Hello all!
For all of you who have had problems with Installing, upgrading, patching,
or even using Symantec's products on Windows XP SP2, here is a document on
how to undo the inoperable state that XP SP2 Leaves your computer in,
manually uninstall your Symantec program, re-install Norton/Symantec
products on your XP SP2 Box successfully and be able to be a happy camper.
This paper also may solve people's problems with the XP SP2 version of
Windows Installer not allowing even Administrators to install or even
execute *.msi files.
This is a very lenghty and very technical paper and was born out of the
frustruation of inaccurate and poorly tested/researched articles on
Symantec's website coupled with the huge amounts of people in Newsgroups and
Bulletin Boards who are frustruated about this problem.
If you do a search on Microsoft's XP Newsgroups for 'Symantec', 'Norton' or
WMI, you'll see what I mean.
If you'll notice from the XP and Symantec Symptoms in my paper below, XP
gets locked down VERY hard as a result of installing Symantec's products on
an XP SP2 Box.
My Hopes are that this paper may save you all countless lost man hours in
troubleshooting or even rebuilding your XP SP2 Boxes as a result of
installing Symantec's Products on an XP SP2 Box.
I'm not trying to be harsh or critical of Symantec, I'm just trying to make
sure that no one else has to go through what I went through to get my
Symantec Product (Norton SystemWorks 2005 - Standard) working correctly.
Feel free to use this information in documentation or other related media
(Especially if you're from Microsoft or Symantec and you're reading this
mail!) so people can be educated about how to work around the new features
of XP SP2. All that I ask is credit for the work that I have done.
Finally, I may update/upgrade this paper as I look at the deeper cause of
why this happened.
I'm going to try and post this in as many places as possible so the most
amount of people can get educated about this issue.
Cheers!
Aaron Wood
Seattle, WA
awood7@msn.com
URL's Below May be Wrapped or Broken depending on your mail reader.
=====================================================
Manually Uninstalling a Corrupt Installation
of Symantec/Norton Products.
Repairing a Corrupt/Broken XP SP2 Version of
Windows Installer/msiexec.
By Aaron Wood - 12/3/2004
Feel Free to re-publish or modify the information for your needs.
Just give me credit if you wish to use this information on your web sites as
this was a pain in the ass to figure out.
Norton SystemWorks 2005 - Standard Edition used as the example in this
paper.
Norton SystemWorks includes the following Products:
Norton AntiVirus
Norton Utilities
Norton GoBack (Not installed in this Example)
CheckIt. Diagnostics
System Optimizer
The unofficial title of this paper is:
_______________________________________
"The Official 'How To Repair your XP SP2 Box from Buggy, poorly tested
Symantec Products that lock down your XP Box' paper."
(This paper can be used as a 'how to' guide to repair your Windows
Installer/msiexec or as toilet paper if you need it)
##################
Intro
##################
I created this document as a guide for others who are experience problems
with their XP SP2 Box when attempting to install Norton/Symantec Products or
dealing with broken or corrupt installations following the installation of
Windows XP SP2 over their currently installed Norton Products.
What I found in my tests/trials is that the Symantec products seem to cause
the Microsoft Windows Management Interface (WMI) to remove all permissions
and access from even the Local Aministrator and essentially put the XP SP2
into a lockdown of Programs, processes and permissions. To me it's very
similar to the way ZoneAlarm puts a computer into Lockdown when it 'Protects
the Client' from unauthorized program access or execution.
I haven't determined what, how, or even when this lockdown happened, I'm
just providing a fix for all those people I've noted in Newsgroups and other
boards that are having a problem with their Symantec Installs and Windows
Installer on XP SP2.
If I were to make an educated guess, I would say that something with XP
SP2's new 'Data Execution Prevention' (DEP) Feature and the Norton/Symantec
installation process puts the XP computer into a lockdown. I haven't read
all the Microsoft Public information regarding DEP so, at this point in my
investigation, my deduction is nothing more than a 'best guess'.
