Rating: 
Summary: I used to LOVE Norton. ...
Review: I've read the reviews and purchased this product anyway. As I have ME running and not XP, and having used Norton products for MANY years with great results, I thought I was safe installing this product on my Dell. From the moment I began installing Systemworks I knew something was not "right". 12 hours and 2 days later, this product was STILL not running. Having tried to unsuccessfully solve my installation problem by utilizing their manual and website, (I DID find what MAY have been a solution to my problem listed on the site...but alas it wouldn't load and as stated later...it wouldn't have mattered anyway), I was resigned to calling the 800 number support line for help, ..., and proceeded to wait on hold for upwards of one hour. It would be nice if, while on hold, Symantec would at least give you an estimate of how long the estimated wait time is...not too high tech for a technology company...is it? The technician then walked me through a series of steps which included editing the registry (ad nauseum) and downloading and running several fixes off of their website...something a typical computer user would never be able to accomplish...with or without a working Symantec website. When I asked the tech what caused all these problems, he stated that he really didn't know but that it happens quite often. I find it to be ironic that one of the reasons I purchased Systemworks was so when I ran into a problem with my computer...systemworks would fix it. When all the downloading and running of the fixes were completed, along with editing of the registry, the tech finally had me begin re-installing the product and got off the line. He refused to stay on the line during the re-install process to see if it was successful...noting that he had "confidence" everything would now be "OK". I asked that if there was a problem, how could I by-pass the one hour wait time and talk to him again? ...there isn't... I asked if I could expect troubles re-installing in the future if I needed to...he replied "YES...probably... By comparison, the few times I needed to contact DELL's support techs over the years, I was informed how long my wait was to be, (not very), and when I needed to run a diagnostic or re-install Windows requiring a long process time, the DELL techs would offer to call back at a pre-determined time to see if everything was progressing properly...and they did. Bottom line...the software still has some problems, (Anti - Virus will not enable in order to protect email) and not all functions were installed (see below). Back to the website...followed directions...still not fixed. Now how long will I need to wait and at what price? The tech would not allow me to install the entire...complete package...just the typical install...what did he know? What other problems would I encounter? Now I understand why the big rebates...first of all 70% or more of the purchasers have all intentions to follow directions and send in the rebate forms...but do not. Marketing people call this "breakage" and count on it when determining and offering incentives. For the few people who do get the rebates...Symantec knows that they will more than make up for it with their tech support fees. I'd rather pay more for a working product that is PROPERLY developed and supported. This is NO bargain...rebates or no rebates. I feel ripped...Do NOT purchase this product. It's not worth the aggravation or the true price that you pay. Just include your downtime as an added expense. Seeing the many problems with this product, you would think that AMAZON.COM would refuse to offer this product until the glitches are repaired. Come on AMAZON...put pressure on the manufacturer to remedy. How many bad reviews do you need before you realize that there is a problem that needs to be looked in to? Now I'll be returning this product for a refund...really??? I paid S&H to receive it, I will pay S&H to return the product and have paid (money) for tech support for a product I am returning because it DOES NOT WORK AS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO and which did not solve the entire problem...no less lost time and aggravation. To Symantec: ... Your product needs SERIOUS work. To AMAZON. Stop allowing your vendors and / or marketing department to write your "editorial reviews". Either test the products you review or stop the "editorial reviews". Also, only allow reviews from people who have PURCHASED their products from Amazon. This will at least help stop the vendors from inserting their "ghost" reviews into the process.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointment
Review: I'm a loyal SystemWorks customer. I really enjoyed NSW2001PRO with my Windows 98 laptop. After I upgraded to an IBM T30 with XP Pro, I decided to upgrade my NSW since many apps were not compatible. To my surprise, NSW2002 did not have many of the apps I found so useful in the previous version. This almost seems like a downgrade, specially in the CleanSweap software. There's really nothing "PRO" about this suite. The antivirus is still tops, but there is really no reason to upgrade from 2001. I finally decided to uninstall the thing (a hassle), re-install it without CleanSweap 2002, and then install Cleansweap 2001, which integrated with the Suite.
Rating: 
Summary: Picks up where Utilities leaves off.
Review: SystemWorks takes you one step beyond Norton Utilities, which is included with this package. It also includes Norton Anti-Virus (virus protection), Aladdin Clean Sweep (to remove unneeded or outdated items from your hard drive) and Dantz Retrospect (back up software). SystemWorks works in some situations where Utilities fails. A person I work with had had problems using the latest version of Utilities, but SystemWorks solved the problem and cleaned-up his computer for him. A good package that is well worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good software suite, but documentation is iffy
Review: I've used the previous versions of NSW and been satisfied with them, so decided to try NSW 2002 on my new WinXP machine. Unlike others have reported, I had absolutely no problems installing or using any of the included utilities. I don't know if this is related to the fact that my system is relatively virgin territory, being new, but I had no trouble. The One-Button Checkup is a nice feature, allowing the user to schedule a suite of system diagnostics or run them at will. Since we all tend to forget to do stuff like this, I "set it and forget it" (to steal a phrase from a Ronco informercial!). The bundled utilities are all fine, but I wish some of the previous advanced functionality had been included (registry sweeper, for one). I now have to use another software package to do some of what the previous versions of NSW included. So, I recommend NSW 2002, but I didn't have any installation problems like others have.
