I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong. I disabled PCTools and then uninstalled it without rebooting befoe I installed Nrton. As a result, some stuff must still be lying around in the data program files or registry, for even though my internet access if working fine, I cannot access the internet through any of my browsers. How can I get out of this situation? Any help appreciated.
The PCTools forum seems to have a lot of uninstall issues including loss of internet connection in some instances.. Since we are not familiar with the software, it would be best if you signed on to their forum for help in finding and removing the required files.
If required, come back here and we will assist you to reinstall Norton.
http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?46595-Uninstall-PCTools-problems
No help whatsoever with my problem at PCTools. Let me be more detailed about that problem
1. I first disabled the PCTools Engine.
2. I did not reboot.
3. I installed Norton Internet Security and, in the process of installing, NIS offered to uninstall PCTools. I said to myself, why not? Boy was that a dumb thing to do.
4. After the entire process was finished and NIS restarted my computer, I subsequently cleaned out the registry entries for PC Tools, with which NIS apparently did not deal.
5. There were no program files with which to deal.
6. I restarted the computer.
Even though I am indeed connected clearly to the Internet - spent a hour with my provider to try to solve the problem yesterday - I still can''t access the internet through any browser, though Internet Explorer gives me on whim an occasional access on some non java pages. Can't download a thing on those pages, though. There appears to be nothing wrong with the internet connection, modem, router, or windows.
Ridiculously, irritatingly frustrating.
Please help before I throw the computer in the local technology recycling dump.
I don't suppose you saved a copy of of the Registry before you "cleaned it up"?
What version of Windows are you using?
Have you tried the Network troubleshooting wizard, part of WIndows?
Have you tried running SFC (System FIle Checker) also built into Windows?
<< occasional access on some non java pages. >>
Have you tired cleaning up Java and reinstalling it from scratch ?
I'm sorryh that are just some random thoughts -- networking is not something I know much about but others here surely do.
Hugh,
Cleaning the registry was the only suggestion from the PCTools Forum.
Windows 7 64bit
Yes, tried the network trouble shooting wizard. Nothing wrong according to the wizard
Haven't tried SFC, but will
Yes, reinstalled Java.
Thanks for replying -- troubleshooting is 99% elimination ....
I've asked my colleagues with networking experience to jump in.
AppalledBC:
What version of PC Tools were you using? Was it the free PC Tools AntiVirus software or a paid version of PCT AntiVirus, PCT Internet Security, etc? The thread delphinium provided a link for in the PC Tools AntiVirus forum titled Uninstall PC Tools oblems had an expired link here for a PCTAV removal tool, so I assume you have to locate and run the correct removal tool for each product. Check the main PC Tools forum page here to make sure you were searching in the correct subforum for your product.
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Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 6.0.0
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
Hi AppalledBC,
Do you have any other security program installed - especially Microsoft Security Essentials?
It was the paid PCTools anti-virus program, and I searched for PCTAV on my system, but it wasn't there, perhaps removed by NIS when it uninstalled the program.
I'll check out the links, but I'm fairly certain I've checked everything on the PCTools site that might help.
Only PCTools at the time until NIS uninstalled it and installed itself.
ABC ....
One classic remedy for an incomplete UN-installation is to reinstall the application and then Uninstall it again using all the available tools -- since I can't find any uninsaller for PCTools on my source websites I'd use RevoUninstaller after reinstalling it --- IF others here think it needs more cleaning up.
If you go to that download page make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the columns of comparison where there are two download buttons and use the left hand Free Download.
The one at the top is a free 30 day trial of a version you don't need.
Hi AppalledBC:
I found a few links (listed at bottom) with instructions on how to manually remove PCTAV from your system that may be helpful, but huwyngr's suggestion in message # 11 to re-install PCTAV and use the Revo Uninstaller may be the simplest route if it works.
