XP PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS

Well the easy answer is you have run DEFRAG in System Tools constantly is to backup all of your data which is a necessary thing to do anyway wipe the HDD and reload from scratch.

That at least will get rid of any orphan files that may be sucking up RAM or clock cycles.

Col

Did you try a system restore it's not the best idea but you rejected the best idea above when your hit hard and there are problem with your system wipe it and start again.

Anti spyware; adaware and microsoft antispyware it's free it works.

Firewall; Zone alarm is restrictive but thats what a firewall does you can configure it to be nicer or you use XP firewall.

Go to the symantec web site and do a search on how to remove nortons completly there are articles there.

In my honest opinion reformat you may never fully recover from your nortons disater this has happened to me before and i never used the utilities again.

Have you tried using msconfig?

Windows XP comes with the System Configurationtool (Msconfig.exe), an excellent way to manage the startup process. To start it:

1.
Click Start, click Run, type Msconfig, and then press Enter.

2.
On the Startup tab, you'll see a list of all the programs and processes that are set to run when Windows XP loads.

3.
Speed up your overall start time by clearing the check box next to any item you think you don't need.

4.
Click Apply, and then restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

I use a FREE AVG for Virus, FREE Sygate Personal Firewall and FREE Lavasofts Adaware ( after dumping Norton myself ).

Note: This procedure will remove all Symantec products, not just Symantec AntiVirus. If you are unsure of any of these steps, please call the CIT HelpDesk at (607) 255-8990 for assistance.

Click on Start | Settings | Control Panel
In the control panel double-click on Add / Remove Programs
Look through the list of installed programs for any item that says either "Norton" or "Symantec" or "LiveUpdate". (for example "Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition" or "Norton AntiVirus 2000")
For each "Norton", "Symantec", or "LiveUpdate" item, select the item and click Add / Remove. Follow the instructions, and click Yes or Yes to all when prompted.
When you are done there should be no items in the list that say "Norton", "Symantec", or "LiveUpdate".
Click OK to close the Add / Remove Programs window.
Reboot your computer if it hasn't already automatically rebooted.
Delete the c:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus (or c:\Program Files\Norton) folder.
Delete the c:\Program Files\Symantec folder.
Delete the c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared folder.

When you have other Symantec products installed (in addition to Norton SystemWorks and its components), performing the procedures in this document may prevent those programs from functioning properly. This problem exists because many Symantec products share some of the same files and registry entries. Removing all files and entries for one product may result in removing files that are used by another product.To avoid this problem, you should uninstall all of your other Symantec and Norton programs using Add/Remove Programs first. After you have done this, go on to the next section, "Part 1: Stopping Norton SystemWorks services."
Before starting to remove Norton SystemWorks components from the computer, you must first stop the program from running.

To stop Norton SystemWorks services
Click Start > Run.
In the Run window, type the following and then click OK:

services.msc

Right-click each of the following services, and then click Stop:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nsw.nsf/docid/2001091013435207?Open&src=&docid=2001092114452606&nsf=nav.nsf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=
-------------------------------------------------
Rnav2003.exe is a removal utility that is designed to remove all of the components of Norton AntiVirus 2003

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2001092114452606?Open&src=&docid=2001091013435207&nsf=nsw.nsf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=
good luck.

Well I really don't think you are stupid but as you didn't say what you have done I thought I would start with the basics. Since you have not done a reload this might help you out a 30 day trial of Drive Scrubber at

http://www.iolo.com/ds/download.cfm

or you can try System Mechanic but make sure you do not download the professional version as it has an AV product included and this two has a 30 day trial period

http://www.iolo.com/sm/5/index.cfm

Just be careful with System Mechanic as if you use the "Remove Duplicate Files} you are likely to crash the system.

Col

RegSeeker website : http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
Hover Inc. website : http://www.hoverdesk.net
Contact information : contact@hoverdesk.net
Try this to find any thing related to symantec.
Use the search registry part of the program.
Symantec leaves over 3000 reg entries.
This will find them all and delete them for you.
Also use the Windows Installer Clean Up Utility.
Just GOOGLE, it should show up there.
I've had problems with reinstalling Norton Internet Security 2005 so i know this works.
Let me know how it works out.
gregtheodosis@yahoo.com
God Bless

There's another answer, and that's to subscribe to a service that
gives PC owners the same enterprise-grade protection that
Fortune 1000 companies buy. It's available from a company that
licenses the world's best anti-virus, anti-spyware, & firewall
protection from makers such as Sophos for distribution to the
public. Unlimited tech support is FREE. In the interest of full
disclosure: I was so impressed with the service that I became an
agent. You could too. It can be a good additional income stream.
The website is http://www.KeepMyComputerSafe.com. Click the
button, "Test Your PC Now" to run a great spyware scan. What I
like is that this is a permanent, single solution. I don't have to be
hunting constantly for the next killer anti-spyware or anti-virus
program--free or otherwise. Nothing's perfect, but I feel safe at
last.

I have had exactly the same problem. Firstly, you cannot remove all of Norton unless done in a specific order and Norton does not provide this detailed information - of course! I resorted to my local highly-regarded lab that has several people a day coming in with Norton problems. They removed everything using their own expert softwares but still could not stop the regeneration of one corrupt file (corrupted by Norton). While laborously checking each program to find which was causing this and about to do a complete Windows XP reinstall, it rectified itself and has been fine for 48 hours. Great to have the old friend working healthily.
All over the internet that are horror stories about Norton but the company could not care less. The Support is not able to recognise that customers sometimes know quite a lot and have tried everything - Support merely sends obvious things to try. I'm a 60 year old woman (pretty computer savvy) and I had already done everything they came up with. Also, searched the world's blogs and did what experts on there recommended.
My computer 'surgeons' use NOD32 anti virus on their systems and the companies networks that they maintain. I have now got it and it is wonderful, low on memory, highly efficient, updates several times a day as you work without you realising. Regarded as one of the world leaders but I hadn't heard of it until now. Bless them for telling me about it.
Give up on Norton, get a lab to back up your files and programs onto a separate hard disk, and reinstall your system. It seems to be the only way to kill the BEAST! Good luck!