Norton Utilities 2002

by Symantec

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005MP4V
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 27, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,390 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Cars don't clean themselves, and neither do hard drives. Norton Utilities 2002 helps users keep their computers uncluttered and running smoothly with only a small investment of time and energy. Utilities quickly and easily finds and repairs computer problems, and is scalable to the user's level of expertise.

It takes a bit of time to install and run Norton Utilities the first time, especially if the machine has been used for any length of time without maintenance. Still, the manual and help functions are clear, and most users will have it running invisibly in an afternoon or evening (novices should definitely ask for the aid of an experienced user). The program requires a bit of additional attention every week or so, as it discovers new problems and prompts for authorization to repair them, but most of its work is unnoticeable. Repairing damaged files, defragmenting crowded drives, and monitoring system performance are the most widely useful utilities, but some users will particularly appreciate tools like WipeInfo and the Registry Tracker. One of Norton's great strengths is its scalability, which depends on the user's level of expertise. Old hands can fiddle around under the hood to their heart's content, while novices can just start it up and watch it go.

If you own a previous version of Norton Utilities, you'll want to upgrade to the 2002 version if you're running Windows XP; other Windows users can get along just fine waiting for more new features. For new users, Norton Utilities is a great way to keep your computer happy, safe, and sound. --Rob Lightner

Product Description

Clean out Internet buildup with Norton CleanSweep¿ from Symantec. Its powerful tools improve your PC¿s performance by removing unwanted programs and other files that waste disk space. Internet Sweep cleans away the clutter accumulated by Web surfing, including cookies that track your Internet activities. Fast & Safe Cleanup automatically removes files you no longer need, while Safety Sweep¿ prevents the accidental deletion of critical files. The Uninstall Wizard guides you safely step by step through removing old programs. Now Windows¿ XP users can also enjoy the benefits of this award-winning program. Trust Norton CleanSweep 2002 for safe, easy, complete hard drive cleanup.¿¿¿¿¿

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware!, March 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Norton Utilities 2002 (CD-ROM)

I purchased Norton Utilities hoping that it would help speed up my system. After installing it, I went throught the one click system performance update. This feature is suppose to clean up your system registry and delete unnecessary files. After my system rebooting I couldn't get into any programs. I assumed that I did something wrong and went on Symantec's website (I had to use my computer at work.) Much to my surprise Symantec has virutally no technical support. All installation problems are "typically" listed in their search engine called KnowledgeWare. If you can't find resolution to your issue on KnowledgeWare you can leave a message on their bulletin board and a tech will get back to you. Before buying this product and do yourself a favor and check out their bulletin board. Their are hundreds of messages with people with systems in varing degrees of failures. The response that I received was "We are very sorry for your problems with Norton Utilties. Please restall your programs one by one. That should solve the issue." Instead I reinstalling 30+ programs, I was forced to call their tech support to see if there was any other way to resolve my problem. Symantec offers phone technical support only if you pay them an additional $25 per incident. On the phone the technician admitted that yes this was a common problem with the Utilities program. Sometimes it deletes important registry files and recommended never using it. Luckily we were able to restore a previous registry and my system came back up.

The bottom line is that this program has extremely dangerous functions that can destroy your system. The most disappointing result was Symantec failed to stand by their product. Even though they admitted the problem was caused by their program I could not receive a refund for technical support. I have sold Technology products for over 12 years and have never experienced the total lack of support from a company before. In my opinion, I would NOT purchase this product since there are many other competitors that sell similar products that will support the end user better if issues arise.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the price., March 25, 2002

By 

z "zeejay67" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Utilities 2002 (CD-ROM)

I too received the wrong product from Amazon, except I got mine in the mail, which was quickly resolved, although in retrospect, I should have just bought it at a local store. Oh well.

I use Windows 2000 Professional and a Mac, and having had experience with the Mac version of this product (which is great), I expected great things... Don't get me wrong, it's not a BAD piece of software, but neither is it great. And I would encourage only advanced users to dive into the product to utilize its more advanced features, as this software dives deeply into your operating system to fix/tweak things. The create boot disk is only Win98, so Win2K users, don't bother with that.

I also ran into conflicts and did some harm to my McAfee virus software by installing this, and was forced to reinstall it, and it still doesn't work properly without disabling a few things. The software by default installs a lot of stupid stuff you likely won't need or like (like a Norton-Protected recycle bin). You will definitely have to read the manual for this app, as the help will get you nowhere fast.

That being said, it does do a lot of things and provides some helpful diagnotstic information that Windows does not (but should.) The sad thing is that Microsfot should provide these types of tools with its operating system. Or at least sell its own variant of this so you can "trust" it (as much as you can trust any piece of MS software, that is).

Bottom line: good and valuable tool set for the price, but not recommended for novices. You could easily do some Very Bad Things to your computer, if you don't know what you're doing.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Download this Item!!, September 15, 2001

By A Customer

I donloaded Norton Utilities 2002 a week ago. The product I received was Norton AntiVirus 2002. As of today I still haven't got anywhere getting this corrected by Amazon!! Don't waste your money on this download!!

Buyer Beware!!