Norton Systemworks Pro 2004

Rating:
Summary: Slowed down my system!
Review: I do computer software tech support, so I always want the latest/greatest AV protection! So I upgraded from 2003 (disabled- Ghost, speed disk defrag(XP defrag is much better!), goback), and-
2004 REALLY slowed booting up by 20 seconds (XP Pro SP2, 2.2mhz, 1gb memory)! Went back to 2003, and slow boot disappeared!
I'll stay with 2003, until I read different!

Rating:
Summary: Like debugging? Then this is for you!!
Review: I have used Norton/Symantec products for over 7 years. In fact it WAS my preferred choice. However, after trying to install Systemworks 2004 I doubt if I will ever use Symantec again.

Let me say that I have used Systemworks for 5 years and always loved it's easy installation, compatibility with Windows and other software, and ease of use. Features like the Live Update always kept my version current and it has helped me avoid more than one virus while keeping my system clean and efficient.

The installation directions say to upgrade from Systemworks 2003 you simply run the CD and it will automatically upgrade. WRONG!! I immediately started getting error messages that .dll files were missing, that LiveUpdate could not run, and Windows XP system errors. After uninstalling and reinstalling several times without success I checked the Symantec web site. There were instructions for correcting the LiveUpdate problem which consists of multiple steps to remove, manually install, reinstall, reconfigure, etc.. none of which work. It seems Systemworks 2004 is not compatible with itself let alone other software such as Symantec's Winfax Pro which also crashed after installing Systemworks.

Symentec's final solution: MANUALLY DOWNDLOAD AND INSTALL UPDATES!! This is not a solution, the whole idea of spending good money for this software was to keep my system automatically updated.

To add insult to injury, If you want to talk with a real person about the problems Symantec will charge you $29.95. After spending $90 for buggy software this is really crappy customer service. After 6 hours of trying to get this working I gave up. One direction was helpful though "Uninstall all traces of Systemworks". I followed this directive and installed McAfee instead. Everything was working within 5 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Like debugging? Then this is for you!!
Review: I have used Norton/Symantec products for over 7 years. In fact it WAS my preferred choice. However, after trying to install Systemworks 2004 I doubt if I will ever use Symantec again.

Let me say that I have used Systemworks for 5 years and always loved it's easy installation, compatibility with Windows and other software, and ease of use. Features like the Live Update always kept my version current and it has helped me avoid more than one virus while keeping my system clean and efficient.

The installation directions say to upgrade from Systemworks 2003 you simply run the CD and it will automatically upgrade. WRONG!! I immediately started getting error messages that .dll files were missing, that LiveUpdate could not run, and Windows XP system errors. After uninstalling and reinstalling several times without success I checked the Symantec web site. There were instructions for correcting the LiveUpdate problem which consists of multiple steps to remove, manually install, reinstall, reconfigure, etc.. none of which work. It seems Systemworks 2004 is not compatible with itself let alone other software such as Symantec's Winfax Pro which also crashed after installing Systemworks.

Symentec's final solution: MANUALLY DOWNDLOAD AND INSTALL UPDATES!! This is not a solution, the whole idea of spending good money for this software was to keep my system automatically updated.

To add insult to injury, If you want to talk with a real person about the problems Symantec will charge you $29.95. After spending $90 for buggy software this is really crappy customer service. After 6 hours of trying to get this working I gave up. One direction was helpful though "Uninstall all traces of Systemworks". I followed this directive and installed McAfee instead. Everything was working within 5 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Experience with this product
Review: I was a user of Systemworks 2003 and had very few problems but with this one,I paid a hefty sum and after installation and going thru stupid activation,The main Systemworks 2004 window or any of the utilities would not come up.I spent one whole week going thru their website support and other work arounds,scans uninstalling 2003 and cleaning every directory and reinstalling 2004 but nothing worked.Finally I have decided to return the software.They make such crappy products and they do not have phone support for atleast 30 days.You need to pay to tell how their product stinks.
Never buy this product.Even if it works for you,**BEWARE***You are going to be in big trouble if you have one minor incident later.

Rating:
Summary: Do I have to give it a star?
Review: Norton deserves NO stars for NSWpro 2003 and 2004.

