Customer Reviews

Symantec SystemWorks 2004 Standard

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(57)

 

 

I am generally a big fan of Norton products, but if you have Norton SystemWorks 2003, then you have almost everything that the 2004 version has. I loaded the 2004 version and checked it out, the differences are pretty minor.

Also, when I loaded the 2004 version on my computer it disabled my internet access somehow(Earthlink). It kept giving me warnings that I should run "LiveUpdate", but I couldn't because I couldn't get onto the internet. After I uninstalled it my internet access went back to working like normal.

I'll stick with the 2003 version. I've never had any problems with it.

I read (and re-read) many of the reviews posted on this site, as well as reviews posted on other sites, prior to making the decision to install Norton 2004 on my laptop. I also looked at the "sales" ranking for Norton products - and, considering the low rating given for the product, it sure is jumping off the shelf.

I installed Systemworks on a Toshiba Satellite, 2.4 ghz Intel Celeron Processor, 512 mb ram, running XP Pro, SP1. I read the instructions before beginning the installation and uninstalled NAV 2003 (ninety-day subscription), which came with the laptop. Installing Systemworks 2004 went without a hitch. Activation/ registration was painless, and product updates identified by the program updater were applied without problems.

I use the "cleansweep" and "web cleanup" tools periodically to eliminate cookies and other files which result from browsing the internet, downloading information, installing applications, etc. Cleanup is "customizable" - files I want to keep are not deleted (such as my personal settings on msnbc.com). I am not a fan of password managers (not using)- and I chose not to install "Go Back", as I am satisfied with the "Restore" functionality of Windows XP.

XP, as well as the programs I run on my computer, seem to load as quickly as they did prior to installing SystemWorks. I am satisfied with SystemWork 2004's functionality (utilities and anti-virus). SystemWork 2004 is a value at its current price (with rebate).

Having used the Norton Utilities since Peter Norton first brought them out, I am abandoning them. The other reviews on this page describe the problems with them, which get worse with each "upgrade." Symantec is following McAfee's lead: unbundled programs (It's better to sell 10 programs at $30 each than one integrated suite at $100), conflicts between the programs, lots of bugs, no customer service, and a $30/year per program charge for updates.

Where we reviewers fall down is in not suggesting alternatives (It doesn't cut it to say that there are better programs available and not identify them by name). So I'm offering these alternatives in the hope that other reviewers will suggest others:

1. ANTI-VIRUS: "PC-cillin" by Trend Micro is the hands-down favorite.

2. TOOL KITS: Take a look at "Fix-It Utilities 5" by Vcom and "WinOptimizer Suite" by AShampoo. Another option is "System Mechanic 3" by Iolo Technologies, although that gets mixed reviews.

3. SUITES (Security, Privacy, Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam): Check out "System Suite 5" by Vcom.

Note: Vcom recently purchased "Fix-It Utilities" and "System Suite" from OnTrack, so there may be transition problems.

If you do decide to move away from Symantec, you should be aware that the normal uninstall process will not remove all Symantec files from your computer (this has been a serious problem with Symantec from the beginning). In the case of Norton Anti-Virus and Norton Internet Security, the remaining files are likely to conflict with replacement software (they definitely do conflict with Trend Micro's products). To remove them, go to Symantec's website and download a file named "RnisUPG.exe". Run it, and it will remove the offending files.

I bought this 4 days ago. After I installed it I began to get error messages every other minute. It also disabled my MSN8. After spending the entire weekend loading and unloading programs, formatting my hard drive and installing windows twice, I discovered that it was the System Works that was the problem. I am returning this today.

I think this is a great all-in-one utility...
I have yet to be hacked and i keep my DSL connection connected 24/7... (due to Norton firewall, not included but is integrated with this)
It has caught and quarentinned (sp) some viruses from web pages and email...
It has found and fixed windows problems...
The Speed Disk actually shows a noticable difference in performance...

It works ----> .