Rating:
Summary: Installation Problems
Review: Does not install on XP. Attempts to contact company by e-mail and phone fruitless. Web site for serious techno-geeks only and following the company's instructions when found do not solve the problems. Non-software from what appears to be a non-company.
Rating:
Summary: Installation Problems Don't Outweigh Benifits
Review: As has been noted in these reviews already, there can be some installation issues. The easiest way to avoid these problems is to copy the entire CD to your hard drive, and then install from that copied directory. From what I've seen, this works flawlessly. System Works is one of the few programs that I will trust a computer that I've built for an inexperienced user to. By setting up the schedules for everything that needs to be done before turning the system over, it ensures that things will be running well for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Ontrack System Suite 4 is far better for Win XP
Review: I have both Systemworks 2002 and Ontrack System Suite 4. The latter has many more tools that cleanup, stabilize, and optimize Windows XP. The only Norton programs I find superior are Antivirus and Speed Disk. The rest of the programs are outmatched by the comparable Ontrack programs. The Ontrack registry fixer is amazing, and the cleanup programs are, in my opinion, superior to Norton's Cleansweep. I only purchased Ontrack after discovering that Systemworks 2002 does not have some of the utilities that I liked (e.g, Disk Doctor, Optimize) when running under Windows XP. Ontrack has done a better job of developing a utility suite for XP.
Rating:
Summary: Am very happy on my XP Compaq
Review: I recently committed two dreadful sins: I upgraded to Windows XP and installed SystemWorks at the same time. Systemworks runs flawlessly, handles my drive optimization, quickly repairs trouble spots, and cleans up programs, internet caches, and unneeded files. Symantec is doing an outstanding job keeping Norton Anti-Virus up to date. Very frequently, I am being prompted to update my anit-virus software to guard against the latest predator. With Live Update it is simple and fast. I have found, that since upgrading my RAM, everything runs much faster and SystemWorks performs even better. I only had 64MB and now am running at 256MB on my 633MHZ Compaq so, it figures. 5 Stars for Symantec on this product!
Rating:
Summary: Fine.....If it's your 1st time!
Review: I've tried for a month; 'discussion groups', personal contact, etc. and Symantec WILL NOT tell you where the imbedded files are that prevent you from installing a newer version! Double talk? Plenty! The answer? Forget it! Personally I think the attorney general should be investigating fraud! Msconfig, registry, uninstall, add/delete programs, search. Try them all! Maybe Bill Gates has the answer, but Norton WILL NOT devulge the secret! ...
Rating:
Summary: unimpressive
Review: One good thing about this system is that it comes with Ghost. I recommend Ghosting your hard drive before installing anything else. The whole installer setup they use is one of the sloppiest I've seen. I would recommend tracking it with a program like InControl (freeware). So I install antivirus on a clean system using the systemworks installer. Later I try to uninstall it, but it tells me to turn off norton antivirus first and try again (but not without breaking something first...). So I disable everything that loads NAV at startup...and reboot. Then, the systemworks installer lists it as uninstalled (but it isn't) and refuses to do anything until I uninstall the standalone version (which I never installed). At least a lot of hacking around in the registry and the windows installer system straightens that out. The tool to fix windows problems is underpowered. It also seems to think that the best way to fix registry keys with errors is to delete things. The same goes for shortcuts to non existant files. Letting it do this is a good way to fubar an otherwise decent winXP install. I would have expected it to at least do a search for the missing files (like Windows does automatically when you load bad shortcuts) and provide better details about what it wanted to delete. Pretty much your only options are to delete or manually edit, and the manual option doesn't even start regedit at the problem, you have to navigate to the right key yourself. Systemworks leaves bloat behind after it is uninstalled (both in the registry and on disk). This is unacceptable. I should be able to install systemworks, then uninstall it, and end up with exactly what I had before it was installed. Many of the tools are redundant with windows features.
I can accomplish most of the same tasks (and then some) using windows features and various cheap and freeware utilities without the hassle of a giant monolithic overintegrated registry infesting suite like systemworks. But really I just bought it for Ghost after a (unrelated) hard drive crash. So since I'm doing reformatting and clean installs anyway, its no big deal to me. Ghost is pretty good at least.
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