Norton Anti-Virus won't work after System Restore

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
1

So my HP Pavilion/Windows 7 has been freezing during shut down the last 2 days and starting last night I was having problems launching certain software programs on my desktop. I assumed that I'd gotten some kind of virus and opened Norton up to do a full scan. However, like my other programs, it froze and after about 20 minutes and the screen read that it had only scanned 130 files. I made the mistake of then trying to do a system restore from that stage in normal mode, but since my computer froze during shut-down, the system restore didn't finish correctly. I think that's the point that Norton Antivirus turned itself off and now I can't get it back on. Everytime I open it, I get a little white window about 30px high by 100px wide. I'm given the option to turn it on in the taskbar, but clicking on the icon doesn't do anything. I re-open my computer in normal mode, tried to revert the system-restore point since it didn't go through correctly, but that one failed also - no doubt because the computer froze shutting down.

 

Since that stage, I have opened my computer in safe mode and done a system restore from even further back. That went through fine. I restarted my computer, ran a full scan with MalwareBytes (nothing), updated and ran a quick scan with Windows Defender (nothing), and then through Windows 7 Help forums determined that my internet connect was preventing my computer from shutting down. If I disable the internet connection, it shuts down fine now (or at least it has the last 2 times I tried it). My software seems to load okay, but I still can't get Norton back on.

 

2

Well I found the solution. Norton had completely installed itself during one of my system restores. All the icons were left in place on both the desktop and in the control panel, but the actual software was gone. I determined this when I tried to uninstall Norton from my control panel and the uninstall button wasn't working. I then went into my C drive > Program Files > Symantec and was quite surprised to realize the folder was empty. So I  inserted my install CD, ran it, and we're back up and running. Sort of freaky Norton would uninstall itself during a system restore, but at least all aforementioned problems seem to be gone (frozen shut-down included).

3

Hi KlaraS,

 

Glad you were able to get everything working again.  It sounds like you were experiencing some issues that are being reported with this product update.  System Restore can cause as many problems as it solves, as you may have discovered.  It does not revert everything back to an earlier state and that can create a real mess with programs like security software that are updated frequently.  It can create a lot of orphaned bits and pieces that can make further recovery very difficult. 

4

I located this info in some of my old notes about System Restore. not sure it applies or not:

 

If you restore to a restore point before a program was installed, that program does not work after restoration. If you want to use the program again, you must reinstall it.