Upgrade From 4 to 5 Hell

[padi]

Well upgraded from 4 to 5 uninstalled 4 first then reboot installed 5 without the AV option .OS XP pro, one and half gig memory browser 1E6 firewall Z/A pro AV kaspersky version 5.Now install goes fine and update, asked to do scan it was very very slow,got to 26% computer crashed and rebooted.Now this is the first time my computer has ever done that.So got back into windows to try again exactly the same result,but this time a message system has recovered from serious error..So I though this is not good,so uninstalled version 5 re-downloaded version 4 installed done update and scan fully without any problem just like always with version 4.Now there must be something seriously wrong in 5 to crash my PC as I have never had a problem until this install of SD5 and I am at the moment not very pleased.:mad: :mad:

PS forgot to mention when I installed version 5, both AV and firewall were
disabled both times.But when reinstalling version 4 both were enabled,and
working fine after,and without a problem for well over 12 months

[Support]

Hi padi,

We are sorry to hear about the problem.

This is just a quick note to let you know that your query has been escalated to our Technical Support Team who will be able to assist you further.

Thank you for your patience.

Kind Regards,

PC Tools Support

[Joanna]

I am having the exact same problem with the upgrade. I have Kaspersky 6.0, AVG Spyware, XP, SP2 and Windows Defender. I had to start Outlook 2003in Safe Mode to get my e-mail. My laptop takes a half hour to start up if I'm lucky and has crashed three times and i receive the same message Padi gets. I have never had a crash before. My programs are taking forever to start up and getting on the internet is a horror. I'm going to uninstall 5.0 and go back to 4.0

[Monman]

I am having the exact same problem with the upgrade. I have Kaspersky 6.0, AVG Spyware, XP, SP2 and Windows Defender. I had to start Outlook 2003in Safe Mode to get my e-mail. My laptop takes a half hour to start up if I'm lucky and has crashed three times and i receive the same message Padi gets. I have never had a crash before. My programs are taking forever to start up and getting on the internet is a horror. I'm going to uninstall 5.0 and go back to 4.0

It sounds like to me that you have too much protection on your PC. I used to have Windows Defender, Sybot Search & Destroy, Norton Anti Virus and Spyware Doctor installed on my PC, until someone advised me that the programs may conflict and it was overkill on the protection. Currently I only Spyware Doctor 5 and Norton Internet Security on PC and although it may be a tad slow at times, I have had no other problems.

[Joanna]

Thanks. Yes, I thought of that, too. But, everything was working fine until I upgraded from 4.0 to 5.0. I was thinking of restoring my laptop back to the day before I upgraded. I had to start Outlook in safe mode. It might be corrupt now because of this mess.

[padi]

Hi padi,

We are sorry to hear about the problem.

This is just a quick note to let you know that your query has been escalated to our Technical Support Team who will be able to assist you further.

Thank you for your patience.

Kind Regards,

PC Tools Support

Well it seems to me you have quite a few escalated reports to the Technical Support Team.But up till now very little answers,perhaps they should concentrate in getting the software sorted. Instead of sending emails about there wonderful not working products.Spydoctor 4 worked fine but 5 does not, its like many software companies today.Over-bloat the software with needless add ons trying to make a do all software but it just don't work.Most people have there separate own AV and firewalls.Spydoctor should stick to what the product was intended for spyware malware.One very unhappy customer.

[Gayle]

I have experienced the same problem. My WindowsXP slowed down (drastically) and would hardly boot up...when it did, it would restart again, then again. I finally got to where I could restore to an earlier date and now my computer is back to normal. I have tried to uninstall Spyware Doctor from my computer so I can reinstall it, but now I get this error message "unins000.dat" does not exist so I can't even uninstall it. I am afraid to reinstall version 4 again because I don't know what will happen....this is a mess....

[socrfan]

It sounds like to me that you have too much protection on your PC. I used to have Windows Defender, Sybot Search & Destroy, Norton Anti Virus and Spyware Doctor installed on my PC, until someone advised me that the programs may conflict and it was overkill on the protection. Currently I only Spyware Doctor 5 and Norton Internet Security on PC and although it may be a tad slow at times, I have had no other problems.