This program completely destroyed my computer. I pushed the "one button checkup" and the program promptly found about 30 items to it needed to fix. I pushed "OK" and the PC never recovered from what came next. The PC froze in the middle of the speed disk program and this corrupted my hard disk. I then had to restore the PC from the manufactures original disks. Now, let me say just one word about trying to get support from Symantec: DON'T. You will need to call during the week and pay them before they will talk with you. Imagine that! They want you to pay to help recover the data that their own program destroyed. I ended up restoring the PC on my own and instead tried to get the refund that Symantec offers. I purchased the product directly from Symantec online store and they were able to charge my account withhin 60 seconds. 7 weeks and 2 angry emails latter, still no refund. They simply don't respond to their email at all. To be truthful, it seems like some kind of corporate scam.

If you are considering purchasing this product, save yourself from the agony and frustration and destruction.

If you decide to buy, make your purchase from a reputable online store like Amazon.com. At least you will get your refund if the product fails.

Adding product activation was the straw that broke this camel's back. I have used Norton Utilities since DOS and have continued up through Systemworks 2003. Well, the latest version went back to the store. Aside from a myriad of problems, the reality here is Symantec is just not a customer-friendly company. Look elsewhere. Some good alternatives:

Anti-Virus: Pc-Cillin 2003 from Trend-Micro (If you have IMAP e-mail you will have to disable POP3 e-mail scanning) otherwise a great package!

Disk Defrag: Diskeeper 8.0 is the best.

General fix-it utilities: Nothing really jumps out. Hopefully a product will come on the market that really works well. I haven't found one yet.

I could have put up with the product activation, but this new version of Systemworks only half-installed, now I can't get either the old version (2003) reinstalled nor the new version reinstalled. Can't reinstall Internet Security 2004 either. Symantec deserves to lose money on this release, it wasn't ready for prime time and I wish they would compensate me for the hours of attempting to get this piece of garbage to work. Diskeeper 8.0 and McAfee Internet Security Suite 2004 will do almost all that Systemworks did and much more reliably. If you have to clean the registry, try MaceCraft's RegSupreme and for cleaning out old files, try McAfee QuickClean. I've used Symantec products since the early days of Norton products and this was a big disappointment.

I've been using Symantec's "Norton" products since the early 1990s, and this is my first real disappointment. This program slows my computer considerably which was a really fast one, and my programs do not work properly: for example windows media player produces distorted sounds when playing cd's or mp3.I will uninstall this software and look somewhere else for the protection of my computer.

I've owned Systemworks 2001 and 2002. During 2003 my anti-virus subscription (a.k.a. symantec revenue stream) lapsed. My employer had Symantec's corporate version of anti-virus licensed for use at work and in employee homes, so I removed SystemWorks 2002's anti-virus portion and installed the corporate version from my employer.

When I bought SystemWorks 2004, I'd read the other reviews about the activation problems, but I did not have that problem. Someone said this wouldn't install over an old version of SystemWorks, but it installed fine for me. My problem was that after the installation, Live Update would always say I was fully up to date, even though I could see my virus definitions were 6 months old. I tried emailing Norton's free support, but they only say they will respond in 4 to 5 days, which I didn't feel was acceptable, and I haven't heard yet even though it's been that long.

I finally figured out that even though I'd removed the anti-virus from my employer before installing SW2004, after the installation the software was still going to the live update server at my employer for updates. Something didn't sync up and instead of saying hmm, there's a problem here, and telling me, it would just say I was fully up to date.

To make this work I had to uninstall Systemworks entirely, then use a find to go through the registry and delete every entry for any Symantec or Norton item in the registry by hand. After that, the install went fine, I had to re-activate the product, and it works fine. I'm as happy with it as with previous versions of the software, except of course I feel the product activation is annoying and unnecessary.

One should never have to go manually clean their registry to get a product to work. SystemWorks 2002 should have removed its entries. Symantec's corporate anti-virus from my employer should have removed its entries, especially the live update target server. But I had to do what the software products should have done automatically when they were uninstalled.

So I'm happy with SystemWorks 2004, but unhappy with Symantec in general for releasing products that don't actually, fully uninstall when you "remove" them. There were dozens and dozens of leftover registry entries from SW2002 and corporate anti-virus to be removed by hand.