win2k keeps restarting - incomplete norton uninstall!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ashraf S. Mahmoud
  • Start date Start date
A

Ashraf S. Mahmoud

Greetings,

Few days ago I powered on my win2k (service pack 2) box
after a two-months off period. I made few internet
connections and started noticing weird behavior: short
cuts being lost, administrator privileges disappearing,
etc. I suspected a virus attack and installed Sophos anti-
virus software after installing the win2k patch for the
Blaster virus. I originally had Norton anti-virus program
but it had old definitions (probably few months old).

Sophos did not find viruses - but I did not fully trust
the search result. I wanted to uninstall Norton 2002 and
install the newer version and re-do the virus search again
with Norton 2003. The machine restarted half the uninstall
process and since then it restarts every time I login to
windows. I can not get access to the desktop.

I booted using the safe mode and found out that Norton is
NOT listed in the add/remove programs list, but its icon
and binary code are still there. I even launched it and it
came up! It seems the uninstall process did not complete.

How can I stop the restarting cycle and gain access to the
desktop? I aim to burn the D and E drives into CD-Rs,
before I purge the whole system. The OS is installed on
the C drive.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards, Ashraf S. Mahmoud.
 
While in safe mode, right click "My Computer" icon, Properties, Advanced
Tap, Startup and Recovery, and remove the check mark in the "Automatically
Restart" box. Reboot into normal mode and see if you can uninstall Norton,
if it is not in the Add and Remove program, try and use Norton's own
uninstaller in Program list.

Sgt
 
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