I have links at the bottom of this paper about DEP if anyone wants more
information regarding this new feature in XP SP2.
From what I have read on the public MS sites, XP SP2 includes a new version
of Windows Installer (3.0 if memory serves) that is installed as part of the
XP SP2 Service Pack installation process. Unfortunately, XP SP2 Windows
Installer Redistributables are not available to the public at this time.
(From what I've read on the MS Public Web site, it is available in the XP
SP2 SDK) Regardless, this puts customers with XP SP2 Windows Installer
issues in a bit of a Bind.
I believe I have discovered an additional troubleshooting step that people
can try to repair their Windows Installer issues. These Steps should be
performed when all the steps in the MS KB Article "How to Resolve Common
'Windows Installer' Problems" has been followed (a link is at the bottom of
the page) and exhausted.
***********
Scope
***********
The Scope of this paper is to:
- Provide a guide (not hard directions) that people can follow to remove
most if not all traces of the Norton/Symantec Products on XP SP2. This
guide was created after exhausting most, if not all, of Symantec's and
Microsoft's KB articles (most of which dont work or even exist IMO) on how
to Uninstall Symantec's products from an XP SP2 box.
- Provide a manual workaround for people who are not only unable to install
Norton/Symantec Products but to provide another alternate solution to repair
people's XP SP2 Windows Installer issues.
*****************
Disclaimer
*****************
Please note that this is only a guide and you should take precautions and
steps to back up your work before beginning any of the steps I have
described below. As previously stated, these directions were preformed on a
clean XP SP2 install. Symantec's SystemWorks 2005 was installed over XP
SP2.
Furthermore, I did quite a few tests as well as flattening and rebuilding my
XP Box from the ground up so all of the Symptoms noted below are the results
of my tests.
I would also recommend not attempting to use most of Symantec's KB articles
on how to uninstall their products on XP SP2 as they clearly lack the
correct steps for customers to remove the product from their XP SP2
machines. There are a very few Symantec articles I would recommend using for
this process and I will note them in the directions accordingly or in the
reference section at the bottom of this paper.
These directions are for the technically minded so If you don't know your
way around the registry or don't feel comfortable tweaking your operating
system in this manner, please do not attempt these steps. If you do perform
these steps, you do so at your own risk and cost. This paper is just a
documentation of the steps I took to repair my Machine.
Contents:
* Section 1 - Preparation for the Uninstall/Install/Repair Process
This section covers the steps I took before I beginning the tweakage of my
operating system.
* Section 2 - Manual Uninstall of Symantec's SystemWorks 2005 - Standard
Edition
These are the steps I took to remove a corrupt installation of Symantec
products from my computer.
* Section 3 - WMI Lockdown workaround for Norton/Symantec and Windows
Installer issues
This section covers how to workaround the WMI 'Lockdown' and get your
operating system back.
* References
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Section 1 - Preparation for the Uninstall/Install/Repair Process
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
One thing to keep in the back of your head is that you will need to reboot
your XP SP2 box after EVERY single point in the Symantec
install/uninstall/upgrade process.
****First, make sure your computer is off the network when you perform these
steps****
The Steps in Section 3 involve the stopping of the WMI service (winmgmt).
Thw WMI service has a dependency on the XP 'Security Center' Service. This
means that both services will stop as a result of Stopping the WMI Service.
****Secondly, BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE YOU BEGIN!!!****
You're going to be doing alot of Registry hacking so you will need to in the
very least back up your HKLM hive.
Here's how (you must have administrator/backup privileges to do this):
1) Click 'Start'->'Run'
2) In the space provided type (without the quotes 'regedit')
3) Right-Click on 'My Computer' and select 'Export'.
4) Enter the file name you would like to call this file and save it.
It's going to take a quite a while to create this file so don't interrupt
it.
Make sure you back up the ENTIRE registry!!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Step 1 - Download Symantec Patches
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Before you begin, download any Symantec Updates for your product.
