Mike,

Thanks, I know that there has to be others out there that are experiencing
this problem. I hope this thread is kept alive until we get some confirmed
technical answers as why this occurred right after the 4/11 updates.
Symantec emailed me back and confirmed that Norton needs to be disabled
before installing any Windows Updates and that this issue is known by MS
(i.e. updates conflicting with third party software). They advised that if
disabling Norton does not work on installing future updates, MS should be
contacted with the problem. In a Windows Update thread, another user said
System Restore also worked on this issue with OE. I’m so sorry that you’ve
had issues in using System Restore. It’s one of the reasons why I love XP.
If you don’t know how to muck around with registry files, then System Restore
is the way to go and I have used it before without incident. Have you
contacted MS about this? I hate to say this, but I think the reason why the
System Restore workaround is the only answer is because registry files have
been altered. I was afraid that the fix Bruce suggested wasn’t going to work
if you hadn’t already done a System Restore to get OE up and running again.

I was shocked to see that the support threads for the article I posted on MS
Anti-Spyware Beta causing problems with Norton is still available. In those
threads and for that particular issue, it was determined that a System
Restore should be the first thing you should try. You can view those threads
by simply clicking the hyper-link “support threads� in the Washington Post
article.

I’ve just got this gut feeling that it was the Malicious Software Removal
Tool (KB890830), which only runs once and is not installed as a patch, caused
Norton to go haywire.


You might have to uninstall and reinstall Norton, but I would recommend that
you uninstall the MS updates first and turn off Automatic Updates until after
you have Norton up and running again. Make sure you disable Norton before
reinstalling any updates. If this doesn’t work, then it sounds to me that
registry files have been altered and you need to contact MS.

Keep us posted!

Carole


"Mike" wrote:

Hello Carole!

Thank you for keeping the discussion alive. I have been following your and
others messages every day.
The solution you wrote on system restore I haven't tried. I did a system
restore some time ago and it ended with a none functioning system. So there
is a dilemma.

"Carole" wrote:

Well, everything is still running fine after 5/8 updates. I disabled Norton
this time. Symantec answered me back and said that NIS files got corrupted,
but didn’t elaborate as to how they thought this happened. They also said I
was not eligible for the free 2007 upgrade offer because I own NIS 2005.

A thought occurred to me after I read the below article:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/secur...eleting_1.html

If Norton has not previously gotten along with Windows Anti-spyware Beta,
then maybe the Malicious Software Removal Tool (downloaded the day after the
4/11 updates) corrupted Norton’s files. Just a thought since it’s a pretty
good bet that all these problems appear to be related to the updates. I
would imagine it would contain similar data and registry files??? I actually
had this Beta installed at one point, but removed it due to articles I read
about it being vulnerable to threats of hackers using it to obtain personal
information off your computer (specifically banking info). The program also
drove me nuts and I do remember having to uninstall and reinstall Norton
after I got rid of it.

Mike, did you ever fix this problem??? After all you were the first one to
start this thread.

Also, I didn’t post the article to start any heated debates. I just found
it to be very interesting.

Just wanted to follow up with some other notes:

I originally thought this was a microsoft problem because I found a thread
elsewhere where someone with ZoneAlarm had the same problem -- getting
socket errors after logging off of XP and back io again.

Also, like many of you, disabling the Norton Firewall, Virus Scanner and
Mail Scanner (all three disabled in different parts of the UI) did not help.

However, I now think (like many of you) that it is primarily an issue with
an april update to Norton Internet Security (or maybe an NIS update in
conjunction with a MSFT update.)

Here's why I think Norton gets some of the blame:

1. I removed all MSFT patches from April one by one. No joy.

2. I reinstalled all MSFT patches.

3. I removed NIS 2006. JOY!

4. I reinstalled NIS, but did not let it update itself. STILL JOY!

5. I let NIS run Live Update -- PROBLEM RETURNS

I have contacted Symatec, and asked them for a solution that does NOT
involve upgrading to NIS 2007, which severely changes functionality of
features I use (parental controls). It has been 1 week - no reply from
Symantec.

Because of the sequence of steps listed above, I do not think having the
Norton firewall on while windows update was running contributed to the
problem.

By the way, like some of you, I was unable to perform a system restore. I
think I must have installed a patch that is not removable during that time
frame.

And now you know why you will never see an OE MVP suggest using Norton, (or
McAfee). They both have a long history of not being compatible with OE.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"caa100" wrote in message
...

Just wanted to follow up with some other notes:

I originally thought this was a microsoft problem because I found a thread
elsewhere where someone with ZoneAlarm had the same problem -- getting
socket errors after logging off of XP and back io again.

Also, like many of you, disabling the Norton Firewall, Virus Scanner and
Mail Scanner (all three disabled in different parts of the UI) did not
help.

However, I now think (like many of you) that it is primarily an issue with
an april update to Norton Internet Security (or maybe an NIS update in
conjunction with a MSFT update.)

Here's why I think Norton gets some of the blame:

1. I removed all MSFT patches from April one by one. No joy.

2. I reinstalled all MSFT patches.

3. I removed NIS 2006. JOY!

4. I reinstalled NIS, but did not let it update itself. STILL JOY!

5. I let NIS run Live Update -- PROBLEM RETURNS

I have contacted Symatec, and asked them for a solution that does NOT
involve upgrading to NIS 2007, which severely changes functionality of
features I use (parental controls). It has been 1 week - no reply from
Symantec.

Because of the sequence of steps listed above, I do not think having the
Norton firewall on while windows update was running contributed to the
problem.

By the way, like some of you, I was unable to perform a system restore. I
think I must have installed a patch that is not removable during that time
frame.