I recently purchased a copy of Norton Internet Security 2004. Prior to installing it I uninstalled NIS 2003. I followed all of the steps installing the 2004 version but find that each time I boot the computer the NIS green globe on the task bar indicates that the internet security is disabled. So I enable it by clicking it, but then find that in viewing the main NIS screen my Intrusion detection is off and that Driver Initialization has failed. I am referred to Symantec Tech Support Knowledge Base (5004,115). I have no idea what this means. I have uninstalled according to the instructions and reinstalled…several times. No luck! Prior to installing the new version everything on my computer worked fine and now it is a mess. When the install/unistall process started directing me to registry editing, etc. I was way out of my league. All I did was by a new version of NIS 2004. I do not know what to do. If anyone can help I surely would appreciate it.

I have been down a similar road. Check the symantec site knowledge base to see what they say about your problem. Worth a try! Then try a system restore to a time before you uninstalled 2003 ver. You may get a message that your computer could not be restored since some of you files may have been trashed or written over since sys restore restores your system state which is your registry but does not replace all the original files. If so, uninstall the 2004, install the 2003 and then try a system restore. It has been quite a while ago since I had a similar problem so I don't recall the exact sequence but I uninstalled and then deleted every reference to Symantec and then did a sys restore to an earlier time. Sometimes it make a difference whether or not you uninstall from add/remove or from the installaion disk. Theoretically they should be the same. The difference in my case was that I had installed only one version.

There are removal tools at the Symantec support website to remove all traces of your previous version of Norton. This is a common problem with Norton as it runs very deep in a system.

Thanks for the help!

I've had the same problems with NIS with XP too and, following advice elsewhere, the following installation technique worked for me. First uninstall EVERYTHING Norton/Symantec. This includes Liveupdate, Systemworks and anything else you may have. Second, clear all the Norton/Symantec folders from your hard drive. Third, remove all the Symantec debris from windows\system32 and windows\system32\drivers folders. The relevant files are those beginning with sym****.sys and sym*****.dll Thirdly, create a System Restore point, fire up Regedit and pour yourself a stiff drink. For the uninitiated, System Restore is under Programs>Accessories>System Tools>; for Regedit, use Start>Run> and type 'regedit' and hit RETURN. Any beverage of your choice will be suitable. In Regedit, press CTRL-F and enter 'Norton' in the 'Find' box and delete all entries relating to Norton. Next, delete all entries for 'Symantec'. Press F3 after each delete to find the next entry. This should leave you with a machine that is as cleansed from Symantec's influence as possible. Finally, re-install NIS with fingers firmly crossed. This worked for me - I hope it does for you too. Post a reply if it does and good luck.