Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[Phil_D]

Users who are new to Norton Internet Security may not realize that Windows System Restore can fail due to the security feature in Norton that prevents any unauthorized changes to your Norton Product.

You may receive the message: "Restoration Incomplete. Your computer cannot be restored . . . " when you run Windows System Restore.

You can perform a System Restore by temporarily turning off this Norton feature.

These instructions are for NIS 2009. At the bottom of this post is a link for earlier products.

Open the main Norton window and click "Settings".

Then click "Miscellaneous Settings".

Look for "Norton Product Tamper Protection" and turn it OFF.

Click "Apply" and then click "Okay". Close the main Norton window.

You should now be able to run Windows System Restore.

After you have successfully performed a System Restore, be sure to manually "Run Live Update" in the main Norton window and remember to turn ON "Norton Product Tamper Protection".

For earlier versions of Norton Products, the procedure is similar but with different terminology. See this link for more details.

[mijcar]

Phil,

I just tried this.  It doesn't work for me.  The restore point was only 5 hours earlier and nothing had been installed inbetween except whatever came from a Live Update or two.

[ProTruckDriver]

Phil,

    I wish I would have known this a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have had to reformat my computer. Thanks for the good info.

[10ACTony]

Did not work for me either.  In fact NIS09 became corrupted.  Just got an error code 3035, 2.  Fix now doesn't work and Symantec Tech support said to uninstall and reinstall.   This really sucks.  Going to try something and will update if it works

[mijcar]

I am a wee bit concerned.  I don't want to start a panic here ...

I've noticed over a number of years that once Norton has updated itself, I have been unable to use System Restore to go back prior to that point.  Now this hasn't been too much of an issue with me because I made regular images of my computer for safer restores.  But it is an issue to the extent that I am deprived of minor restorations as a first attempt at a remedy.  Without MS System Restore, it is either fix the problem within the present configuration or do something drastic.

(I am aware of other offerings such as GoBack and similar programs; I will be exploring those in the future, I guess.)

The wee bit of concern is this.  Live Update used to do its thing once a week.  Two or three times a week if I wanted to do it manually.  Now, it is doing it all the time.  If these Live Updates genuinely prevent a System Restore, we are going to have a problem.  I think a number of others of us should try System Restore on their own computers.  The nice thing is that if you can go back, you will be able to undo it and return to the present configuration immediately.

The only question here is can you go back to a relatively close point (say within about 24 hours either way) using System Restore.  First try it without any modifications to NIS.  Then, if that doesn't work, follow Phil's guidelines about first turning off Norton Product Protection.  I think this would be really valuable data to Symantec.

[10ACTony]

I followed Phil's instructions, the restore did work, but NIS took a big hit.  I tried doing a unrestore to the original point, that worked also but NIS was FUBAR.   Just uninstalled and reinstalled and all seems well.  I'm unhappy concerning the unability to use system restore.  I'd be interested in finding out if this works for others - Am I the exception to the rule or is Phil?

  Mijcar you said it did not work for you - what was your result?

[mijcar]

Tony, it just said it was unable to go back to that restore point.  It was the nearest point in time, about 4 to 5 hours earlier.

I have heard the suggestion that if one restore point doesn't work, try another one.  I have -- in all the years that restore points existed -- not once found an earlier restore point that would work when a later one didn't.  I'm not saying that this method hasn't worked for other people, but I've never seen it.  And, frankly, I think it would be foolish to use such a device.  Restoring a system to six months earlier (presuming windows would actually allow it) would create an unsettling conflict between the software currently on your computer (which system restores do not remove -- for the most part, although I have seen folders disappear) and the entries in your registry which would point to nonexistent programs and fail to point to existing ones, and all sorts of other issues.

Since I've started this rant (it's all your fault, you know  ), I may as well finish it.  I think MS really misled the public with System Restore.  People see it as a fallback for drastic problems and ignore it for minor ones; when it functions almost exactly in reverse.  Because people really believe that they can use System Restore to go back two years in time (O M G !!!), they fail to maintain up-to-date disk images or -- at the very least -- back up those irreplaceable data (pictures of the kids, income tax reports, etc) that they think System Restore will somehow get back to them.

[Phil_D]

Hi mijcar and 10ACTony,

I am sorry for the issues you encountered.

I originally posted this "tutorial" in response to questions inside a few other posts where people were unable to perform a System Restore due to the Norton Product Protection.

I do not use System Restore very often, however I have used this procedure (which is outlined by Norton) in NIS 2007 and 2008.

Before posting this one for NIS 2009, I tried the method on three different computers; one XP SP2, one XP SP3, and one Vista SP1; all running NIS 2009.  In all cases I had no problems. When I did not turn off the Norton Product Tamper Protection, the System Restore failed. When I turned off the Tamper Protection I was able to perform the System Restore ( back about 12 to 36 hours to system checkpoints) successfully. I was also able to undo the most recent Restore.

There were no apparent problems with NIS 2009 and just to double check I ran the automated support session on each computer and the scans came up reporting no problems.

I will advise the Forum Administrator and the Forum Moderator about my post and have them review it.

[Stu]

Nice post Phil

thanx 

[10ACTony]

Phil,

All worked when I tried it this time.  System restore worked AND the only problem with NIS09 was that I had to run Live Update.  The first time when NIS was corrupt was apparently a fluke.