Download for SystemWorks 2005 Standard Edition:
ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/nsw/patchNSW-std.exe
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Step 2 - For ZoneAlarm Users
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- If you are Running Zone Alarm Firewall Products on your XP Box,
Temporarily Disable 'Protect the Client' option on your firewall until the
uninstall, patch, and/or install process is completed.
- If you're running both the XP and Zone Alarm Firewall, disable the XP
Firewall.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Step 3 - Disable System Restore
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If there's one thing that I agree with Symantec on is to disable your System
Restore Service until you are sure that there aren't any viruses on your
computer. The last thing you want is to have a restore point that contains
viruses.
%SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc
Find the System Restore Service, select the properties, stop and disable the
service until this process is completed and you have verified that you do
not have any viruses on your computer.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Step 4 - Modify XP SP2 boot.ini
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- If you have the '/noexecute=optin' option in your boot.ini file, run the
Steps noted in the 'Workaround' Section of this article to temporarily
disable XP SP2's new 'Data Execution Prevention' (DEP) Feature.
Ignore the rest of the article but use the steps in the 'Workaround' section
to disable/re-enable the DEP Feature in XP SP2.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;873155
MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET WHILE PERFORMING THIS
Uninstall/Reinstall Process!!!
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Section 2 - Manual Uninstall of Symantec's SystemWorks 2005 - Standard
Edition
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Symptoms, error messages and other observations of the problems I saw:
============================================
Microsoft Windows XP SP2 Symptoms:
============================================
You may receive some or all of these messages during the process of
installing your Symantec product on Windows XP2 SP2.
- Microsoft Product Activation is Rendered Useless. You are not able to
activate your Windows XP SP 2 Operating System over the internet using
'Activate Windows' (msoobe.exe) regardless of whether or not your firewall
is activated or not. Furthermore, none of the 'Activate Windows' graphics
populate.
- When attempting to maneuver through the (DCOM) 'Component Services' (aka.
dcomcnfg.exe) MMC, the MMC disappears when you click the 'Computer' Folder.
- All *.msi files on your XP SP2 box (May it be from CD, Locally, or from
the Network) fail to execute and you get an error message stating:
"The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you
are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not
correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance."
- You are unable to create a scheduled Task or restart the 'Task Scheduler'
Service. You may receive 'Access Denied' errors or be prompted for your
credentials during and following the creation of a scheduled task.
- You right click a service in Computer Management, (compmgmt.msc) select
the properties of a given service, and then click the Dependencies Tab you
get a
Win32 pop up error not allowing you to see the dependencies of a service.
- You click 'Search in XP and nothing happens.
- You Right Click 'WMI Control' (In Computer Management) and select
properties, you receive an access denied. You are not able to click on any
of the Tabs in the WMI Window.
- Windows Update is rendered useless.
- IE Web Page Scripting is rendered useless. An example of this would be
not being able to expand sections in a Symantec Knowledge Base Document.
This is even is you install/re-install the latest version of the Windows
Scripting Host.
- All Attempts to reinstall, re-register or refresh windows
Installer/msiexec files, according to Microsoft KB Articles and Newsgroups,
fail on all attempts. (A perfect example is this article
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555175&Product=winxp)
- All attempts to query WMI via script come back with access denied errors.
Even simple queries fail with 'Access Denied' Errors.
- Microsoft Help Files are execute but are completely inoperable.
Event Log Errors Related to this issue:
- Com+ Error 4689 in the event log appears with great frequency. The
description for this event is "The run-time environment has detected an
inconsistency in its internal state. This indicates a potential instability
in the process that could be caused by the custom components running in the
COM+ application, the components they make use of, or other factors. Error
in d:\qxp_slp\com\com1x\src\comsvcs\package\cpackage.cpp(1184), hr =
80070005: InitEventCollector failed"
- Com+ Event ID 778. "Application image dump failed. Server Application
ID: {5844D582-32EC-4B8E-9150-CF859413D4ED} Server Application Instance ID:
{7EDCE3E3-19C2-4550-A500-CB34D0C3FB65} Server Application Name: MS Software
Shadow Copy Provider Error Code = 0x80004005 : Unspecified error COM+
Services Internals Information: File:
d:\qxp_slp\com\com1x\src\shared\util\svcerr.cpp, Line: 1259 Comsvcs.dll
file version: ENU 2001.12.4414.258 shp"
For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
- Eventsystem Error 4609 in the event log appears with great frequency. "The
COM+ Event System detected a bad return code during its internal processing.
