Shoutbox

I would like to remove my Norton Internet Security Suite 2002 as it has expired and has caused all of my BSODs for the past year. I created a system restore point so that if anything goes wrong i can go back. But my question is that if the un-installation works, but then my computer becomes unstable or something, if i  restore the computer back to before i un-installed will it be back to normal? Or if i uninstall will it be gone forever.

The reason i ask is that i have lost the installation disk (and will never use a Norton product again), and if i quit the process of the Security Suite while using the computer, my internet ceases to work. Therefore i am scared that if i un-install it, when i reboot my internet may stop working for some reason.

I may seem noob/paranoid but i just want to be sure

quote:

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Originally posted by Th3rmal
if i  restore the computer back to before i un-installed will it be back to normal?

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Most likely not! System Restore is not a backup tool nor an uninstall tool.

System Restore will only restore certain aspects and certain criticial system files of Windows and is meant as a 'last resort' to get Windows in such a state that you could fix problems with it.

(Not to mention that if the restore point is very old (like you described) various system stuff will be restored to a state where security updates, drivers and other possible system stuff will be removed and what not; making the chance of a 'bad Windows installation' after restoring even bigger)

You should uninstall it using the proper methods.

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
Most likely not! System Restore is not a backup tool nor an uninstall tool.

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Well its too late now

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
Not to mention that if the restore point is very old (like you described) various system stuff will be restored to a state where security updates, drivers and other possible system stuff will be removed and what not; making the chance of a 'bad Windows installation' after restoring even bigger

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I must have described wrong, sorry . I had made a restore point right before i did the uninstall.

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
You should uninstall it using the proper methods.

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I did that. So far it is working ok, except sometimes when i go to a webpage, it can take up to like 3 minutes to load....not sure why...

quote:

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Originally posted by Th3rmal

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
Not to mention that if the restore point is very old (like you described) various system stuff will be restored to a state where security updates, drivers and other possible system stuff will be removed and what not; making the chance of a 'bad Windows installation' after restoring even bigger

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I must have described wrong, sorry . I had made a restore point right before i did the uninstall.

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Or I read it wrong.

Now that I reread it, I see what you meant (I hope ).

In case the PC gets unstable in the future, will you be able to go back to a stable state with the restore point you made right before you uninstalled NISS ?

The stuff I said still applies though: System Restore is not a backup tool. So, if you go back to that restore point you've made, NISS will most likely not work back again. System Restore only stores vital system info, not program info (although in case of NISS, some stuff will be restored from it since NISS will also nest itself deep into the system, but not everything, making the installation bad/incomplete)

quote:

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Originally posted by Th3rmal

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
You should uninstall it using the proper methods.

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I did that. So far it is working ok, except sometimes when i go to a webpage, it can take up to like 3 minutes to load....not sure why...

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Did you rebooted after uninstalling?
It could also be the cache or something, try to empty it...
I'm no expert in NISS either, but it might be that if you uninstall it it will reset the internet settings back to default, or sets some standard stuff so your internet experience is safe (but slower). Check your internet settings (MSIE > Tools > Options)...
Or it might be just coincidence....