Before using the Revo Uninstaller I would advise that you stop PCTAV completely. I believe you can do this as follows:
- Open the Windows Services (Start | Run , enter services.msc)
- Locate the PC Tools Antivirus Engine in the list of serivces
- Stop the PC Tools Antivirus Engine service
- Double click the PC Tools Antivirus Engine service to view the properties
- Change the Startup type to Disabled
- Re-boot your PC
- Open your Windows Services again and ensure that the PC Tools Antivirus Engine service is stopped and that PCTAV is no longer running on your PC before running the free Revo Uninstaller
I use the free Revo Uninstaller v. 1.93 to uninstall all software from my system (with the exception of NIS - if necessary I use the Norton Removal Tool instead). There is a Safe, Moderate and Advanced mode in Revo Uninstaller - I use the Advanced mode to thoroughly clean all residual registry entries and files. If you're using the Advanced Mode for the first time, you will notice that you have the option of selecting which residual registry entries and files to delete. I always select and delete every suggested item using the Select All and Delete All buttons and Revo Uninstaller has never damaged my system to date. A user guide for the Revo Uninstaller can be downloaded here.
The 30-day trial version of Revo Uninstaller Pro v. 2.5.5 has a feature called Forced Uninstall that will try to look for remnants of already uninstalled programs, but I think the PCTAV re-install and uninstall using the Advanced mode of the free Revo Uninstaller should work just as well.
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Here are two other threads you may find helpful. The second is a summary of instructions found in the PCT forum here in the thread originally recommended by delphinium.
http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?61990-PCTAV-strange-presence-in-my-system&p=219539#post219539
http://techtips.salon.com/uninstall-pc-tools-11681.html
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Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 6.0.0
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
Hugh, I thought of that, but I don't have access to the internet, remember. I'd have to download it through another computer, but I'm sure it isn't a self-contained executable file; it probably needs to go online - which it won't be able to do.
We don't know for certain that PCTools is the culprit. Maybe the NIS uninstalling of PCTools and the installing of NIS by NIS is responsible. Maybe that should be uninstalled and reinstalled to see what happens. Does it require online access to complete installation or is there a self-contained installation file?
I'd forgotten about the internet access problem but I suggested reinstalling the PCTools and then uninstalling it "properly" because of thinking that Norton may have caused the problem by uninstalling parts of it. I was not suggesting reinstalling NIS until after cleaning up PCT and getting the internet connection established properly.
Because of Symantec's links to PCTools and the use of some of PCT technology in Norton products (don't take that as gospel but I think it is so -- like GHOST still used the exe filename of PowerQuest's Drive Image "We liked the technology so much, we bought the company" <g>) I could see how this might happen.
I do believe it should be possible to fix the internet problem independently but I've no expertise in that.
Of course your quickest solution would be to do a Restore to original factory condition if you have the disks or the facility in All Programs as many computers do nowadays. It means backing up data files and reinstalling applications but it gives you a clean board to start from again......
PCTools is disabled under services, but it's made no difference, and nothing shows up with Revo. Waht about uninstalling and reiinstalling NIS, as per my earlier message?
Hugh, I'm beginning to think that may be the only answer. If I do so, will I be able to reinstall NIS without losing one of my three uses? I've got one left for the computer on which I'm tying at this moment once I am sure I can uninstall PCTools properly. And to be honest, I'm dumping PCTools because over three years they've jacked the price up $10.00 a year. I had a trial edition of NIS, liked it, and then bought it, though I have no idea whether it's better or worse than PCTools.
If you think of something else in the meantime, let me know. I deeply appreciate all your help and suggestions as I do from the others who pitched in.
A great Forum
Hi AppalledBC:
Just a thought, but the free Revo Uninstaller requires that the program you are trying to uninstall is already installed on your machine. The first step with the free Revo Uninstaller is to perform an uninstall with the program's native uninstaller (i.e., similar to what you do when you uninstall a program from the Control Panel or Start menu), and if you are using the Advanced mode it then performs a deep scan to look for orphaned files and registry entries left behind by the native uninstaller.
If you can't install PCTAV on your computer, it's possible that the Forced Uninstall feature in the 30-day trial version of Revo Uninstaller Pro v. 2.5.5 could find the orphaned files and registry entries left behind by the PCTAV uninstall without requiring you to re-install PCTAV. Again, this solution assumes that the orphaned PCTAV files are the cause of your Internet connection problem.
