Document ID:2000092515281909 Last Modified:05/05/2003

How to manually uninstall Norton Utilities 2001 for Windows 9x/Me

Situation:
You need to uninstall Norton Utilities, but the normal uninstall routine from the Windows Add/Remove Programs Control Panel does not work. You have already tried to reinstall, then uninstall Norton Utilities, but the process did not finish.

Solution:
In this situation, the common solution is to manually uninstall Norton Utilities. However, you may be able to avoid manually uninstalling Norton Utilities with the following method:

1. Delete the Uninst.isu file that is in the Norton Utilities folder.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Reinstall Norton Utilities.
     
     NOTE: If the original installation stopped responding during the online registration or while creating the Rescue set, skip these steps when you reinstall. You can register by telephone, letter, or from the Customer Service web site, and you can create a Rescue Disk set after the installation is complete. For more information, see How to register your software when online registration does not work. See the Norton Utilities for Windows User's Guide for instructions on creating a Rescue set.
     
   • Uninstall Norton Utilities.

• Make sure there is at least 50 MB of free disk space on the hard drive to which you are installing.
• Make sure there is at least 50 MB of free disk space on the hard drive on which Windows is installed.
• Check the drive on which the Windows swap file is located and make sure there is at least 100 MB of free disk space. The Windows swap file is usually on the C: drive. To check the location of the swap file, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties.
  2. Click the Performance tab.
  3. Click Virtual Memory. The Virtual Memory dialog box appears.
  4. Although it may be dimmed, the Hard Drive text box displays the drive on which the swap file is located and how much space is available for the file to use.
• If the drive had sufficient free space for the installation and the Norton Utilities installation did not stop responding during online registration or while creating the Rescue disks, then perform a clean boot and reinstall. For more information, see:
  
  How to perform a clean boot of Windows 95
  How to perform a clean boot of Windows 98
  How to perform a clean boot of Windows Me
  

1. Right-click the Norton Protected Recycle Bin and then click Norton Unerase. The Norton Unerase Wizard appears.
2. Unerase any files you deleted but might want back later. Any files left in the Norton Protected Recycle Bin will be removed from the bin when you uninstall Norton Utilities and may not be recoverable after the uninstallation.

1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Global tab.
3. Select Use One Setting for All Drives.
4. Click the Recycle Bin tab.
5. Select Standard Recycle Bin.
6. Change the text in the Title box to "Recycle Bin."
7. Uncheck the Show Norton Protection Status option, if possible.
8. Click the Norton Protection tab.
9. Click Remove Norton Protection.
10. Click Empty Protected Files.
11. Click OK twice.
    
    NOTE: If you are unable to remove Norton Protection (Steps 1 through 9), follow the instructions in the section "To replace specific Registry values with their defaults" later in this document.
    
    If you are unable to purge Norton Protected files (Step 10), try purging them manually from within an MS-DOS window. If you deleted these files from Explorer or My Computer, instead of from a DOS window, the Windows Recycle Bin has protected these files.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt. The MS-DOS prompt appears.
2. Enter the following commands at the prompt, pressing Enter after each line:
   
   C:
   CD\
   DELTREE \RECYCLED\NPROTECT
   
3. Repeat Step 2 for each drive on your system, replacing C: with the appropriate drive letter.
4. Type EXIT and then press Enter to return to the Windows desktop.

• SpeedStart: Right-click the checkered flag on the taskbar and choose Close. If you are prompted to start SpeedStart automatically the next time you run Windows, click NO.
• System Doctor: Right-click any sensor displayed in System Doctor and choose Close.
• Norton Protection: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. In the Close Program dialog box, double-click Nprotect.

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. Type REGEDIT and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
3. Click Registry and then click Export Registry File.
4. Verify the following items in the Export Registry File dialog box:
   • Save in: Desktop
   • File name: Registry Backup
   • Save as type: Registration Files
   • Export range: All
5. Click Save.
6. Exit the Registry Editor.
7. Verify that an icon labeled REGISTRY BACKUP.REG is on the Desktop.

• Method 1 - Restore backup copies of the Registry.
  When Norton Utilities installs, one of the first things it does is create backup copies of the Windows Registry files. If you have not installed any other programs since installing Norton Utilities, you can return your system to the state it was in prior to installing Norton Utilities by restoring the backup copies of the Registry.
  
  If you have installed other programs since installing Norton Utilities, or you updated programs or drivers, this method will partially or fully remove the changes. If you use this method, you will need to reinstall the other programs and again update the programs or drivers.
  
  This method is faster and easier then Method 2. Use this method if you are unable to start Windows, or if you do not want to manually edit the Registry and you have the files necessary for redoing any changes made since you installed Norton Utilities.
  
  CAUTION: Method 1 will remove ALL changes made to the Registry since Norton Utilities was installed.
  
• Method 2 - Manually edit the Windows Registry to remove all references to Norton Utilities.
  This method is time-consuming and tedious. Use this method if you do not have the Registry backups made by Norton Utilities or you made many changes to the system after installing Norton Utilities.
  
  CAUTION: Incorrect changes to the Registry could result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Please make sure you modify only the keys specified.

1. Click Start, and then click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows dialog box appears.
2. Select "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" and click OK.
3. At the DOS prompt, type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:
   
   CD\WINDOWS
   ATTRIB -R -S -H *.DAT
   REN USER.DAT USER.ABC
   REN SYSTEM.DAT SYSTEM.ABC
   COPY SYSTEM.NU5 SYSTEM.DAT Choose Y to replace the file
   COPY USER.NU5 USER.DAT Choose Y to replace the file
   
4. Restart the computer.
5. Proceed to "Step 4--Remove Norton Utilities from the StartUp folder and Start menu" later in this document.

1. Replace specific Registry values with their defaults.
2. Remove main Norton Utilities program entries.
3. Search for and remove other Norton Utilities program entries. (Optional)

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. Type REGEDIT and click OK.
3. Click Edit and then click Find. The Find dialog box appears.
4. In the Find What box, type AA002F954E and then click Find Next. Note that the 0 characters are zeroes, not upper-case O's.
5. A long string of numbers is now selected in the left pane of the Registry Editor window. The actual key is:
   
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
   
6. Double-click the Default entry on the right side of the screen. The Edit String dialog box appears.
7. In the Value Data field, replace any text that was there originally with Recycle Bin and click OK.
8. In the left pane, click the plus sign (+) to the left of the open folder to expand the list. The following folders (keys) appear:
   
   DEFAULTICON
   INPROCSERVER32
   SHELL
   SHELLEX
   SHELLFOLDER
   
9. Click DefaultIcon in the left pane.
10. Double-click the item named Default in the right pane.
11. Type:
    
    C:\windows\system\shell32.dll,31
    
    and click OK.
    
12. Double-click the item named Empty in the right pane.
13. Type:
    
    C:\windows\system\shell32.dll,31
    
    and click OK.
    
14. Double-click the item named Full in the right pane.
15. Type:
    
    C:\windows\system\shell32.dll,32
    
    and click OK.
    
16. Right-click the Shell folder in the left pane, and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted to confirm the key deletion.

1. Navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec. Double-click the Symantec folder.
2. If Norton Utilities is the only Symantec application installed, you can simply delete the Symantec Folder by right-clicking and choosing Delete. If you delete the Symantec folder, skip to step 6. If you are not sure whether you have other Symantec applications installed, skip this step and continue with step 3.
3. In the left pane, below the Symantec folder, click the InstalledApps folder.
4. Right-click the following entries in the right hand pane and choose Delete:
   
   Norton Utilities
   Norton Rescue (Only if Norton AntiVirus or SystemWorks is not installed)
   
5. In the left pane, right-click the following folders under the Symantec folder and choose Delete.
   
   Norton Utilities
   Norton Rescue (Only if Norton AntiVirus or SystemWorks is not installed)
   
6. Navigate to the following folder:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths
   
7. Double-click on the App Paths folder to open it.
8. Under the App Paths folder, right-click on the following and choose Delete:
   
   IMAGE32.exe
   NCOMPARE.exe
   NDD32.exe
   NDIAGS32.exe
   NMAIN.exe
   NORTON.exe
   NPROTECE.exe
   NREGEDIT.exe
   OPTWIZ.exe
   RESCUE32.exe (Only if Norton AntiVirus or SystemWorks is not installed)
   SD32.exe
   SI32.exe
   SPDSTART.exe
   SYSCHECK.exe
   SYSDOC32.exe
   UE32.exe
   WDSCAN.exe
   WINDOC.exe
   WIPEINFO.exe
   
9. Double-click the App Paths folder to close it.
10. Navigate to the following key:
    
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    
11. In the right pane, right-click on Nprotect and choose Delete:
12. Navigate to the following key:
    
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
    
13. In the right pane, right-click on Nprotect and choose Delete.

1. Scroll to the top of the left pane.
2. Select My Computer.
3. Click the Edit menu, and choose Find.
4. Type:
   
   NORTON UTILITIES
   
   in the "Find What" field, then click Find Next.
5. When the search stops and an item is highlighted, press the Delete key on the keyboard. Press Enter when prompted to confirm the deletion.
6. Press the F3 key to continue searching the Registry.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the message "Finished searching through the Registry" appears.
8. Repeat Steps 1 through 7, replacing the search string NORTON UTILITIES with each of the following, in turn:
   
   WINDOCTOR
   NORTONUNDO
   NPROTECT
   SPDSTART
   RESCUE
   
   NOTE: Be aware that there are MANY Rescue entries. They can be left behind without any ill effects other than taking up space in the Registry.
   
9. If you installed the Norton Utilities into a folder other than the default (C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON UTILITIES), repeat steps 1 through 7 above with the name of the folder you installed it to as the search string. For example, if you installed to the folder D:\NU, search for the string NU.
   
   CAUTION: Take great care in reviewing what you delete. A search for the folder NU will find strings containing NU, such as "Menu." Deleting these strings would result in Windows no longer functioning properly.
   
10. Close the Registry Editor.

1. Right-click Start and then click Open. The Start Menu window appears.
2. Double-click the Programs folder.
3. Right-click the Norton Utilities folder and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted to confirm the folder deletion.
4. Double-click the StartUp folder.
5. Right-click on the following files, if they exist, and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted to confirm file deletions.
   
   Norton System Doctor
   Norton SpeedStart
   
6. Close the Start Menu window.
7. Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
8. Select Restart the Computer and then click OK.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, then click Windows Explorer. The Windows Explorer will appear.
2. In the left pane, click on the Program Files folder.
   Note: If you installed Norton Utilities to a location other than the default, navigate to the appropriate folder.
3. Right-click each of the following folders and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted to confirm deletions.
   
   Norton Utilities
   Rescue Disk (Only if Norton AntiVirus or Norton SystemWorks is not installed)
   
4. Delete the Symantec folder ONLY if you have no other Symantec products on your system.
5. Close Windows Explorer.
6. Right-click on the Norton Utilities Integrator desktop icon and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted to confirm the deletion.

Product(s): Norton Utilities 2001 v5.0 - Win9x/Me, Norton Utilities 2002 v6.0 - Win98/Me
Operating System(s): Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
Date Created: 09/25/2000