Norton SystemWorks Software: It Has Apparently Crashed a Lot of Computers

Norton SystemWorks Software:
It Has Apparently Crashed
a LOT of Computers!

A collection of mail from Barbara's Readers

At the time I posted my article on this topic, I had no idea how many of my Web site readers would write to me and share their own computer-crash horror stories. Following are just some of those e-mail messages--I didn't think to save them until I began to receive them in quantity. The folks quoted are real (and I have their e-mail addresses on file), but due to the anger many have expressed in their messages, they preferred a degree of anonymity here, so their full names have not been used. Although this topic is becoming old news now, many folks still have a Gateway computer with GoBack software on it, so if you’re one of them, heed the following reports from my readers and do NOT install Norton SystemWorks on a Gateway computer--or perhaps ANY computer (see Endnote).

2/25/04 UPDATE: I recently had an interesting e-mail exchange with Gavin Landon, a software engineer/developer who wrote to me after he turned up my site on a Google search for "Norton." He shared so many interesting comments about Gateway computers, computer technicians, and computer technology in general that I asked if I could share his expertise on my site. Click HERE to read the article.

"I feel like I just had an out-of-body experience while reading your comments. I bought a Gateway in 2000 and, just as you did, I attempted to install Norton Utilities. I had been using Disk Doctor for defrag on all of my machines. But when my Gateway crashed, I ended up reinstalling all of my programs. Now I am back out here looking for a defrag program. What are you using? I was going to see if Norton had an updated version that would work with GoBack.
- Jim O.

BARB'S COMMENT: I simply use the defrag utility that came with my Windows 98 system tools.

Great story on the Web site! The same thing happened to me, except my computer crashed and would you believe the thing will not even accept a new hard drive? Whew! I think Gateway, Norton or whoever, got the gold mine, but good ole' Roy here got the shaft. Ah, what’s $1,400 bucks anyway? Too bad they don't live within walking distance. What the hell, I went and bought me a new H/P. Gateways got a thorn in it, but now its name is Roy.- Roy D.

Writes Sean Q. from the UK: "After experiencing a problem with Norton SystemWorks, I sent them the following email for advice:

"I am using your product, Norton SystemWorks 2001, under Windows 98 and have experienced a huge problem with it. After defragmenting my hard drive I have noticed that about 95% of my files (mainly jpg photo files) have now been corrupted. They are unreadable by any graphics software program I use. I have 2 drives (1 being a backup) and files on both have been corrupted. I have 1000+ photos mainly from my 3 children growing up (births and birthdays), so naturally my wife is slightly annoyed.

"I have tried to use your site to determine the problem but even that is painful. Your support pages do not work and eventually get to a missing link. I have attached a file which is supposed to be a photo, so would like you to examine it and advise me how I can solve the problem.

"I have continually supported your products through a number of years so am extremely disappointed that this has now occurred. Failure to solve my problem could result in my refraining to use and advertise your products. I will also have to ensure my findings are posted on various forums so other users can be aware of the potential problems."

BARB'S COMMENT: It will come as no big surprise that Norton simply replied to Sean that his product "was no longer being supported." Period. No explanation of which might have happened and no help. And do you think a big company like this cares if one of its customers stops using its products? Nope, all we little guys can do is talk about them like this and hope we can save a few other people the same grief we’ve experienced.

As for Sean being annoyed . . . "annoyed" would hardly describe my feelings in a case like this where thousands of hours of time have just been lost. I assume that, with a tape backup, you constantly overwrite your last backup each time you do another one, so Sean apparently lost all his graphics because he copied defective files to his last good backup tape. This certainly speaks loudly for the importance of never overwriting the only backup tape or CD you have. I’ve now become paranoid about backups, and always have two or three CDs going so I’ll never lose more than a day’s work. Even that would be devastating to me, however, because who can remember all the files they’ve changed in a day?

I am a novice with the computer. I have a Gateway, and the identical problem happened to me with my computer! All of the phone calls to Gateway were to no avail! I had to learn by trial and error. My biggest help was through my server, who loaned me some CDs to help me reinstall Windows. (I was afraid to attempt it by myself.) I lost everything, including Gateway GoBack. It has taken me a month now and I finally have everything reinstalled, but in reading your article, I’m not sure if you are telling us to rid of all Norton programs, or just SystemWorks? I want to reinstall GoBack, but I will wait for you to answer me. - Madeleine W.

BARB'S COMMENT: As confirmed to Madeleine at the time . .Yes, I was saying "get rid of Norton SystemWorks," but by all means keep the Norton AntiVirus program that originally came with your computer. I am delighted with the AntiVirus software Norton produces; it’s just SystemWorks that’s a problem for me. When you redo your initial computer setup with the Gateway disk that accompanied your purchase, that will automatically reinstall GoBack as well as the Norton AntiVirus program that originally came with the computer. (When you are notified that you must sign up for the service to keep your virus definitions up to do, follow instructions that appear.) I recently upgraded to Norton AntiVirus 2003, and it’s far superior to the older version I had been using. More important, installation of this upgrade did NOT affect my Gateway GoBack program.

