After failed IntelligentUpdater update svchost.exe memory leak

I have been working on this problem for several days now.  I have finally tied the IntelligentUpdater failed update to the exact time when the issue began to occur.

 

Hardware & OS:  Dell, Vista SP2 32bit

 

Issue:  one of the svchost.exe processes, the one that runs "netsvc" starts and uses up a lot of CPU but, more importantly, keeps consuming memory until the box crashes.  Although the process is needed, I have been able to keep more or less working (limping, actually) if I kill it, and continue killing it every time it restarts.

 

Research and fixes:

(1) I've looked for all kinds of things in blogs and Microsoft site, but nothing I tried has fixed the issue, including running several antispy programs and correcting anything found.

 

I also run NEP.exe, and it found a couple of things it fixed, but the problem still exists.

 

(2) Found what I think may be the culprit since the issue reported in Log.IntelligentUpdater.txt coincides exactly with the start of this issue.  Here is an excerpt from the log (please find it attached):

 

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : PROCESSING ENTRY: VIRSCAN.zip - Virus Definitions

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Entry details:

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Update-File: VIRSCAN.zip

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Update-Desc: Virus Definitions

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Auth DLL Name: Norton X64 AuthDLL

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Auth DLL Location: local

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Auth Content-Type: VirusDefs

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Deploy Content-Type: VirusDefs

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Deplo DLL Name: Norton X64 DeployDLL

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : Deploy DLL Location: local

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : AUTH DLL LOCATION: IU will read the DLL location from registry - Norton X64 AuthDLL

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : REG SUCCESS: Success while opening key

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : REG FAILURE: Failed while reading the value for key named

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : DEPLOY DLL LOCATION: IU will read the DLL location from registry - Norton X64 DeployDLL

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : REG SUCCESS: Success while opening key

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : REG FAILURE: Failed while reading the value for key named

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : IGNORE ENTRY: Ignoring entry for VIRSCAN.zip because of registry read failure. Error occurred while reading the path for the Authorization DLL from the registry.

Mon May 28 18:04:36 2012 : IU failed while deploying V because a compatible product could not be found on the system. Please make sure that a compatible Symantec product is installed on the system.

 

I found http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH122906 but it seems to apply to a "client" on a network, which I am not.  The reported error is the same though.

 

IN ADDITION, OBSERVED THAT WHEN THE BOX IS STARTING UP, THE svchost.exe WITH THE MEMORY LEAK STARTS ACTUALLY EATING UP MEMORY WHEN THE ccsvchst.exe PROCESS STARTS . . .

 

QUESTION #1:  Is "Norton X64" in the log referring to the 64-bit version?  And if it is, why would my Norton Antivirus 2012 (all up to date) loaded on my 32-bit box be getting a 64-bit error?

 

QUESTION #2:  I really, really, really don't want to reload my PC, and if I do maybe I will run into the same issue anyway . . . I am afraid to proceed with the TECH122906 fix because it does not seem to be the exact same setup.  Can you help with this issue?  HELP!!!