HRESULT was 80070005 from line 44 of
d:\qxp_slp\com\com1x\src\events\tier1\eventsystemobj.cpp. Please contact
Microsoft Product Support Services to report this error."
- MsiInstaller Event ID 1015. "Failed to connect to server. Error:
0x80070005"
- MsiInstaller Event ID 1015. "Failed to connect to server. Error:
0x800706BA"
- WinMgmt Event ID 43. "WMI ADAP failed to connect to namespace
\\.\root\cimv2 with the following error: 0x80070005"
- Userenv Error 1090. "Windows couldn't log the RSoP (Resultant Set of
Policies) session status. An attempt to connect to WMI failed. No more RSoP
logging will be done for this application of policy."
============================================
Symantec Related SYMPTOMS:
============================================
You get the following errors in Norton/Symantec Products no matter where the
Norton program files are located (CD, Hard drive, network, Web download).
You may receive one, a few, or all of the errors noted below:
- "Norton <program name> installation has failed. Do you want to try to
install again?"
- "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc00000005)"
- "Error 1722. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package . . .
when installing Norton <program name>"
- Errors When Attempting to Download/Install Norton's WMI Update
- Redirector Errors
- "LiveUpdate was not able to install any of the <number> updates that you
selected . . . "
- "Setup has detected that a previous install or uninstall has been
completed but requires a restart..."
- "Norton <program name> has encountered an internal program error"
- "The Norton AntiVirus component is not installed or failed to load . . . "
- "Another version of this product is already installed..."
- "Norton <program name> does not support the repair feature. Please
uninstall and reinstall."
- "The MSI must be launched through setup..."
- "Norton <program name> has encountered an internal program error.
Uninstall and re-install LiveUpdate."
- "The LiveUpdate Install failed because you do not have Long Pathnames
enabled. Please enable Long Pathnames and re-install."
- "A previous version of <program name> was detected. You must uninstall the
old version before installing the new one"
- "<program name> did not install correctly. You may have to uninstall
<program name> and try again"
- "Error 1722. An error occurred while performing the task. There is a
problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the
setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package
vendor"
- "The setup has detected that a previous install or uninstall has completed
but requires a restart"
- "Norton AntiVirus was unable to scan your computer for infections because
virus definitions could not be loaded. Start LiveUpdate to get latest virus
definitions and scan again."
- Using Symantec's directions to 'Start the computer with no programs
loading on startup' does not work when attempting to uninstall/reinstall
your Norton/Symantec Product.
XP Event Log Errors:
- Application Error 1004. "Faulting application NPROTECT.EXE, version
18.0.0.62, faulting module NPROTECT.EXE, version 18.0.0.62, fault address
0x0000168c."
- Application Error 1004. "Faulting application NPFMntor.exe, version
11.0.2.4, faulting module kernel32.dll, version 5.1.2600.2180, fault address
0x0001eb33."
- Application Error 1000. "Faulting application sdntc.exe, version
18.0.0.62, faulting module sdntc.exe, version 18.0.0.62, fault address
0x0000831f."
===========================================
Other Symantec/Norton symptoms include:
===========================================
- Cannot install one or more of the Norton/Symantec <program name> component
products.
- You are not able to uninstall Norton/Symantec <program name> when
upgrading to XP SP2.
- You are able to install, patch, and/or configure your Norton Product on an
XP Box that is below XP SP 2 Patch Level (SP1 and No SP). However, when you
install Windows XP SP 2 Your Norton/Symantec Product is Rendered Useless.
- Using any of Symantec's Program Removal Tools (Symevent.exe, CCRemove.reg,
nsw*xp_reg_remval.reg, etc) do not work at all or only partially work.
- Attempts to install a newer Version of a Symantec Product over an older
version of a Symantec product prompt you to uninstall the older product on
an XP SP2 Box.
- Removing Norton/Symantec Products from the Add/Remove Programs fails to
fully remove all of the program(s) on your XP SP2 Box. When attempting to
reinstall (regardless of whether or not the box was rebooted). Setup still
notes that there are some products still installed.
- The CD Autoplay Start Window for your Symantec product takes a VERY long
time to appear.
#############################################################
Section 2 - Manual removal of Norton/Symantec Products from your XP SP2
Computer
#############################################################
===================================================
Step 1 - Uninstalled Programs via the Control Panel
===================================================
- Removed All Symantec/Norton Programs from 'Add or Remove Programs' in the
Control Panel
The Programs to uninstall are:
checkIt Diagnostics (Optional Uninstalled with no issues)
LiveReg
LiveUpdate <Version number>
Norton SystemWorks 2005
- Rebooted
- Tried installing SystemWorks 2005 again.
- Install Failed due to programs that were still active so I went deeper
into the operating system to remove the programs.
=======================================
Step 2 - Stopped All Norton/Symantec Services
=======================================
Stopped the following Services:
("sc query type= service state= all" piped to a text file can get you this
information)
SERVICE_NAME: ccEvtMgr
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec Event Manager
SERVICE_NAME: ccPwdSvc
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec Password Validation
SERVICE_NAME: ccSetMgr
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec Settings Manager
SERVICE_NAME: navapsvc
DISPLAY_NAME: Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect Service
SERVICE_NAME: NPFMntor
DISPLAY_NAME: Norton AntiVirus Firewall Monitor Service
SERVICE_NAME: NProtectService
DISPLAY_NAME: Norton Unerase Protection
SERVICE_NAME: SAVScan
DISPLAY_NAME: SAVScan
SERVICE_NAME: SBService
DISPLAY_NAME: ScriptBlocking Service
SERVICE_NAME: SNDSrvc
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec Network Drivers Service
SERVICE_NAME: SPBBCSvc
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec SPBBCSvc
SERVICE_NAME: Speed Disk service
DISPLAY_NAME: Speed Disk service
SERVICE_NAME: Symantec Core LC
DISPLAY_NAME: Symantec Core LC
=============================================================
Step 3 - Manually Deleted Symantec Program Related Directories
=============================================================
Manually Deleted the following directories:
%PROGRAMFILES%\Common Files\Symantec Shared
%PROGRAMFILES%\Norton SystemWorks
%PROGRAMFILES%\Symantec
%PROGRAMFILES%\SymNetDrv
%PROGRAMFILES%\Checkit (Optional Post SystemWorks Install)
=============================================================
Step 4 - Manually Deleted Software/Program Settings in the Registry
=============================================================
Deleted the HKLM\Software\Symantec regkey
Deleted the HKLM\Software\Smith Micro regkey (This is the Optional CheckIt
Diagnostics Program Registry Key)
=============================================================
Step 5 - Manually Deleted Symantec Related Services in the Registry
=============================================================
Removed the following keys under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\SERVICES
(Note: Not all of the keys existed but they may appear depending on what
Version and Type of Symantec's are installed. The Optional CheckIt
Diagnostics is not installed as a Service.)