I recently had a problem with a Gateway computer that was giving me a "cannot write to drive C" error. I wasn't even able to get up to the desktop. While looking for a way to resolve it, I ran a search on Google on another computer and came across your post, which described my circumstances almost exactly.

I went back to my computer and disabled GoBack,* and my computer then booted and ran fine. I then removed Norton SystemWorks and re-enabled GoBack. Incidentally, the information I got from the Gateway site on this problem was seven pages long, and would have taken forever to actually complete. I probably would have reformatted if not for you!!! Thanks.
- Larry A.

BARB'S COMMENT: Now THAT was clever! No one told me to do that. They just said I had to reformat, period.

THANKS! Just wanted to let you know the same thing happened to me with my Gateway computer and Norton SystemWorks. I've lost everything! The Gateway tech told me I needed a new hard drive, then tried to sell me a new one even though my computer was only a year old at the time. (I am now taking the computer to Comp USA to look at--I still can’t believe I lost the whole hard drive.) But it was nice to see that I was not alone and not crazy-- no one would believe me when I told them what happened! Thanks again! - Sue (a tired mommy)

I can indeed relate to the experience you described with your painful Norton SystemsWorks ordeal. This happened to me only last week, in fact, with the 2003 edition. Some kind of problem appeared almost immediately after my initial installation and my efforts to uninstall, then reinstall, were not in the least bit effective. (This also in spite of going through the $30 fee-per-incident nonsense with their tech support people on a few occasions; it was a good thing I kept that case # because I used it a lot for subsequent calls!) The uninstallation interfered with the booting process and I actually wound up launching the Win doctor program from the CD itself to clean up the Registry mess created by this uninstallation, insofar as it left this lengthy message during the boot about device drivers being deleted, etc.

In spite of real reservations and reluctance on my part, I took my PC over to a very qualified computer tech I know who went through the laborious manual uninstall procedure and, wouldn't you know it--I STILL had problems with the reinstallation! Again I called the Norton techs, which required the creation of a new folder containing all the needed files to run the programs. And though I've actually wound up uninstalling and reinstalling a few times, it appears to be working OK for the time being.

BTW, the qualified computer tech, as well as a service tech from my Internet Provider who I wound up calling a few days ago (since that uninstallation resulted in some communication failure preventing me from even getting online), both said they were aware of conflicts created by the Norton programs following their installation on computers.

I should add that I emailed Norton and complained that I was EXTREMELY dissatisfied with the product. Not that this did any good, since I got back the usual letter about needing a receipt to get a refund, otherwise I would need to go their Website or call tech support to work out problems. Funny. . . I had no problems with the 2001 AntiVirus program, but had anyone warned me in advance about these kinds of problems, I would never have risked going through the painful process you also underwent. - Mark M.

Thanks for putting your article on the Web. Unfortunately I found it after I ran Norton SystemWorks on my Gateway on Friday evening. I bought my Gateway Essential desktop in September 2000.The 15G hard drive has 9G free on it. I usually defrag once a week, and for the last month it was taking longer to defrag, increasing from 1-1/2 hours to 3. The last defrag ran for 6 hours, defragged 36% and was making no further progress when I stopped it.

I then bought Norton hoping it would complete the job. It didn't. I now get the following ScanDisk message when it has inspected 29% of the drive: "ScanDisk encountered a data error whilst writing to root directory .This error prevents ScanDisk from fixing this drive." I also get the dreaded "cannot write to drive C." However, after pressing any key, the computer usually acts normally (for a while).

I didn't get any error messages regarding the Registry. I didn't load the Norton version of GoBack. However, like in your case, the Gateway GoBack didn't help at the critical time. When I opened the program on Saturday morning to find a safe point to return it to, the only entry in the log was "7.22 p.m. GoBack log suspended due to massive file activity" (while I was doing the Norton defrag). I also get an error message, "No configuration file" when I try to open one program, although its entry screen is displayed for only a few seconds. All other programs load OK.

I am busy backing up the files, after which I will probably have a new hard drive installed as the old one is 2-1/2 years old and probably not worth going through the drama of reformatting. etc. The lesson is, I suppose, "If the backup copies of software installed on the PC at time of purchase are not branded software, beware." Thanks again. - Barry B.

I wanted to tell you thank you for sharing your experience with your Gateway machine and Norton’s SystemWorks. I too had a Gateway machine purchased in 2000. I too decided (but only after 3years!) that I should buy some software to maintain my machine since it is out of warranty. The errors you described are exactly what I experienced. Only I did not learn. I bought a new hard drive. Got it set up. Reinstalled Norton’s SystemWorks 03, then . . . BAM–got "cannot write to drive C errors"!!!

