Desktop changed after deleting NAV

Hello all,

I just bought NOD32 but have not yet installed it.

I just deleted Norton AV (2003) from my computer and I am having a problem.

I first ran the Norton Uninstall.

Then I went into msconfig and changed to Diagnostic Mode.

Then I manually deleted all Symantec files (but it would not allow me to delete the folders so they are now empty).

Then I manually deleted all Symantec entries including "LiveUpdate" and "LiveReg" (I think) in the Registry using regedit.

Now I am having this problem:

After rebooting and going back into Normal Mode, after entering my password it said something like "Could not find Local Settings. Creating a Temporary User." I don't remember exactly what it said.

Now it set up a new desktop with minimal number of icons.

Now "My Documents" does not contain my documents but is almost empty.

Now "My Favorites" (web sites) is practically empty.



To get to My Documents or my desktop items or My Favorites I now have to go to "C:/Documents and Settings/"My Name"/".

Maybe I deleted something I shouldn't have.

How do I change all this so that I get my old desktop back?

I want to fix this before installing NOD32.

I am using Windows XP.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

You may have to use a Symantec removal tool.
Check this out:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2001092114452606

 

Thanks.

I was aware of that utility and have already downloaded it onto my computer but I have not yet tried it because it doesn't appear that the problem is that NAV has not been deleted but that my Desktop has changed.

But I'll try it anyway if you think that might resolve the problem.

Thanks again!

 

One other option would be to use System Restore and go back to the latest restore point before you uninstalled Norton.
In case you don't know where to find System Restore,here is the path:
Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools.System Restore should be at the bottom of the list.The dates with restore points will be bold or a bit larger on the calendar.

 

Did you back up the registry before you started deleting?? if not you might not be able to go back where it was before. you can try going to safe mode, when the page comes up select "last good" either that or try useing sys restore.

 

you can try going to safe mode, when the page comes up select "last good" [/QUOTE]

Probably will not work. Windows considers the "last good" configuration as any time it reaches the Windows start up screen. Do`t think it will restore his Desktop.

This is probably his best bet. Then he should d\l the removal tool again and un-install Norton that way. Good luck to the OP.

 

You didn't by any chance accidentily delete your windows profile folder contents might you? This would have been a folder named whatever your logon name is and under the \documents and settings parent folder. If you accidentily did this, then that could explain your profile message and it being as you say practicaly empty with your settings and sites.

Another possibility that I can think of is if the profile folder has somehow lost the permissions for your logon account. This can occur sometimes and cause the profile not to load due to inadequate permissions or has been renamed from its original folder name and then a default empty profiled is loaded. Now I don't work to much with XP Home and I know it does not especially have file level permissions ability as XP Pro does, but not sure which version you are running.

If XP Pro then try and see if you can navigate to the profile folder I mentioned above then right click on it, hit properties and then look at the security settings. See if your account is listed as Owner or even listed in the box. If not try and manually add your account to the permissions box and make sure you select Full Controll on the attributes. You can also try taking ownership option while logged onto that account. If it is XP Home, I am not sure but you can check and see if you can at least take ownership of the folder.

One last thing it could also be is if the registry keys for that profile don't have the proper permissions on the keys set. You can also navigate to these keys and try resetting the permissions on them. Be careful though as working in the registry can cause problems if you do the wrong thing and can lead to inability to boot your system.

Good luck to you and let us know how you make out.

 

Atomic Ed,

I don't know if I accidentally deleted my windows profile folder or not.

I have Windows XP Home.


Under C:/Documents and Settings/John Bardin (that's my name)

I have the following folders:

Cookies
Desktop
Favorites
John Bardin's Documents
Start Menu
User Data
WINDOWS

Under WINDOWS there is a folder called "system" but it is empty.

I right clicked the "John Bardin" folder and clicked on Properties.

Only thing I see under "John Bardin Properties" is a tab called "Sharing".

Under that there is a section called:

Local Sharing and Security

There it says:

"To share this folder with other users of this computer only, drag it to the Shared Documents folder."

I don't see anywhere where you can check whether my account is "Owner" or not.

If this is a problem with the registry keys, where exactly should I go in the registry to find out the permissions for this profile?

 

bigc73542,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately I forgot to back up the registry.

 

I bet you remember next time

 

Only seeing the sharing tab on the properties, is because it is XP Home which does not include file level permissions as Pro does. I can take a look on another computer for you and see if I can locate the registry keys for you to check. I only run pro, which is what I usually support at work, so I will need to look for you before I can say.

