton Recycle Bin and Shield caused more
    problems than I had before the install.
    Some items are good - Speed Disk for example but the only
    thing I have retained is the Registry Editor - and it is not
    worth 50 $
    regards
     
    Last edited: 2004/01/26
    merlin,
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  4. 2004/01/26
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    If you use XP, Norton Utilites is redundant. Everything it does can be done through XP, and probably better in XP. I have it- but it is not currently installed, and I have no plans to put it back on. I liked it for Win Dr. and Speed Disk on older versions of Windows. If you install it, it will spider into any other Norton products on your comp, and into the registry so deep that it takes an act of Congress, your first born child and some serious effort to completely remove, or a reformat of your hard drive.

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
    #3
  5. 2004/01/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I have Norton System Works, Norton Internet Security and Norton Ghost installed. Some people out there probably think I´m nuts but it works well for me.

    For me, it´s not difficult at all to uninstall Norton or anything else. I had Ghost installed on my previous system too and had the Ghost Boot Disks which enabled me to create an Image of the system partition BEFORE installing anything Norton. I actually created Images at certain points during the installation, to be able to roll back to any point in time.

    Now, that wasn´t Your question, it was about Norton Utilities, which are either stand alone or part of NSW.

    I have only used One Button Checkup and Speed Disk.

    I still use OBC every month or so because it gives a good indication of the general health of the system. If something is not quite right in the registry, You´ll get notified. I know that it doesn´t get down to every detail in the registry but it´s an indication on the vitals. It also identifies invalid links and there are many of them. Move a document from one folder to another and presto ...... :eek: ...... You´ve got an invalid link.

    I have come to the conclusion that Speed Disk and Windows XP fight eachother. When Speed Disk has arranged the files as it thinks is the optimum, then Windows XP will start moving them around to oprimize the system according to a different set of algoritms.
    I have stopped using Speed Disk for a while to see what happens. I only defrag once every three months and the next time, I´ll use the Windows XP defragger. After three months I have a fragmentation level of some 6-8 % so, I don´t think that I´m loosing any performance because of that schedule.

    Is it worth $50?

    Well, You shouldn´t pay that sum for a stand alone NU but for NSW it might be okey and if it is NSW professional, then it´s definitely worth it since it includes Ghost.

    My few eurocents,
    Christer
     
    Last edited: 2004/01/26
    Christer,
    #4
  6. 2004/01/27
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks for the input all,
    I received a free CD Rom from PC World Magazine when I started a subscription...The CD has some free & shareware utilities on it that I could try...Norton Utilities was one that I wanted to try.

    Since I installed NU, I noticed that my computer speed has increased about 50 to 100%!...This must be due to the optimiztation & speed disk features, & maybe due to compacting the registry as well...I have W98se.

    One thing that puzzles me is why I can't access "Internet Options" from IE6?...Not sure if Norton U. had anything to do with this...The message says: This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator....LOL...I am the administrator!

    Does anybody know the fix for this?
     
    James Martin,
    #5
  7. 2004/01/27
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    Late last night, I did remember one feature of Norton Utilities that I did like, and I did occasionally use, and could possibly result in the reinstall of N.U. one of these days. The Norton Protected Recycle Bin is handy for quick clicking back that important file you mistakenly deleted. I recovered a bunch of stuff for my mom once, error free, using that feature, and put her files back exactly where they were. If security is an issue, you may not want the bin enabled, but for the average home comp user, it can be a lifesaver- especially if less experienced people are using the computer. I reread my post and it sounded like I was slamming NU, but it does have useful advantages. It does work as advertised. If you are not running XP, it is well worth the $50, and if you are running XP, it still might be, depending on what your needs are.

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
    #6
  8. 2004/01/27
    Miz

    Miz Inactive Alumni

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    If you have Spybot installed, it's probably the source of the inability to access IE's options.

    Open Spybot, go to the Immunize section, scroll to the bottom of the right-hand pane and uncheck the references to IE's options.
     
    Miz,
    #7
  9. 2004/01/27
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Miz...I never would have thought to look there!...;)
     
    Last edited: 2004/01/27
    James Martin,
    #8
  10. 2004/01/27
    Miz

    Miz Inactive Alumni

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    You're welcome! Glad to help...and thanks for posting back to let us know you got it sorted out.
     
    Miz,
    #9
  11. 2004/01/29
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member Thread Starter

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    One More Question,
    I saw Norton System Works at Sam's Club for about $50.00...It had quite a few items with it, one item was Norton Antivirus...I am currently using AVG (Free version) as my antivirus program...Has anybody had much experience with Norton AV?...Would it slow my system down?

    I have W98se, IE6, 64MB RAM (At the moment).
     
    James Martin,
    #10
  12. 2004/01/29
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    I run NIS. I would say Win 98 and your old hardware will "slow things down" a lot more than Norton.

    JMO

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
    #11
  13. 2004/01/30
    hankf

    hankf Inactive

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    I have been using norton systemworks 2001 and never had a problem with it i have windows me. I use the undelte in the recycle bin a few times very helpfull indeed when you oops speed disk works better the defrag but uninstall for active x and also a program that did not have an uninstaller or did not show up in the add remove.... been good program for me. Just came across the first problem with it the other day... and I beelieve it wasnt norton at all but netscape as netscape is using an uninstaller named and is the same file as norton :nsuninstall: this caused me problems as i could not uninstall nortonor netscape But never happened before netscape 7 came along wasnt a big problem just had to uninstall manualy and didnt need "congress" to help me jus a half an hour and the proper uninstall instructions from symantec. This tells me it was a netscape problem.
     
    hankf,
    #12
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