Very Large (4GB) 7z File in C:\ProgramData\NortonInstaller\Settings

On a Windows 10 desktop computer, I ran short of Norton 360 (22.23.6.5) licenses and had to uninstall. That left a 4.4GB file in C:\ProgramData\NortonInstaller\Settings. I assume that's because I opted not to delete settings when I uninstalled.

This 4.4GB file has a long name, like {7YDJDLX-KCKSO-DASI-C877HIA}.7z. I compare it to a similarly named subfolder under C:\ProgramData\Norton, on a Win10 desktop machine where Norton 360 is still installed.

On the latter computer, C:\ProgramData\Norton (including that longnamed subfolder) contains "only" 1.7GB of material.

My questions:

  1. Why would a decision to preserve "settings" result in the creation of a 4.4GB file, on a machine where I uninstalled Norton 360?
  2. Can I safely delete that massive file - and, if so, are there other residual Norton-related materials that I can delete as well?
  3. Why would Norton 360 accumulate 1.8GB worth of material in its ProgramData folder?
  4. To maximize free space on my drive, is there a way to automatically restrict the growth of such data collections?

glad you have most of it figured out, would think just making sure your up todate and get the patches ( apply and restart)

and run the auto fix tool ( help than get support)

should be all set

not aware of the program you mention that had issue with norton the uninstall program so not sure

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm still interested in the several other questions I asked, if you have any ideas on those.

Regarding deletion (question 2), as I say, I had to uninstall - so, yes, Norton 360 was installed previously.

You were on target in suggesting that there could be other folders that the uninstallation did not remove. In fact, there were. An Everything search found seven Norton folders, along with the one Symantec Shared folder in your list. There was nothing in the Downloads folder.

I decided to reinstall, but without installing the patches.

Then, having already tried the Windows 10 uninstaller in Programs and Features (via appwiz.cpl), and skeptical of Norton's own uninstaller, I tried using Revo Uninstaller (free version) to uninstall. That kept crashing. Presumably Norton 360 was designed to resist malware that might seek to uninstall it. Revo supplied the product code needed for Microsoft's Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter (Not Listed option), but that troubleshooter didn't help.

It appeared that Norton's uninstaller might be the only choice. That was annoying, as it did not seem to provide any way to uninstall until I had activated it - which seemed problematic, given that I was already using Norton 360 on the maximum three devices.

I didn't understand your reference to "rnr" but, with further searching, found that you probably meant Norton's Remove and Reinstall tool. RnR said it would remove and reinstall, but its Advanced option allowed me to remove without reinstalling. That insisted upon an immediate reboot.

After rebooting, I found that Norton 360 was removed from appwiz.cpl; its shortcuts were gone from the Start menu; the 4.4GB file was gone from C:\ProgramData\NortonInstaller\Settings (indeed, that folder was empty); and Revo no longer found Norton 360. The Symantec Shared folder was still there, as were six of the seven Norton folders. Most of those folders still contained files, but I was able to delete them.

CCleaner did detect some material for deletion, though none specifically naming Norton.

For this one of my four questions, each of your suggestions contributed something. Thanks again for that.

there could be 2 answers

 

first yes

second maybe

but more helpfull will be knowing if you intend to reinstall anyway or you didnt complete the installation of the program

for example if you did a rnr tool ( uninstalls and reinstalls exe) than you could argue that the file you mentioned is that information /settings you saved ( asks if you want to save the info)

but something tells me the file size is off

so if you are doing a reinstall and thats what has happened than perhaps that would explain the files /folder

being you mentioned it didnt complete installing

i think your best bet would be to do a complete reinstall

delete the folder/files and from your account in my devices i think it called get the installation download

( could also run ccleaner to clean up anything norton left in registry or files )

 

let it do its thing and set up, get signed in and do the updates ( apply patches), restart

maybe take a few restarts to get all the updates and patches

after you get all thos in classic mode click help than on left and get support to run the auto fix and should be good :)

also go thru the settings and change as you like

raywood:
Can I safely delete that massive file - and, if so, are there other residual Norton-related materials that I can delete as well?

 

You can check the following to ensure any left over folders were removed by bring up Windows Explorer. Set explorer to Show Hidden files/folders by selecting View, Options, Change folder and search options. Then Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, then click OK.

If you find any of the following, delete them.

(Note, the following may very depending on your OS. So some of these may not exist on your system).

C:\Users\Public\Downloads (Norton - original downloaded files)
C:\Users\your user name\Downloads (original downloader file)
C:\Users\your user name\AppData\LocalLow (any folder in reference to Norton)
C:\Program Files\(Norton Security folder)
C:\Program Files (x86)\(NortonInstaller folder)
C:\Program Files\Common Files\AV\(Norton)
C:\Program Files\Common Files\(Symantec Shared)
C:\ProgramData\(Norton folder)
C:\ProgramData\(NortonInstaller folder)
C:\ProgramData\(Symantec folder if present)

Reboot PC

https://community.norton.com/en/comment/8363501#comment-8363501 - Posted: 02-Apr-2020

just my 2 cents

that file size does seem very large, personally i would delete it

best advice is to use the rnr tool to remove norton , and reinstall ( get the download from your account dont use the rnr tool for installing)

the rnr tool has some bugs when it comes to installing

let that do its thing and when your done with install and get the program updated, few restarts

make sure you run live update untill it says no updates restart ( apply patches )

in classic mode click help top right

on the left click get support, let the auto fix tool run

this is important as many times i have had installation or other things found

restart again and you should be good to go, just need to go thru the settings and all good