Having more than one anti-spyware program on a computer will, most likely, not cause any problems since seldom do they conflict as anti-virus programs can and do. In fact most security experts agree that you should have at least two programs running and even three since most will miss something that the other(s) catch. Stick with proven winners (Spyware Doctor, SpySweeper, CounterSpy) since free programs just don't cut it.

As for Norton products, I personally know of five people who had nothing but problems until uninstalling Norton and the problems suddenly went away. Some may like it but I stay away from Norton.

Windows Defender is a joke. In tests it has consistantly come in last for detection. Microsoft is looking into it but I would not rely on Defender at all.

[Keith Warner]

I agree with you, socrfan. Especially about that bloatware Norton. As for multiple ad/spy programs, I do have Spybot S&D, but I use the start-up manager function more than anything else.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_37.gif

Keith

[padi]

Well had a reply from pc tools asking me again to try version 5 and can you try doing the scan again, but this time, disable Zone Alarm firewall.I have already explained have tried that,but same result.Now I for one now will not keep installing and uninstalling programs to get a working safe PC.And will stick to 4 for a few weeks or months until 5 is sorted.And with this notifier in the latest update telling of the new version of spydoctor.Going by my experience there will be a lot more unhappy customers.Version 4 works fine yes its very slow at start up,yes its very slow after update.But it works fine without any problem when its fully loaded.And all the security on my PC is
as always been Spyware Doctor now 4,Kaspersky AV version 5 and Zonealarm
Pro all working perfect with version SD4.

[allibear]

Well had a reply from pc tools asking me again to try version 5 and can you try doing the scan again, but this time, disable Zone Alarm firewall.I have already explained have tried that,but same result.Now I for one now will not keep installing and uninstalling programs to get a working safe PC.And will stick to 4 for a few weeks or months until 5 is sorted.And with this notifier in the latest update telling of the new version of spydoctor.Going by my experience there will be a lot more unhappy customers.Version 4 works fine yes its very slow at start up,yes its very slow after update.But it works fine without any problem when its fully loaded.And all the security on my PC is
as always been Spyware Doctor now 4,Kaspersky AV version 5 and Zonealarm
Pro all working perfect with version SD4.

Hi Padi,

I never really experienced any of the majorly slow start ups on XP with V4, as many other people reported. My set up was more or less the same as yours, SD4, KAV and ZA. I am experiencing it in Vista though and a bit more ram usage than on XP, (and its not down to the extra resources of Vista, the machine has been heavily upgraded to well excede the requirments), so I have just unchecked it to run at start up and load it when I'm ready to, as you say once it is loaded there are no problems and no performance issues.

Lacking the ZA Firewall for Vista yet. I am now SD4, KAV6 and just using the built in Firewall in Vista. Defender is there, as it is 'built in', and as turning it off completely can cause a few 'quirks' in Vista, I've just disabled the real-time monitoring in it. I like yourself am happy to stick with this and wait a while for initial teething problems in SD5 to be ironed out. :)

[cate]

Ok
so I have read most of the above.

Problems and questions:

1. I downloaded version 5, I think 3 times today.....Now I seem to have the antivirus version as well.

2. I can no longer access any updates- attempted many times and downloaded v5. twice more in the process...

3. My brand-spanking new laptop is running much slower.

4. my nortons free trial expires in 6 days....but may explain something....

5. I have up-to-date nortons updates (sorry for the pun)-so that should cancel that solution-ie not being compatible....

SHALL I...
uninstall version 5?
uninstall nortons?
install a new antivirus program when nortons disolves? (yes i read what was said..)
Do we need so many programmes?
what are some good recommended progs to run alongside spyware doc, since my subscription was just renewed..
(PS:SOrry I didn't start a new thread altogether, but i couldn't find where to do it, and anyway, this is topical.....
cheers
cate
Sorry for asking questions, and not posting answers...

[Keith Warner]

Good riddance to that BLOATWARE, Norton! I recommend running a trustworthy registry cleaner because Norton uninstaller leaves a lot of excess baggage.

[padi]

Ok
so I have read most of the above.

Problems and questions:

1. I downloaded version 5, I think 3 times today.....Now I seem to have the antivirus version as well.

2. I can no longer access any updates- attempted many times and downloaded v5. twice more in the process...

3. My brand-spanking new laptop is running much slower.

4. my nortons free trial expires in 6 days....but may explain something....

