I am running NIS 2012 v19.1.13 The optimization feature will not stop running on my PC. When I click Cancel it does not respond. Whenever I enter the GUI and select the Performance page it is always showing the blue indicator, yet I can use Windows 7's built-in Defrag tool which means the NIS defrag is not technically running at all. The Auto-Fix feature is unable to find a problem with my installation.
This started happening three days ago. I have not installed or removed any software. I have not updated any of my current software since the last Windows Update and the Flash updates from last week.
I did a System Restore from three days ago which did not help the situation. I disabled Performance Monitoring and did several reboots, reactivated it and the "optimizing" started again.
My question is how can I resolve this? Can I do something simple like adjusting a registry key for the program or do I have to do a fresh install? If I go with the latter, how do I uninstall and reinstall without compromising my computers security? I have a downloadable license so I need to use the Download function within MyNortonAccount which means I have to keep my PC online during the uninstall, reboot and reinstall.
My second question is does anyone have any idea how this happened or has anyone else experienced this before? I have been using Norton/Symantec products since 1998 and have never seen one of the programs or suites experience such a strange glitch before.
Are you trying to permanently disable the Idle Time Optimizer in NIS 2012? On my NIS 2011, it's Settings | Miscellaneous | Idle Time Optimizer | OFF. Once this setting is disabled, any NIS Idle Time Optimizer defrag that has already started will continue to run during idle until completed, so you may have to leave your system alone and let it sit in idle mode for an hour or two to let the defrag finish. After that, your defrags by the NIS Idle Time Optimizer should stop.
You might be seeing blue peaks in your NIS Performance Monitor because the NIS Idle TIme Optimizer uses the same built-in defragmenter used by your Windows Disk Defragmenter (see AllenM's post here). On my Vista PC, this executable is dfrgntfs.exe. Click inside one of these blue peaks with your mouse and the pop-up window might list something like dfrgntfs.exe as the running process.
Edit:
Sorry, I missed your second questions about re-installing NIS 2012 while offline. Please see my post here, which includes a link to PapauZ's excellent step-by-step instructions for performing a clean re-install of NIS while disconnected from the Internet.
--------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
No, I am not trying to permanently disable the feature, I am trying to get it to actually function. The entire component is broken and although it states it's Optimizing my computer, it is not, as I am able to run Windows Defrag. (see attached)
Please see the edit at the bottom of message # 2 about re-installing NIS 2012. I might have posted the edit after your last response.
Are you absolutely certain the defragging you're seeing in your NIS Performance Monitor isn't a scheduled background Windows defrag? What Windows operatng system do you use? If it's Win 7 you might want to look at huwyngr's post here in IndoNator's thread Norton IS 2012 (Optimize by Inactivity).
---------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Sorry, I though the blue indicator you were referring to was the blue peaks of CPU activity on the bottom graph.
The blue band your arrow is pointing to in message # 5 just means that a NIS Idle Time Optimizer defrag ran on that particular day - in this case, on 07-Nov-2011. The Idle Time Optimizer is scheduled to run ever time software is installed on your PC, so if you've been performing lots of software installations then Idle Time Optimizer will be running frequently. That being said, I can't see any evidence in this screen shot that the Idle Time Optimizer ran on any other day in November other than 07-Nov-2011.
Is your concern that the Idle Time Optimizer is continuing to run outside of idle mode (i.e., when you're working on your computer)? When you ran your system restore, did you disable the real-time Anti-Virus protection and Norton Product Tamper Protection first? I've heard of instances where Norton Product Tamper Protection (Settings | Miscellaneous Settings | Product Security | Norton Product Tamper Protection) corrupted Windows system files and/or NIS files during a system restore. The following is copied form my NIS 2011 Help files (topic: Turning Off or Turning On Norton Product Tamper Protection).
You cannot run System Restore on your computer when Norton Product Tamper Protection is turned on. You must temporarily turn off Norton Product Tamper Protection to run a successful System Restore.
---------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Thank you for your assistance. At this point I have no problem doing a clean install of NIS. I would just like to figure out what happened that caused the problem so I can avoid it in the future. I did a Google search and do not see any similar complaints. The only thing I can find is some folks complain that they can't get the feature to work at all.
Yes, the issue is that the Idle Time Optimizer indicates that it is running continuously. It does not matter if I just started my PC, if it's been idle for four hours, etc. It is simply always "running". Again, although it indicates it's in fact running it is technically NOT as I am able to run Windows Defrag. If NIS was actually doing an Optimization the Windows Defrag would give me an error message stating it's already in use. When I review the history it does not show that the previous days have been Optimized, which you indicated seeing. Yet on those days where it does not show that it completed the task, it was in fact showing the active Optimization indicator each of those days.
To be safe, during System Restore I did disable the Firewall, A/V, etc. and I did read that I should disable the Tamper feature, so I did that as well.
