How to uninstall Norton AntiVirus 2003 or earlier by using the Rnav2003.exe removal utility
Situation:
This document describes how to remove Norton AntiVirus 5.0/2000/2001/2002 or 2003 using the Rnav2003.exe utility after uninstalling through Add/Remove Programs fails.
Solution:
Before you begin:
- Only use Rnav2003.exe when you cannot uninstall Norton AntiVirus 2003 or earlier through Windows Add/Remove Programs> (See the References section at the end of this document for information on using Add/Remove.)
- Rnav2003.exe will not remove the stand-alone version of Norton AntiVirus 2004 or Norton AntiVirus installed as a part of Norton SystemWorks 2004 or Norton Internet Security 2004. Rnav2003.exe removes program files and registry entries that were installed by Norton AntiVirus 5.0/2000/2001/2002/2003 only. (If you have Norton AntiVirus 2004, Norton SystemWorks 2004 or Norton Internet Security 2004 and removing the program using Add/Remove Programs fails, then, go to the References field at the end of this article. In the section "Uninstalling Norton AntiVirus 2004 installed as a stand-alone product or as a part of Norton SystemWorks 2004 or Norton Internet Security 2004", read the document that applies to your operating system and your product for removal instructions.)
- Read "How was Norton AntiVirus installed?" first before using the Rnav2003.exe removal utility.
How was Norton AntiVirus installed?
- Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition: Do not use Rnav2003.exe to uninstall Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition.
- Norton AntiVirus installed as part of Norton Internet Security: This utility removes Norton AntiVirus from Norton Internet Security. However, to completely remove Norton Internet Security you must use the Rnav2003.exe removal utility first and then also follow the steps in the document How to uninstall Norton Internet Security or Personal Firewall using the RnisUPG.exe removal utility to run the RnisUPG.exe removal utility. You must run both removal utilities to completely remove Norton Internet Security 2003 or earlier.
- Norton AntiVirus installed as part of Norton SystemWorks: The Rnav2003.exe utility will not uninstall Norton AntiVirus cleanly if it was installed as a part of Norton SystemWorks. If Add/Remove programs fails to remove Norton SystemWorks, then you must manually uninstall Norton SystemWorks. To remove Norton SystemWorks, go to the References field at the end of this article. In the "Norton SystemWorks manual uninstallation documents" section, read the document that applies to your operating system and your version of Norton SystemWorks for removal instructions.
- Norton AntiVirus was installed on Windows 98/Me or 2000 and the operating system was upgraded to Windows XP without first uninstalling Norton AntiVirus: To uninstall Norton AntiVirus in this case, the Rnav2003.exe utility must be run in compatibility mode. Read the document Running the Rnav2003.exe removal utility in compatibility mode after upgrading to Windows XP for detailed instructions.
- If none of the above situations apply to you, then follow the directions below with no modification.
Uninstalling Norton AntiVirus 2003 or earlier using the Rnav2003.exe removal utility
Follow the procedures in each section in the order listed. Click the icon to the left of the section to either expand (

) or collapse (

) it.
(If you cannot expand a section, then read the document
Cannot expand sections in a Symantec Knowledge Base document.)
To download and run Rnav2003.exe
To remove Norton AntiVirus entries from the Windows Task Scheduler
If you cannot run Rnav2003.exe successfully
If the Rnav2003.exe removal utility fails to uninstall the program, then you must uninstall Norton AntiVirus manually. Go to the References field at the end of this article and read the manual removal document that applies to your operating system and your version of Norton AntiVirus.
Technical Information:
Rnav2003.exe does not remove the following
- The files or registry keys for the virus definitions
- Subscription information
- Entries in the Task Scheduler
- Other shared files
Languages
The Rnav2003.exe utility runs on all language versions of Windows. However, the graphical user interface is English.
References:
Uninstalling Norton AntiVirus through Windows Add/Remove Programs
This is the preferred method of uninstalling Norton AntiVirus as it does a more thorough job of removal. Use the document that applies to your version of Norton AntiVirus:
Uninstalling Norton AntiVirus 2004 installed as a stand-alone product or as a part of Norton SystemWorks 2004 or Norton Internet Security 2004
Norton AntiVirus manual uninstallation documents
Norton Internet Security manual uninstallation documents
Norton SystemWorks manual uninstallation documents
Document ID: 2001077814145066
Last Modified: 03/29/2004
Date Created: 09/21/2001
Operating System(s): Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 95B, Windows 98 SE, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional Edition
Product(s): Norton AntiVirus 2002, Norton AntiVirus 2002 Professional Edition