5. I have up-to-date nortons updates (sorry for the pun)-so that should cancel that solution-ie not being compatible....

SHALL I...
uninstall version 5?
uninstall nortons?
install a new antivirus program when nortons disolves? (yes i read what was said..)
Do we need so many programmes?
what are some good recommended progs to run alongside spyware doc, since my subscription was just renewed..
(PS:SOrry I didn't start a new thread altogether, but i couldn't find where to do it, and anyway, this is topical.....
cheers
cate
Sorry for asking questions, and not posting answers...

Well if you do uninstall Norton download there norton removel tool,because its a bugger to uninstall all the stuff it puts on your computer.Just follow the instuctions to clear your PC of all the bits that the normal uninstall leaves behind.

[padi]

Hi Padi,

I never really experienced any of the majorly slow start ups on XP with V4, as many other people reported. My set up was more or less the same as yours, SD4, KAV and ZA. I am experiencing it in Vista though and a bit more ram usage than on XP, (and its not down to the extra resources of Vista, the machine has been heavily upgraded to well excede the requirments), so I have just unchecked it to run at start up and load it when I'm ready to, as you say once it is loaded there are no problems and no performance issues.

Lacking the ZA Firewall for Vista yet. I am now SD4, KAV6 and just using the built in Firewall in Vista. Defender is there, as it is 'built in', and as turning it off completely can cause a few 'quirks' in Vista, I've just disabled the real-time monitoring in it. I like yourself am happy to stick with this and wait a while for initial teething problems in SD5 to be ironed out.

Well I dont have SD4 start with windows start up,but wait till my AV and firewall and windows fully loaded.Then I start SD4 it takes about 2- 3 mins to load but have never had a problem with it in well over a year of running.But 5 :mad: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Keith Warner]

Hey, allibear! I wish I'd known there was an uninstall tool a year and a half ago, when that bundle of free crap Dell gave me expired. Back when I was even more of a noob than I am now.

[allibear]

Hey, allibear! I wish I'd known there was an uninstall tool a year and a half ago, when that bundle of free crap Dell gave me expired. Back when I was even more of a noob than I am now.

Well I'm not sure exactly how long it has been around, but my HP PC came with a trial of Norton and it was the first thing I took off, I downloaded and used a tool then, about a year and half ago funny enough LOL.

Of course everytime I have reformatted and reloaded my mirror image I get the thing back on again, so yes I have used it several times!

At least now I can reload and run the Vista Upgrade with a clean install, and it just reformats and removes the whole lot for me, along with the rest of the stuff HP bundle with a PC! I must be the only person who is not whinging about doing the upgrade from within an installed copy of XP, quite frankly it cuts out a lot of work for me after a reformat, that has to be done before anything is put back on and the Vista install practically runs itself, so you can go and have your dinner while its running, much easier than before :)

I will add though the Norton Removal Tool does not do exactly what it says on the Tin. I still had 'Live Update' files to manually delete in 'Application Data' and a handful of registry keys, and of course the Symantec and Live Update Folders in the registry.

The best case scenario for someone wanting to remove it without too much hassle or any great 'inner workings' knowledge, is to;

Uninstall all enties, including Live Update, from add/remove
Download and run the latest version of the Tool, (available on Symantecs site)
Run a Registry Cleaning Program
Do a windows advanced search, including hidden files and folders for anything like Norton, Symantec, Live Update and if you find anything throw it in the bin, empty it and reboot.

You will be rid of most of it but I wouldn't be surprised if something related to it didn't pop-up somewhere along the line, when you are looking for something else.

Mind you this is nothing half as painful as a manual uninstallation of every individual component of McAffee Internet Security, (a brave few years back and don't ask why it had to be mannually uninstalled :mad:) There was no magic removal tool then, just pages, upon pages of cmd prompts and stuff you downloaded from their site. It's the experience of the issues I had with McAffee, (on my older PC), that I have never touched a Security Suite again. Although I think many have improved since then.

Again with everything in 'PC land', everyone is going to experience different issues with the same product.

[allibear]

Ok
so I have read most of the above.

Problems and questions:

1. I downloaded version 5, I think 3 times today.....Now I seem to have the antivirus version as well.

2. I can no longer access any updates- attempted many times and downloaded v5. twice more in the process...

3. My brand-spanking new laptop is running much slower.

4. my nortons free trial expires in 6 days....but may explain something....