I also went under Norton Tasks and Disabled Idle Insight Optimizer yet it still shows the moving blue indicator. Something became broken in the software. I could understand this happening if someone was playing around with Registry Cleaners or other tweak tools but not basic day-to-day use. The few times I do tweak my system I always create a Restore Point and Backup prior - just in case.
These 8920,223 errors often happen when a manual or Automatic LiveUpdate can't connect to the Symantec servers to download updates (see GORPY1's thread here). If you haven't done so already, you can click the More Details link in one of the errors you found in your Norton Error Reporting history (see the bottom right of your screenshot in message # 8) and you might find more information there. These server connection problems are usually temporary, but in your case they may be related to a more serious problem like a corrupted NIS 2012 installation.
It sounds like you took all necessary precautions when you ran your System Restore, so hopefully a clean re-install of NIS 2012 using the instructions posted here will solve the problem.
It's very difficult to figure out the cause of these types of problems when they appear out of the blue like this. You may want to perform a thorough Check Disk (chkdsk - see instructions here) just in case you have a bad sector(s) on your hard drive and one of your recent Automatic LiveUpdates or disk defrags wrote a file into one of these bad sectors and corrupted your NIS 2012 installation.
------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
I ran CHKDSK and SFC /Scannow prior to and after doing a fresh install and am no longer having this bizarre issue with no alerts.
I have been reviewing my Windows Event Logs leading up to the event and I am unable to locate anything out of the ordinary that would have resulted in NIS going bonkers.
I'm going to write it off as a fluke but if anyone else reports it I would be very interested to investigate the matter further.
Glad to hear NIS 2012 is behaving since the re-install. I'll post back here if I see anyone else in the forum report a similar problem.
Two final comments:
NIS 2011 and earlier versions used the native Windows Task Scheduler to schedule custom scans, but NIS 2012 now comes with its own Norton Job Scheduler (or whatever the correct term is) (see the section Customer Experience - Custom Scans the Norton Way in the article here titled What's New in Norton Internet Security 2012). I don't know if Idle Time Optimizer defrags in NIS 2012 are also scheduled by this Norton Job Scheduler, but if this is the case you may have uncovered a problem with the way the new task scheduler sometimes manages defrags.
Your forum profile indicates that you've used NIS for a few years now, and there is also a known bug listed in the Known Issues in NIS 19.1 post here that states After upgrading to NIS 2012, some tasks in Task Scheduler appear to be left over from NIS 2011 (see avjohnnie's thread here as well). Based on what I've read about this bug I don't think one of these orphaned tasks could actually cause an Idle Time Optimizer defrag to run continuously after an upgrade to NIS 2012, but stranger things have happened.
-------- Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
I have the same situation of optimizer running continuously on my laptop (XP SP3) after having upgraded to NIS2012. I have switched off the idle time optimizer in settings, uninstalled the product (keeping the settings) and reinstalled it and optimizer is still running. It will not respond to the "cancel optimize" option. I have left the machine running for hours to see if it it will finish the task but it never does. When I shut down the GUI I have the option to end optimization and if I opt to end it seems to stop but only until the computer becomes idle. It is always running when the GUI is opened. The resources used are indicating mostly yellow (Norton).
This is a fairly elderly machine but it is a stalwart which responds well to being coaxed along. There is not much free space on the disk and when I ran MS defrag (after the initial 2012 upgrade) I needed to free up some space in order for it to run, and that ran successfully, so the disk does not need to be optimized any more at the moment.
BTW, I have also installed 2012 on a Windows 7 machine where it is behaving well and optimization runs OK.
First, make sure you have the latest version of NIS 2012 (go to Support | About - currently v. 19.2.0.10). The product update delivered via LiveUpdate on 08-Nov-2011 may have fixed this problem.
Have you tried performing a clean re-install of NIS 2012 with the Norton Removal Tool? If you tried a simple uninstall from the Control Panel there may be a residual file or scheduled task left behind on your system that's causing the problem. It's even possible that choosing to keep the settings of the previous installation is the reason your re-install didn't work.
I provided a link at the bottom of message # 2 for general instructions for performing a clean re-install, but I'll provide step-by-step instructions for NIS 2012 below since you're new the forum and may not be familiar with the Norton Removal Tool (NRT). Kudos to PapauZ, who posted the original instructions here for re-installing NIS 2011. Just ignore the comments about Identity Safe if you don't use this feature to manage logins and personal data on the web.
Backup your Identity Safe data (Settings | Web Settings | Identity Safe | Backup Identity Safe Data | Configure)
Download the latest NIS offline installer (download here if you want NIS 2012; here for NIS 2011)
Download Norton Removal Tool here (for most NIS installations, choose the link I have a Norton 2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012 product) and print or save a copy of the instructions on the NRT download page.