Norton System Works 2003 had the dumb verisign constantly popping up on every little file I touched. It was always setting off my firewall, wanting to send information OUT! Now, the new and 'improved' version, 2004, re-enables the antivirus within a few minutes of disabling it. Who cares? Anyone hoping a defrag will ever complete, anyone not wanting another coaster during a burn, anyone who wants their scan disk to complete. Get the picture? Adding insult to injury, this lovely lil company dumped the ability to email them with problems. Now you "get" to pay to chat with their tech team. I don't consider the problem with version 2004 a technical problem--it is a bug, and one THEY should fix! I've had this product since the first day it rolled out, as I was sick of the 2003 version's verisign sending out my info. They have not fixed this problem, nor are they going to at this late date. Save your money, as there's other products willing to do the same job for less money, and they probably do it better.

Email scanning finally worked for those of us with different servers for POP3 and SMTP for the 2004 version, as the 2003 never did do it right. How I wish I had the 2002 version! O Yeah I do! I am just one of the idiots who use one copy for one PC and my daughter is blessed to have it. The email works on it too! Just the buggy Ghost issues that were never addressed.

BTW NSWPro 2002 was perfect, except the email function and the Ghost (very buggy). Speaking of Ghost, the NSWPro 2004 has Ghost 2003 on it, but since that is the one component that actually runs flawlessly in the 2003 version of NSWPro, why fix it? Nothing to fix there!

Hey Norton, do you think that I am a sucker and will spend an dime for your 2005 product? hmmmmm You probably do....I have to wonder how many of us fools have paid your $29.99 fee to call tech support to beg for help for YOUR bugs, and these same bugs have never been addressed, as you got rich from us. Hey people, did you know that Symantec used to allow people to post at their site concerning problems with their software (and you email them too!) Course the answers weren't answers at all, just a bunch of hemming and hawwing, but at least you could gripe! No no kiddies, no griping allowed now! Well, there is! For $29.99! :-)

Rating:
Summary: This Version Missed Symantec's Usual High Marks -- BIG TIME!
Review: Something happened with this release for Norton System Works (2004) (the 2004 version of "Internet Security" also had similar problems). This is the fourth version of SystemWorks that I have used and it has always been a favorite. It has saved my system on more than one occasion, and makes disc clean up a snap. The antivirus feature is phenomenal, and is regularly updated. I think their antivirus software was one of, if not the best, on the market.

Well, no more. This version along with Internet Security 2004, are beyond hope. They are a royal pain to install, and don't function properly once finally installed -- if you can install them at all.

Symantec dropped the ball with this version. Why they brought this to market is beyond me. First, it serious, serious installation problems. Back in May 2004, when I first reviewed this, it had taken me over 16 hours to install and run. Since then, I have had one problem after another.

To say that it is "buggy" would be the world's most profound understatement. Almost from the beginning, LiveUpdate would not function. First, it failed whenever connecting to get updates. When I finally got it working, it only worked properly for many a month. The next problem was that it didn't recognize all the installed components, so it would not update them, most notably and importantly, virus definitions. Without this important feature, both SystemWorks and Internet Security are all but useless. Without updated virus definiations, your PC is also at serious risk!

Norton Ghost, which is included with this professional version, also had a glitch that Symantec doesn't yet have a fix for, and apparently their techs haven't been able to recreate. Their only solution at the moment is the annoying time consuming uninstall/reinstall (which doesn't always work). The Symantec site has some fixes, and a web tool that can analyze whatever Symantec product you have installed, and tell you about some possible fixes. It's a nice feature, and very useful, but not perfect. So far, it hasn't fixed the Ghost issue. I received a message that I had an older version of Ghost and it referred me to their update page when I had just installed their latest version of it! I tried to "Ghost" my hard drive only to have it fail just before it completed. Another failure and feature that refuses to work.

Once installed, however, some of the functions do work OK (disk doctor, One Button Checkup, and WinDoctor). These tasks are faster and easier than in prior versions, and I found the menu to be much more navigable. But this doesn't make up for it's innumerable other short-comings.

The other annoyance with this that you have to remove every single remnant of previous version of Norton SystemWorks before you installs this. Warning! The Windows "remove program" feature does not do a good job of this, and neither does Norton's own removal program. A lot of "fragments" were left in the Registry, and it the Norton system folders. Their website had a download that helped remove those, although I had to manually remove a good number of files from the "Programs" directory. If you have an older version of "Internet Security" installed, you may also need to remove it as well before proceeding with SystemWorks install. You also need to go in and MANUALLY remove many Symantec files from the REGISTRY. (Intructions for doing so are on Symantecs website.) Even this, however, did not solve my problems. As of October, 2004, these products are NOT working and I'm ready to demand a refund from Symantec.