If you go the route of uninstalling NIS first, and since you don't have an Internet connection, you should have some way of re-installing NIS on your problem computer (e.g., with a retail CD or via a downloaded installation file you saved to your hard drive) just in case the NIS uninstall doesn't solve your Internet connection problem. If I understand correctly, you will not lose any of your available installs for your 3-PC license, regardless of the number of re-install on the same machine (see PapauZ's post here). It sounds like you have to make a fairly drastic change to your system (e.g., replace the motherboard or upgrade your OS) before you lose an available install (activation) on the same machine, and Norton Customer Support can always credit you for the lost activation in cases like this.
If you let us know what version of NIS you have (i.e., NIS 2011, NIS 2012) someone can always provide you with the correct links to the installation file as well as instructions for using the Norton Removal Tool for performing a clean re-install of NIS, but unless you have the NIS installation file on a retail CD or saved to your hard drive (it's about 107 MB in size) we first have to figure the best way to get your Internet connection working.
The NIS installation file is indeed "self-contained", and only needs to connect to the Internet at the final step of the installation to activate the product with your activation key (I think you have a 10- or 15-day grace period to do so) and run a LiveUpdate to bring your virus definitions up-to-date. We normally recommend that NIS be installed while you're disconnected from the Internet to protect your computer from a possible malware infection until NIS is up and running and you have real-time protection on your PC again.
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Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 6.0.0 * Free Revo Uninstaller v. 1.93
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
PCTools does not show up in any form whatsoever with Revo, and I have no downloaded or CD version of NIS. Looks like I'll have to be drastic since I'm running out of patience, though much time will have to be spent backing up and reinstalling.
Thanks for your great effort. Much appreciated. I may be back if I have any trouble loading NIS after my recovery operation.
ABC
Sorry not to get back on line sooner. By all means try uninstalling and reinstalling NIS -- you will not lose any activations and even if the Norton Central Database misreads the situation CHAT will correct it quickly and painlessly.
Here are links to the two Norton removal tools -- the first one -- Norton Remove & Reinstall or NRnR -- is newer and is worth trying since it saves settings and the ID Safe (But you'd be well advised to back that up anyway to a safe place if you use it) removes the installation rather like the older Norton Removal Tool and then downloads and reinstalls the current version of your Norton security product already activated. But if you are running NIS 2011 and want to stick with it rather than go to NIS 2012 right away then don't use it since it is supposed to download the latest which would be 2012.
However I get the impression that the older Norton Removal Tool may be more thorough since the instructions for NRnR say if that does not solve the problem then run the older NRT ....
Here is a link to the new Norton Remove & Reinstall tool that, like the older Norton Removal Tool removes most Norton Products from your system, but the newer tool uninstalls the Norton products from your computer and reinstalls the latest version of your Norton security product.
If you already have the latest version of Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, or Norton 360, the Norton Remove & Reinstall tool reinstalls the same version of the Norton security product on your computer.
Note that it does not reinstall other Norton products you may have installed -- that you have to do manually and we can point you to the download point for the current versions.
This link Symantec Norton Removal Tool. will direct you to the older Symantec Norton Removal Tool which can be used if the newer Norton Remove and Reinstall Tool does not fix the problem.
I suggest you do not follow the instructions given for either on downloading the replacement NIS but come back first and tell us whether you want to get NIS 2011 or 2012 and we can give you a link for a single file download that I prefer to use.
Remind me please what version of Windows you are using including Service Packs and whether 32 bit or 64 bit ....
Please let us know how you get on or if you have any queries ....
Hi AppalledBC:
One quick suggestion. Have you tried resetting your NIS Smart Firewall back to its factory defaults (Settings | Network Settings | Smart Firewall | Advanced Settings | Configure | Firewall Reset | Reset)? Just be aware that this will delete any customized exceptions or settings you've created for your firewall.
Hopefully this might improve your ability to connect to the Internet.
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Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 6.0.0 * Free Revo Uninstaller v. 1.93
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS