Reviews for Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2005 Premier

This review is confusing because it contains a TRIPLE negative!

It's not too difficult for those that have the intelligence to use utilities of this type to understand.

There are many that will buy the program just because they think they can use what others know how to use, but will later down the product only because of their own inadequate knowledge and poor understanding of computers.(Note low ratings here on exempliary products providing user controls that do work properly when used as their accompanying literature states in a properly performing OS environment.)

A "Triple Negative" could only exist within the same sentence. This is the same as a double negative can only be contained within the same sentence. At any rate this review is still a "POSITVE".

For reference:

I didn't get no ----. (DOUBLE NEGATIVE)
I didn't got no, no ----. (TRIPLE NEGATIVE)

It IS a triple negative: "You will have NO problems .. UNLESS you ... DON'T [do such an such]." It was confusing, even for me, a former editor, until he made it clear in his next paragraph that he meant "You will have no problems ... as long as you [do such and such]". At first I thought he was being sarcastic, but I'm sure it was just a slip of the synapses.

To the last highly educated commenter (possibly the same as the first), so concerned over negatives or sarcasm in my review here:

The original sentence still is and was complete as follows.

You will have no problems with any of Symantec's SystemWorks Professional/Premier programs unless you do the following:

The punctuation there is for a listing of further numbered short sentences making supportive statements. This sentence could be argued to contain a double negative, had I not changed my syntax within it. Why you should attempt to change my wording, relate to my mental processes, or my intent, to further your obtuse line of thought is assinine. Go bother someone that you could possibly influence with your backward views.

I could have emphasized each of those following numbered statements with the first word being - You. This is well implied, and I'm sure you had trouble understanding that also. I related my point well, with those supporting statements, and offered all in a manner that sparked interest. It obviously struck you squarely in the face and, after a moment of thought, you did at least understand some of what I related there. I certainly didn't tell anyone to go soak their head in a bucket! Although, it seems as if you might have preferred that.

Wake up, you need English 101. The only synapses disturbed here are you own, and I'm positive I wouldn't hire you to communicate my intent to anyone. You've made it very obvious you have trouble maintaining a stable thought process from one sentence to the next. Fortunately, most people can read clearly and are stable in their thoughts.

You're welcome to continue in your foolish manner. If you do, I will simply report it to the management (they read everything anyway). Small wonder you stated you were a "former" editor in your feeble attempt to make your remarks credible.

If you didn't like the review, that's fine. Don't question my grammar or try to create a scenario of sarcasm or mental lapses. You'll lose every time, just as you already have.

It's a shame you still haven't realized that comments here are supposed to relate to the product and not the writer.

Signed,
The Author

The sentence in question wass CORRECTLY processed by MICROSOFT WORD and contains NO DOUBLE OR TRIPLE NEGATIVES. Nor does HODGES' HARDBRACE COLLEGE HANDBOOK 7th EDITION, 6th EDITION, or any other, find an error. GROW UP!
Your reference to synapses refers to your own. My syntax is correct.

I have no intent to criticize. I am just asking for clarification. I have a desktop computer at home, one at work, and a laptop. All run XP PRO with SP2 and autodownload of Windows updates, but pre-approval of installs. I have used all the versions of Norton SystemWorks since version 1. When my AntiVirus subscription expires, I usually upgrade to the current version of SystemWorks, so all of my machines have different versions. A few weeks ago I installed the newest versions of SystemWorks and Personal Firewall on my laptop. It took forever, with untold numbers of reboots. After eventually completing the entire install, I ran One Button checkup and defragmented. Before starting the install, I had run One Button checkup using the old version, but based on your advice, I guess I should have also defragmented BEFORE beginning the process. Thanks for that tip. But how do I "...delete old programs and files from Windows;...check for and remove incompatible programs;" and "...check for hardware and device issues," before installing? Thank you for your advice.

Simply read from Symantec's site for their system requirements to find programs and device issues, initially. Check Control Panel\System\Device Manager in Windows for conflicts and repair them. Next, due to Windows Service Packs, find and install the Microsoft Windows Installer CleanUp Utility: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301 and use Control Panel\Add or Remove Programs to remove old anti-virus and firewall programs, then removing their files from C:\Program Files - many of them can interfere with the install. Run the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility and delete the Windows service packs, and any old programs listed there you no longer use. You can re-install the Service Packs later after 2005 is installed (may not be necesary, but better to be safe). If you have 2004 SystemWorks Pro, copy the Password Manager files to another file for later replacement to this position if you wish to retain it: C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Password Manager. Password Manager should be already authorized or you will have to call Support to re-authorize it later. (installing over 2004 does not require this as 2005 will remove it and update, but again it doesn't hurt to be safe). Defragment your drives, and install 2005 Systemworks being sure to fill out all forms, and allow it to scan and fully load, reboot and allow the initialization scan and register it. Then, update it using Symantec's Live Updates. (Should be the only reboot after the scans and initial install re-boot if not using Go Back) You will need to turn on Go Back, again run Live Updates then turn off Go Back and re-boot your computer if using GO Back in Premier. Start Go Back and re-run Live Updates, shut down Go Back then re-boot. Be sure you allow ample time for all these processes to complete each time (twice) to update Go Back. You will need to do this at least twice to fully update Go Back one more reboot then aften turning Go Back on again. From there, SystemWorks Premier should now be properly and fully installed and you can then update Windows again from the Microsoft site or Service Pack disks. Note some firewall programs are incompatible with SystemWorks, so check for this before installing them (my routers eliminate this problem, having their own firewalls). Following these steps, no one should have a problem with this program. Properly loaded, it is very smooth and fast. The Windows service packs are the major cause of issues most experience. Remember, this is an intensive program and it does take more time to install than older versions.

This review could have been written by Symantec. It has all the CYA words and recommended actions that serve no meaningful purpose to the average computer user. I recently upgraded from their 2003 version to the 2005 Premier version. It took several trips to their tech support and five separate programs from them to deinstall 2003 residuals before the 2005 version would work. Norton should PAY You to install their software.

Odd you should make such remarks, as I am a former computer software analyst and writer unassociated with Symantec. I also recently installed this very same 2005 version to two more of my network computers rather than subscribe to a renewal of the 2004 SystemWorks Pro they were using. The install was actually much easier and quicker than my previous installs earlier this year with no Symantec help needed. The product has continued to provide protection and using the included Ghost I was able to quickly re-install systems with no data loss after a recent new Internet worm affected my system server. This took less than 30 minutes to fully recover the multiple drive system. That same worm shut others down, off and on, for days.

Mr. Kulick has NOT made a statement with a triple negative. He has made a statement with two independent clauses. Each clause can stand alone. If you wrote,
"He has no car. He has no money. He has no family. He has no pets," this would not be a quadruple negative. A double negative refers to the quality of nothingness of one thing, e.g. "He has not got no shoes," concerns the nothingness of shoes. "He has no shoes and he has no money," is not a double negative because each negative refers to a different item.

If Mr. Kulick had simplified his statement, he would have lost some of his emphasis. I believe that he wanted to emphasize "Don't."
He could have said,"You will not have problems if you:
1) Defragment your drives first before the install..." That was his prerogative. I would be curious what would happen if Mr. Kulick's sentence was put through Word Perfect's Grammatik. Perhaps it was written at too high a level for his audience.
As for the usefulness of his review, it helped me to weigh my own experiences with SystemWorks. It assured me that I had not been overscanning and defragging. His comment was also helpful because it was about a subject that is not addressed in textbooks.
THIS IS MEANT AS CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM TO GLENMATH AND RUBY2ZDY: YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PARSE A PHRASE AND YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT SENTENCES. WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL, WE WERE TAUGHT THAT A SENTENCE EXPRESSES A COMPLETE THOUGHT, AND THAT AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE STANDS ALONE AS A COMPLETE THOUGHT. The word unless is a conjunction that connects Mr. Kulick's two thoughts.
Perhaps Mr. Kulick could have put an "and" between 4) and 5). Although an "and" would have been standard if he had been speaking, the use of an "and" between 4) and 5) would have been forced and artificial writing.

Just to show that I am not connected with Symantec, I would like to state that I have found the following problems with Symantec products in the past:
1) disconnections during a download of SystemWorks--this is not Symantec's fault
2)an activation code that had a 1 instead of an I in it. When I typed it in wrong, it worked.
3) Problems with their first product 20 years ago which was supposed to help you recover information from 5 1/2" floppies--I believe the statute of limitations makes this a dead issue.
4) Phone support is slow when you are renewing your subscription
However, on the plus side, I really like the One Button Checkup and the Speed Optimization. I don't know if it is necessary, but first I use the Speed Optimization. Then I use the Windows ScanDisk and Disk fragmentation. It seems that the Speed Optimization makes the Windows defragmentation program take longer, so I guess both are necessary.

I cannot help wondering if people who questioned Mr. Kulick's English are sheepish about correcting teachers who refer to their students as kids.

Feel free to pick apart my English. I am not perfect. However I learned to parse a phrase, have a long line of American ancestors, and have a mother who was graduated from a "normal school" in the early 1900s. Normal Schools were teacher training schools.

These three characteristics have given me the confidence to defend Mr. Kulick's proper use of the English language. I don't know if Mr. Kulick is a first generation American or if he has a long line of American ancestors. I do know that he is capable of expressing himself on a college level. I have heard that most people read and write on a third grade level, and that the newspapers are written on that level for their convenience.
I hope this has been informative.

Thank you.

Interesting you noted this:

"I would be curious what would happen if Mr. Kulick's sentence was put through Word Perfect's Grammatik."

Often, my wording is European in nature as I am multi-lingual.

I am a second generation American of Belo-Russian aristocratic heritage on one side, and a descendant of the early Raleigh, North Carolina 16th century landowners on the other. Both family lines are well documented for many centuries back, in the UK and Europe. (Chuckle; Probably why my temper is a bit too quick.) My name of course, is "Americanized".

Alex

Pardon the keystroke error - that last comment should read 18th century! (chuckle) 200 years is a bit too much of an error.

Alex

DITTO!!!!! Lexander Akulick, I couldn't have said it better I'm more concerned about the product then your syntax! I had no problem understanding what you meant I often times make mistakes when I'm posting didn't know it was going to be screened by an editor.
Tcj

I had a similar problem...
I had systemworks(no antivirus) on my pc and tried to download/install symantec anti-virus...
After many hours on hold with clueless support I decided to delete systemworks off my pc and reinstall symatec antivirus, they could not run together...
They should have made that known to systemworks users...
Hopefully 2005 works...I do not want to risk it
I have not had great success with dealing with symantec support or using there products

Has It changed Since 2004? I Bought the 2004 version to upgrade for use with XP and the NTFS file stucture that 2001 could not handle. After XP being out for 3 years Symantics still did virtually nothing to make it's system compatible with NTFS. 60% of the standard utilities would not even install. Disk doctor only sets up a reboot so XP Checkdisk will check and fix the drive the next time you reboot. After six months of using the Anti Virus and still having problems I went to Trend's Antivirus that found dozens of addware, spyware, and viruses on the system that Norton's A.V. upgrades couldn't find if it was a haystick in a needlestack. It can't handle Hyperthreading technology and emulated dual proccessing from my Asus P4P800-Deluxe. The customer service and Tech help were rude and of no help. As
usual once you open the box no store will take back the software and there was no notification on the package about all the incompatibilities on the outside of the box. Beware
of symantec products now days. They are not anywhere near the quality they were even Four Years ago and I have used thier products since the early 1990's. Try any other brand or a demo of there produces before you commit your hard earned money with this current company. I Might try 2005 after I do a lot of research into how it handles new technology but if it's about the same as 2004 and you use NTFS or Hypertechnology go online and check out the freeware. Most of it works better than what is in Norton SystemWorks 2004.

I would like to help if it's not too late, but am confused as to your dilemma. I'm not sure weather you are trying to repair the partition table on the system hard drive or the partition table on a USB device. You refer to both. I will therefore address both scenarios.

First, when repairing your File Allocation Table on your USB drive, what you are actually doing is repairing a FAT partition.

FAT stands for File Allocation Table, the 16 bit predecessor to FAT 32. (Actually 12 bit on most removable drives.)

Therefore Norton Disk Doctor WILL attempt to repair it. (Your USB drive partition that is.)

NTFS Stands for NT File System. First introduced in the original Windows NT. The 'NT' in Windows NT Stands for New Technology. Therefore the full breakdown would be NTFS = New Technology File System.

It is a 'technical' truth that NDD will not work on NTFS Partitions. This disclaimer is written for legal purposes I would imagine, because what norton (somewhat sneakally) actually does is to run a utility included with Windows called checkdisk (chkdsk.) Checkdisk replaces scandisk which was packaged with Windows 95-98-98SE-ME. Scandisk is ironically written for microsoft by guess who? Symantec.

So what does all this amount to you ask?

It isn't Norton's fault at all. Perhaps the partition is beyond repair! Or perhaps your problem is not a partition problem at all, but rather a device configuration problem. (Device conflict, bad drivers, redundant devices listed where there should be only one... look in the device manager.) Start - Control Panel - System - Device Manager. Un install anything with an 'X' or '!' then restart your box. Re open Device Manager. Expand all categories and right click, then select update driver while connected to the internet.

If you would like to bypass NDD and run a disk check, click the start button - then the run... button. In the dialog box type CMD. in the command window that opens type - 'CHKDSK X: /F' - where X is the drive letter you wish to check. Type N if it asks you to dismount the drive and Y if it asks you to do it after a reboot. Simple isn't it? (Sarcasm intended.)

This is why people, including myself, buy utilities like Norton!

Good luck on resolving your problem.