ccEvtMgr
ccPwdSvc
ccSetMgr
navapsvc
NAVENG
NAVEX15
NPDriver
NPFMntor
NProtectService
SAVRT
SAVRTPEL
SAVScan
SBService
SDDriver
SNDSRvc
SPBBCDDrv
SPBBCSvc
Speed Disk Service
Symantec Core LC
symdns
symevent
symfw
symids
symlcbrd
symndis
symredir
symredrv
symtdi
=============================================================
Step 6 - Manually Removed Symantec Related Programs that start up at OS
Boot/Login
=============================================================
Removed any of the following registry entries from
(Note: not all of the keys existed but they may depend what is installed)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
ccApp
ccRegVfy
GhostStartTrayApp
AcctMgr
Norton SystemWorks
NAV Cfgwiz
symdns
symevent
symfw
symids
symlcbrd
symndis
symredir
symredrv
symtdi
SBBCDrv
SYMDNS
SYMDISCO
SAVRTPEL
sndmon.exe
==========================================
Step 7 - Manually Deleted Symantec Related Drivers
=========================================
Within the following directory:
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers
I deleted:
qdfsdrv.sys
symdns.sys
symevent.sys
symfw.sys
symids.sys
symlcbrd.sys
symndis.sys
symredir.sys
symredir.sys
symredrv.sys
symtdi.sys
NPDriver.sys
One good thing about this is that you can hover your mouse over the driver
in question and the properties of the Symantec drivers will appear stating
whether or not it's from Symantec. If it states the Driver is from
Symantec, delete it. Otherwise, leave it alone.
=============================================================
Step 8 - Removing Symantec Products from the Windows Installer Database
=============================================================
If at this point, Symantec Setup is detecting programs still installed on
your computer download and install the Windows Installer Clean Up Utility
and Remove the following programs:
ccCommon
Internet Worm Protection
Norton AntiVirus 2005
Norton AntiVirus Parent MSI
Norton CleanSweep
Norton SystemWorks (1.0)
Norton systemWorks 2005 (8.2.0.6)
Norton Utilities
Norton WMI Update
NSW_DMR_COLLECTION
SPBBC
Symantec Network Drivers Update
Symantec Script Blocking Installer
SymNet
This is probably the only KB Article I would Recommend everyone looking to
Symantec's site for references as they have a list of programs installed by
the various types and versions
===============================
Step 9 - Deleting %Temp% Files
===============================
Regarding Symantec's statements about blowing away all the contents of your
%TEMP% directory as stated in this article...
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/sharedtech.nsf/docid/2004090914191713?OpenDocument&csm=no&src=con_web_nam
...is utter crap.
Don't ever delete everything in the temp directory.
In this day and age many other non-Symantec products write
install/patch/uninstall logs to this directory. If you needed to call a non
Symantec Product support professional and you blew away directories that
will be needed to troubleshoot a given issue, you'd be up the proverbial
creek without a paddle.
Anyways, here's a list Symantec related %TEMP% directory files you can
delete:
Norton Systemworks 2005*.log
NGBINST.log
msicu.log
LSinstall.log
*.tmp
SymSCLiveupdate.dat
symcprop.dat
ssaliveupdate.dat
prescan.log
SND*.log
=============================================================
Step 10 - If the Symantec Services are STILL installed at this point.....
=============================================================
If services are still present on your computer after removing them from the
registry and rebooting your computer, use SC.exe from the command line to
remove the following Norton/Symantec services:
SERVICE_NAME: ccEvtMgr
SERVICE_NAME: ccPwdSvc
SERVICE_NAME: ccSetMgr
SERVICE_NAME: navapsvc
SERVICE_NAME: NPFMntor
SERVICE_NAME: NProtectService
SERVICE_NAME: SAVScan
SERVICE_NAME: SBService
SERVICE_NAME: SNDSrvc
SERVICE_NAME: SPBBCSvc
SERVICE_NAME: Speed Disk service
SERVICE_NAME: Symantec Core LC
At this point Symantec's SystemWorks 2005 should be completely removed
enough for the SystemWorks Setup Program to be able run a fresh install.
However, there's one more thing to do before re-installing
SystemWorks.......
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Section 3 - WMI Lockdown workaround for Norton/Symantec and Windows
Installer issues
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Long Story short, I found the root of all the problems I had (and I'm
betting that everyone else is having too) on my XP Box. Since the WMI
Control (and many other parts of the Operating System) were getting 'Access
Denied' errors I decided to try delete and restore my WMI settings based on
something I tried on a Win 2K3 Domain Controller at work.