5. I have up-to-date nortons updates (sorry for the pun)-so that should cancel that solution-ie not being compatible....

SHALL I...
uninstall version 5?
uninstall nortons?
install a new antivirus program when nortons disolves? (yes i read what was said..)
Do we need so many programmes?
what are some good recommended progs to run alongside spyware doc, since my subscription was just renewed..
(PS:SOrry I didn't start a new thread altogether, but i couldn't find where to do it, and anyway, this is topical.....
cheers
cate
Sorry for asking questions, and not posting answers...

Hi Cate,

I have read on another thread about the problems of Smart Updating with Norton and think this is an issue that is being dealt with between PCTools and Symantec, and that the work around was to close down Norton and then Smart Update, I was looking for the exact thread but couldn't locate it, if I do I'll post back with a link.

If you have downloaded SD5 with AV, disable the AV component, as you will have 2 AV's running which can conflict. You can use Prihod's instructions in post no.2 here;

http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45972

You can download SD5, without AV, if that is a better option for you;

http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/

You didn't say what operating system was on your new Laptop (XP/Vista), as this would determine what way you want to go with your security. (Not all Vendor's are Vista compatible yet). SD4 is working better on Vista at the moment, but even if you are experiencing difficulties on XP you may want to use SD4 for a while, whilst the initial teething problems are ironed out in SD5. You can download V4 here;

http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/version4/

If you decide not to use Norton after the trial period, I have put some tips on how to remove it in my response to Keith in post no.17 :)

Hi again Cate, just added this in as an edit rather than do a new post. Here is link to known issues, the Smart Updating with Norton is quite far down on the list, but it is still not marked as resolved as of yet, you might want to take a look through it out of interest.

http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44951

[himself]

WHAT A DEBACLE . . . . . . . IT IS 2007 WOULD YOU BELIEVE.



Got rid of the manure . . . . and I love my computer again !!!

It's never been faster !!!! And everything works as intended.

So much for PC Tools, 'Essential tools' for your P.C.

NEVER AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[allibear]

WHAT A DEBACLE . . . . . . . IT IS 2007 WOULD YOU BELIEVE.



Got rid of the manure . . . . and I love my computer again !!!

It's never been faster !!!! And everything works as intended.

So much for PC Tools, 'Essential tools' for your P.C.

NEVER AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know you are having a jolly old time posting this on every thread, and everybody to their own. But I think you have made your point!

People have their own minds and are capable of making their own decisions.

For those of us with posts in multiple threads with e-mail notifications enabled, this is most annoying, you are spamming! Show some respect for others. :)

[adeit]

OK we all make mistakes but someone on the PCTools Management
has made a massive error by pushing out V5 before it was fully tested.
On Chen's "Read this First" they clearly show the unresolved issues included freezing and slowing the system down big time.
And yet someone made the commercial decision to release it now. What a buffoon.

This totally undermines the good name that the company had built up..
We say in business when things go wrong then the good companies show what they are about by the speed at which they respond to issues, keeping the customer reputation becomes parmount. Well PCTools with comments
like "I am escalating" this is just way down there. We need someone to take ownership of the problem at a very high level in the company and to sort
the issue out.

Will I ever trust this company
with software on my machines again. It is doubtful.
http://www.pctools.com/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif
:mad:

We are sorry to hear about the problem.

This is just a quick note to let you know that your query has been escalated to our Technical Support Team who will be able to assist you further.

Thank you for your patience.

Kind Regards,

PC Tools Support[/QUOTE]

[padi]

Thank you for contacting PC Tools. 21/3/07

Can you try doing the scan again, but this time, disable Zone Alarm firewall.There might be an issue between the two and I would immediately escalate the issue to the Development Team, once we got that confirmed.



If you require further assistance, please reply to this email.

Kind Regards,

Jose Grayda


Well already informed them I disabled ZA in my first original email


Thank you for your feed-back.

I am very sorry that you are experiencing so much issues with version 5.
I have taken notes of all your e-mails and I will forward the information to our Development Team for further investigation.

I will personally keep track on the progress and inform you as soon as a fix has been found.

Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

If you require further assistance, please reply to this email.

Kind Regards,

Jose Grayda
Technical Support Representative
PC Tools Customer Support Services

[WarrenG]

and the information above represents info you mentioned in the first page of this thread? Sorry but whats the meaning of the last post?