Orphaned task scheduler entries after installing the NIS2012 upgrade

In the Windows 7 (64Bit) Task Schedular / Task Scheduler Library

There is a root entry:

"Norton WSC Integration",

with an Actions\Start a Program value of:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\19.1.1.3\WSCStub.exe",

and an Argument value of:

"/taskschd"

 

There is also a "Norton Internet Security" folder containing the following two entries:

1.     "Norton Error Analyzer",

with an Actions\Start a Program value of:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\19.1.1.3\SymErr.exe",

and an Argument value of:

"/analyze"

 

2.     "Norton Error Processor",

with an Actions\Start a Program value of:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\19.1.1.3\SymErr.exe",

and an Argument value of:

"/submit"

 

All three of which seem to be correct and appropriate for the current NIS2012 installation.

 

However there is also what appears to be a leftover from the previous NIS2011 installation that was not removed by the upgrade manager — namely a "Symantec" folder containing the following two (orphaned?) entries:

 

1.     "Norton Error Analyzer 18.6.0.29",

with an Actions\Start a Program value of:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\18.6.0.29\SymErr.exe",

and an Argument value of:

"/analyze"

 

2.     "Norton Error Processor 18.6.0.29",

with an Actions\Start a Program value of:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\18.6.0.29\SymErr.exe",

and an Argument value of:

"/submit"

 

Questions:

  • Are these scheduler entries in any way responsible for some of the numerous and varied problems being reported and posted in this forum?

 

  • Will there eventually be a LiveUpdate delivered “Fixup” to address this oversight?

 

  • Can or should these (assumed orphans) safely be deleted by the user, or should we await the “Fixup” (assuming there will eventually be one)?

 

Regards,

John Burns

Software Research



 

Yep, it was noticed and reported back when NIS 2012 went live, if you did an on-top installation. It is fine to remove the old ones. Those folders don't exist at all anymore.


Bombastus wrote:

Yep, it was noticed and reported back when NIS 2012 went live, if you did an on-top installation. It is fine to remove the old ones. Those folders don't exist at all anymore.


 

So … Since the “Symantec” folder contains only the two errant entries, is it also okay to go ahead and delete the folder as well as the two orphaned entries that it contains?

 

Regards,

John Burns

Software Research

Hi avjohnnie:

 

The Known Issues in NIS 19.1 post here includes this issue: After upgrading to NIS 2012, some tasks in Task Scheduler appear to be left over from NIS 2011. The link there points to drminer's thread here titled Orphaned Tasks After Upgrade.

 

If drminer's comment's look familiar then Symantec is aware of the issue.  I'm not sure if the fix they eventually send out as a product update via LiveUpdate will actually remove the orphaned NIS 2011 folders or if they're just changing the NIS 2012 installation wizard to ensure this doesn't happen in the future.

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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