I just uninstalled SystemWorks and Internet Security for at least the fifth time due to funtionality issues. Once again it won't reinstall, even with online and email assistance from Symantect Technicians.

The best thing to do with this version, is to leave it on the store shelf. It doesn't work, and will cost you an enormous amount of your time, not to mention your hard earned dollars.

Personally, I may never buy Symantect products again. And that's a shame. They use to be so useful and neceesary. No longer. Avoid this product at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: This Version Missed Symantec's Usually High Marks
Review: Something happened with this release for Norton System Works (2004) (the 2004 version of "Internet Security" also had similar problems). This is the fourth version of SystemWorks that I have used and it has always been a favorite. It has saved my system on more than one occasion, and makes disc clean up a snap. The antivirus feature is phenomenal, and is regularly updated. I think their antivirus software is one of, if not the best, on the market.

Unfortunately, Symantec dropped the ball with this version. It works fine ... once you get it installed that is. This version has serious installation issues, and is "buggy". I received this product in the mail on a Wednesday, and began installation that night. It wasn't until the following Monday -- 16 hours of frustration, several uninstalls and reinstalls later that I finally got it working. I kept getting error messages, and the absolutely essential LiveUpdate segment did not install at all, meaning I would not be able to update anything on this product, most notably the Virus Definitions.

I discovered that you have to download the LiveUpdate from Symantec website. This did solve that issue.

Norton Ghost, which is included with this professional version, also had a glitch that Symantec doesn't yet have a fix for, and apparently their techs haven't been able to recreate. Their only solution at the moment is the annoying time consuming uninstall/reinstall (which doesn't always work). The Symantec site has some fixes, and a web tool that can analyze whatever Symantec product you have installed, and tell you about some possible fixes. It's a nice feature, and very useful, but not perfect. So far, it hasn't fixed the Ghost issue. I received a message that I had an older version of Ghost and it referred me to their update page when I had just installed their latest version of it!

When I finally was able to run LiveUpdate, that did seem to cure many of the glitches. I haven't worked with it enough to determine whether or not it fixed all the issues I encountered.

Once installed, however, it does work fine with the tasks I've run so far (disk doctor, virus scan, and WinDoctor). These tasks are faster and easier than in prior versions, and I found the menu to be much more navigable.

Although I have not used it yet, it seems, from what I've seen so far, that Norton Ghost should be easier to use than previous versions. You no longer have to start this product from a DOS command, a requirement in previous versions that I was never able to grasp the logic behind. Who wants to go back to DOS commands now?! Hopefully, this will prove to be a great, and much easier to use feature, or as a stand-alone product. (My Network instructors all swear by Norton Ghost). Hopefully, I can get this working a report on it later in more detail.

The other annoyance with this that you have to remove every single remnant of previous version of Norton SystemWorks before you installs this. Warning! The Windows "remove program" feature does not do a good job of this. A lot of "fragments" were left in the Registry, and it the Norton system folders. Their website had a download that helped remove those, although I had to manually remove a good number of files from the "Programs" directory. Norton's uninstall feature using their CD-ROM did a much better job. If you have an older version of "Internet Security" installed, you may also need to remove it as well before proceeding with SystemWorks install.

In conclusion, my suggestion would be to wait and see if they come out with a fix before buying this newest version, or wait until the 2005 edition comes out. It's a great product, but this version comes with too many bugs and installation issues. For now, I think buying their subscription renewal would probably suffice until the next version comes out.

My rating above takes into account the long process it took to install, the numerous error messages I kept getting, and the fact that you had to uninstall previous versions to install this one. That simply should not be necessary, or it should do it for you at install, if it's that necessary to its functionality.

As I use this over the next few weeks, I will update this review to reflect my experiences with the actual use of this product.

Rating:
Summary: Norton Systemworks Pro 2004
Review: This is their best version yet. I only had one small problem with installation. Suggest to new buyers, remove any old Symantec antivirus software completely--go to their web site for details, then install.