In the meantime, can you go to the profile you told me about and look inside the folder called desktop to see if all your shortcuts and stuff you had on your desktop is still contained in it? If so maybe we can at least copy out the data to the new profile and do it that way. Of course this method is dependant on whether or not the data is still there and not been deleted.

Take a look in the folders and see if it is what your desktop used to look like and let us know. If so we can try to help from there.

 

One other problem I didn't mention is that now when I click on for example a mpg file, now it says "Welcome to Windows Media.... Thank you for installing Windows Media 9".

It used to pull up Windows Media Player and play the video file. Now its like it doesn't even recognize that I already have Windows Media Player installed on my computer.

 

Atomic Ed,

Thanks very much for your reply!

It looks like my old desktop still contains many shortcuts.

However, about 15 shortcuts were moved from my old desktop to my new desktop.

Between the two of them, I believe all the shortcuts are there.



Before we go on with this, several other posters have suggested that my best bet is to do a system restore.

Then maybe I would not have to mess with the registry, etc.

What do you think?

 

bigc73542 and ThunderZ,

Thanks to you both for your help!

You both mention doing a system restore.

Will system restore restore the registry as well as everything else?

 

One thing I should also make clear is that these problems did not occur right after I ran the Norton AV Uninstall.

It was only after I deleted the Symantec files and registry items that these problems started happening.

 

I have heard of mixed results using sys. restore. I have heard of it putting the OS and all installed programs in total and complete running order. I have also heard of it restoring a folders "complete" with files but the installer still had to be run in order for particular programs to work. So, the answer to your question is maybe. Sorry I could`t be more help.

 

Running system restore to me is kind of like playing russian roulette. It may work or it may not and have bad results. I have never found any rhyme or reason to the utility other than it is not consistant or reliable / repeatable. I tend to shy away from its use and pretty much only recommend giving it a go if all other options have been exhausted. In your case it could be worth a shot and the good thing about system resotre is that in most cases, after it runs through, if you don't want to keep the recent restore changes it will allow you to rollback to where you were. I have seen it fail before but I would say give it a shot and if it doesn't look good, let it go back to where you are and we can try from there with what I was telling you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks a lot everyone for all your suggestions.

I'm going to run System Restore.

I am now logging off this computer (this is my friend's computer not mine).

Will come back and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again!

 

Atomic Ed is right about System Restore.
It is not 100% effective.It likely is your best bet IMO.

 

Sys restore is a funny app, I have had it work perfectly more times than not but like you said you never know when it might hicup.

 

To The Tester, Atomic Ed, bigc, and ThunderZ,

Thanks to all of you for all your helpful suggestions!

When I ran System Restore, it had only one backup checkpoint, and that was from October 2, right around the time I deleted all the Symantec files and registry items.

But fortunately I lucked out (so far--I'm keeping my fingers crossed) because I ran System Restore and it restored my Desktop successfully!

Also programs like Windows Media Player now seem to be working OK.

The funny thing is, looking now at my registry, it has not restored it to prior to when I deleted all the Symantec entries.

So evidently, the System Restore backup checkpoint was right after I deleted all those files and registry items.

So I still don't know what happened!

Right now I am saving to disk a bunch of stuff before I reboot again.

I set another System Restore checkpoint to right after I ran System Restore and restored my Desktop.

I am saving the contents of my "John Bardin" file (except "My Documents").

I am also going to save the contents of my "Documents and Settings" file (except "John Bardin).

I am also going to backup the registry.

I would hate to see this mess happen again if I reboot.

After doing all of this, I will then install Nod32.

If you all have any other suggestions or has any idea what might have happened to cause this, please let me know!

Thanks again and best to all of you!

 

Great, I am happy to hear that system restore worked for you and it is back to normal. It is a good idea to have frequent backups of your system in the even of a problem like this or even a physical hard drive failure which can happen. I think if you don't already have one, a good idea would be for you to get a decent drive image program. This way you can create a backup image of your whole system and just restore from it whenever you may need it. A very good program for this IMO is Acronis True Image. You may want to check it out.

Once again I am happy it worked for you.

 

Oops, I spoke too soon.

Looks like I still have some more work to do to completely delete Norton AV (before I feel comfortable installing Nod32).

According to what I have read I still have to:

Reinstall Windows Script 5.6.

Uninstall the Norton WMI update program (I just saw this on my Programs List).

I probably should also run the Rnav2003.exe removal utility.

If any of you have any cautionary advice regarding the above please let me know.

Thanks again for all your help!