Take a look at this article:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/resources/wmifaq.mspx#EGAA
Scroll down to the Section entitled "Rebuild the Repository". These are the
steps I took to re-enable WMI and evetually my operating system.
+ The first thing I did before starting these sets of directions is I ran
the following command from the command prompt:
msiexec /unreg
This Unregisters the Windows Installer for repair and refreshing purposes
and is one of the steps taken when attempting to repair a Windows Installer
installation (see the 'References' Section at the end of this paper for more
information).
+ Next I Followed the first set of directions for the 'AutoRecover' of the
WMI.
+ Once I completed these steps, I right-clicked WMI Control within Computer
Management (compmgmt.msc) and selected properties. The WMI Control
refreshed and repopulated.
If You get prompted to re-register products that you recognize, click yes.
As a result, not only was I able to successfully install, configure, and
update my XP box, but my Windows Installer/msiexec worked once again!
===========
Sidenote
===========
Regarding Symantec's Article about the Windows Installer:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/sharedtech.nsf/docid/2004071407423813?Open&src=hot&docid=2002071915240913&nsf=sharedtech.nsf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=Norton%20SystemWorks&ver=2005&osv=&osv_lvl=
Regarding the Reinstall of the MS Windows Installer Util, these processes
will not work on XP SP2 as the service pack updated the Windows Installer to
a new version. Furthermore, there is not an Updated version of Windows
Installer for XP SP2 (the Redistributable) currently available on the MS
Public Web Site (the Exception is to Download the Mammoth SDK for SP2).
I would suggest following the troubleshooting steps in this article before
proceeding to something as complex as what I just described.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555175
Remember to re-enable all the services, processes, and programs you turned
off or modified!
Cheers!
Aaron Wood
awood7@msn.com
*******************
References
*******************
=================================
Microsoft References
=================================
windows XP Newsgroups:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups.mspx
XP SP2's Data Execution Prevention Feature:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;875352
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2mempr.mspx
How to edit the Boot.ini in Windows XP - KB Article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022
0x80070005: Access is denied" error message when you create a scheduled
task in Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;884573
How to Resolve Common 'Windows Installer' Problems:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555175
Windows Management Interface Frequently Asked Questions:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/resources/wmifaq.mspx
Code Access Security for WMI:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;823915
Securing a Remote WMI Connection:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/securing_a_remote_wmi_connection.asp
Windows Installer Clean Up Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301
=================================
Symantec References
=================================
How To Install Norton SystemWorks 2005:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nsw.nsf/docid/2004082309385607?OpenDocument&src=hot&prod=Norton%20SystemWorks&ver=2005%20Premier%20Edition&csm=no&tpr
e=
Reinstalling your Symantec program after a failed installation or after you
see error messages:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2004021112313539?Open&src=sg&docid=2004100114163006&nsf=nav.nsf&view=5faa3ca6df6f549888256edd0061
c0a4&dtype=&prod=Norton%20SystemWorks&ver=2005&osv=&osv_lvl=
Using the Microsoft Windows Installer Cleanup Utility to remove Symantec
Products:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/5faa3ca6df6f549888256edd0061c0a4/30978a179dde786388256f35006ce45a?OpenDocument&prod=Norton%20SystemWorks&ver=
2005&src=sg&pcode=nsys&svy=&csm=no
Obtaining the Microsoft Installer Cleanup Utility:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001091412490807?Open&src=hot&docid=2001112111324439&nsf=tsgeninfo.nsf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=Nor
ton%20SystemWorks&ver=2005%20Premier%20Edition&osv=&osv_lvl=
Removing Norton SystemWorks 2005 in Windows XP/2000 after Add/Remove
Programs does not work
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nsw.nsf/a25cbe8c4ecc2e9088256ee5005acd4f/7f9931f898f8baf688256ee8007abed5?OpenDocument&prod=Norton%20SystemWorks&ver=
2005%20Premier%20Edition&src=sg&pcode=nsys&svy=&csm=no
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