Record your product activation key. Instructions are on the Norton Removal Tool download page, but you can also click the Account link in the NIS main window or log in at www.mynortonaccount.com to view your product key.
Disconnect from the Internet
Uninstall NIS from the Windows Control Panel (e.g., Add/Remove Programs for XP; Programs and Features for Vista) and re-boot
Run the Norton Removal Tool and re-boot (repeat 2-3 times with a re-boot between each clean with the NRT)
Install NIS
Reconnect to the Internet
Activate NIS with your product activation key
Run LiveUpdate, re-boot, and continue to run LiveUpdate and re-boot until you get no new updates
Restore your Identity Safe data
You can see how the Norton Removal Tool works here in this video. If you use Identity Safe, the Norton Removal Tool should prompt you to save your Identity Safe data, but you should back up your data before running the Norton Removal Tool just to be safe. Also note that the Norton Removal Tool removes all Norton products from your computer, so keep this in mind if you have Norton Utilities or other Symantec products installed on your PC.
--------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 7.0.1 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Yes ghjbox, this is exactly what was happening with my PC. Be sure to back up your Identity Safe file or connect it to your Online Account prior to removing the software and doing a fresh install. I have not had any further issues since using the Norton Removal Tool but I also did not keep any of my previous settings which I think is key to resolving this issue.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who experienced this but I feel for you. It's quite frustrating! Especially when Norton does not even log the event that causes this issue.
The link you provided to the latest NIS 2012 off-line installer results in "page not found". I have a saved copy of the NIS 2012 upgrade on my machine, but I'm not sure if that will work after a complete removal (file name: NIS-UGRADE-ESD-NoDefs-19-1-1-3-EN.exe. Can I use this for the re-install or do I need to get another download?
The link I provided in message # 13 seems to be working fine on my machine and I get a pop-up asking me to save file NIS-ESD-19-1-0-29-EN.exe. Try it again just in case there was a temporary problem connecting to the Symantec download servers. I prefer posting this "generic" link because it always re-directs to the latest version available for download.
Symantec released a product update for NIS v. 19.2.0.10 on 08-Nov-2011 but I don't think Symantec will be posting the full 100 MB installer for v. 19.2.0.29 for a few more days. If you use the v. 19.1.0.28 installer the product update will be delivered when you run your LiveUpdates at the end of the installation process.
---------
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 8.0.0 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
I have followed your advice and it seems that it has succesfully solved the problem, thank you very much. Just one or two things to note:
1) I opted not to save settings on uninstall and then ran NRT three times in all, rebooting after each was complete, all as advised.
2) I did not need to reactivate NIS, it seems to have found the Serial Number of the previous installation and is correctly showing the subscription status of the account. I guess the uninstall and NRT did not remove that information.
3) The whole process on an old and slow machine (and with a slow internet connection) takes a couple of hours or more, so you need to do it when you have the time available.
4) The first thing I did after re-installation was to go into settings and disable optimazation. This experience has persuaded me that on a slow machine with scarce resources it is better to do your de-frags manually at a time to suit you rather than have it run automatically.
Thanks once more for your help. (NIS is happily doing a full system scan at the moment. That will take several more hours!)
I did not need to reactivate NIS, it seems to have found the Serial Number of the previous installation and is correctly showing the subscription status of the account. I guess the uninstall and NRT did not remove that information.
Hi ghjbox:
Glad to hear you're up and running.
Thanks for your feedback about the Norton Removal Tool (NRT) and the product activation key. I noticed the same thing myself when I used the NRT and wondered if I'd actually done a thorough job of cleaning out my old installation. Apparently the NRT does leave behind select files on your hard drive (see RichD's post here) and it must be designed this way so that you don't use up one of your available activations if you re-install your Norton product multiple times on the same computer (see Papauz's post here). I'll edit Step 10 of my instructions next time to say "if necessary"
I have a laptop PC and 56-KB dial-up modem at home, although I have access to free public WiFi that I occasionally use for large downloads. If you're interested, I posted a list of some common NIS configuration tweakshere in PatrickMcCabe's thread Is Norton Slowing Down My Computer? that can be used on systems with limited RAM and/or a slow Internet connection to optimize system performance without compromising security.
In addition to the items listed in Patrick's thread I also have Automatic LiveUpdates disabled (Settings | Computer Settings | Updates | Automatic LiveUpdate | OFF) because I find that some of the larger product updates delivered via LiveUpdate (e.g., v. 19.1 to 19.2) can take more than an hour to download over dial-up. That being said, I always perform a manual LiveUpdate at least once a day, regardless of whether I'm on dial-up or WiFi. -------- Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * NIS 2011 v. 18.6.0.29 * IE 9.0 * Firefox 8.0.0 HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
The Norton key must be located in c:/programdata/Norton or c:/programdata/NortonInstaller. I tend to delete those folders after uninstallation with add remove for a cleaner reinstall and it always prompt me to reenter the key to activate the product.