I now know (thanks to you) what I suspected all along: Do NOT use SystemWorks. Interesting note: I found that GoBack (by Roxo) was actually offering FREE Norton SystemWorks software to people that purchased the GoBack Program!!!! I do not know if it is only a problem with Gateway machines and GoBack/SystemWorks or not, but I DO know that when I get my machine set up again, I will NOT install the SystemWorks programs. Again, Thank you for sharing your experience. My system is humming right along now! - Brian S.

P.S. One other note: On my Norton’s SystemWorks 2003 CD . . . GoBack is one of the featured components. My understanding is that the rights/use of GoBack's technology was sold to Symantec. (I cannot remember the site I received this info from.)

BARB'S COMMENT: Interesting. . . because when I bought a new Gateway laptop (Dec. 2003), I found they no longer include the GoBack program on their machines, but they continue to load their systems with Norton AntiVirus software. Maybe enough people complained about the two programs being incompatible and Symantec figured they'd take care of the problem by taking it over. Some folks must love SystemWorks, however, because I get Spam e-mails every day offering this software for sale.

The next time you have a computer problem of any kind -- before you bring a technician into your home to fix the problem, and before you tear your system apart to haul it into a computer repair center -- call The Digiticians for help. I've used this company's services several times.

ENDNOTE: You might gather from the above messages that SystemWorks causes problems only on Gateway computers. But this may not be the case, as the following two messages suggest:

After Norton SystemWorks was installed on my IBM Aptiva, I had the same error messages as you had with your Gateway! I recently asked a local computer "repairman" to fix my Lexmark 1100 printer (which still won't print pages from Websites, even after consulting Lexmark technicians and my "expert" teenage sons). I had Norton AntiVirus installed when I first purchased the computer and had no trouble with my computer's operating system. The "repairman" took my printer and my hard-drive for three days (while my business and I waited), and he installed Norton SystemWorks without even consulting me -- and the results were the same as your nightmare. I contacted his bookkeeper/wife when the bill came, and I refused to pay him for only adding to my computer troubles without solving my initial problem or advising on my options. She issued a credit to my account, but he "didn't have time" to uninstall the Norton program! I still haven't figured out how to do it, but I appreciate your site's computer tips. - Martha (a "nontechie" in Iowa)

BARB'S COMMENT: As I told Martha, there’s more to uninstallation of this program than just clicking "uninstall." Call Norton and tell them the software crashed your system and you need to get it completely uninstalled. It sounds as though your repairman installed a pirated copy of the software, so you may have to get info from him as to user name and password to even get help from Norton. They helped me remove files in the Registry that could cause additional problems after the software itself was removed.

I, too, was a novice in April of 1999 when I bought my HP 6630. I bought the best I could afford at the time--a low end machine, but it would do until I could afford to upgrade. At least, I could finally get online. Well, I had just about the same problem with HP and Norton as you did. No one told me to uninstall McAfee before installing Norton. Then Norton slowed my system so much, but not realizing this was the problem, I called the HP techs. They proceeded to tell me to do this and that, finally ending in my reformatting my hard drive. This happened not once but THREE times, with three different hard drives (which HP was kind enough to send me). After they burned the third hard drive, they upgraded me to a 8650, which had a larger hard drive, the same RAM, but a CD-R and a DVD. So, at least, I got something out of all the mess, but it wasn't until I agreed to take the last hard drive that they told me not to install Norton SystemWorks on it. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

I now, question everything a tech tells me to do. At times, I won't do what they say just because I know it's wrong. And I tell them so. They don't like that very much; tough. I never planned to become an expert or even a computer junkie, but I is one now!! Thanks for the tips--I learned some things from your site. And it was nice knowing I'm not alone. - Ann. S.

I have had a computer crash twice now, and just by chance read your article concerning the Norton System Works, which I had installed on my computer. When I tried to remove it the first time it crashed my computer and I had to pay someone $180 to wipe my hard drive clean and rebuild my system. When I reinstalled all of my programs, I also reinstalled Norton System Works. But after reading your article and the other comments about Norton, I quickly uninstalled it, only to have my computer act as if it were going to crash again. At that point, I was able to use system restore to get the computer up and running again. I then did some research on the Web and found instructions on Norton's site for how to remove Norton from my registry files. I followed the instructions to a "T" and, so far, all seems to be working correctly.

I'd like to add a cautionary note here. I hired someone who could come to my home to repair my computer (which I will never do again). I was so grateful to get my computer up and running at that time that I never thought to ask for a guarantee from that person, which is standard practice with computer shops for at least a few months. I called him for help when I thought I was going through another computer crash, but he would not return my calls. Thankfully, the little computer knowledge I have gleaned over the years helped me to recover from another almost certain computer crash.- Rochelle Beach, Cinna-Minnies Collectibles

Barb's Comment: Rochelle said her computer started out as a Pionex about five years ago, but she has upgraded it every year, and installed a new motherboard last year, so it is now what she calls a "mish mash" of computer components--sort of a "Rochelle special." Which only adds to the evidence that Norton SystemWorks can crash any computer--not just a Gateway.

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