Re: Norton Systemworks 2005 Premier -- Will it help?

From: Ken Gardner (KenGardner_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 02/02/05 

Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 23:21:01 -0800

It looks like we have had almost identical experiences with Norton and
Symantec. :) Incidentally, I won't bash Symantec either. Their software
isn't as good as it used to be, but it is still very good -- especially NAV.
Systemworks had its heyday in the days of Windows 9x and Me, but IMO has
become obsolete with the onset of Windows 2000 and especially XP. The same
is true of the other utility suites I know of, such as Registry Mechanic and
SystemSuite. Even at their best, you spend much more time running these
programs to solve non-existent or insignificant problems then you will ever
lose by running XP without them.

My attitude about them might change if, in additon, they offered some
objectively verifiable method for measuring any improvements in performance
or stability as a result of these programs. For example, the Diskeeper
defragger includes a tool that tells you how much faster you can access
defragged files on your hard drive. Systemworks and other such utilities
have no such tools, and Systemworks itself is a resource and memory hog that
impacts performance on some computers.

"R. C. White" wrote:

> Hi, Duane.
>
> I agree with Ken Gardner.
>
> I used Norton Utilities from the mid-80's, when Peter Norton actually wrote
> them, until about 2000. In the '90s, Symantec bought the utilities and
> began to emphasize marketing more than utility. For example, they never
> bothered to update DiskEdit (which saved me many times, and taught me how
> the file system worked) to work with NTFS, but just let it limp along until
> it died of atrophy. Instead, Symantec loaded the "utilities" down with
> fluff and eye candy. By the time Win2K arrived, SystemWorks was more
> trouble than it was worth.
>
> WinXP is built on the NT platform, not MS-DOS; it uses NTFS, not FAT. I no
> longer suffer the kinds of disk and Registry problems that I often had in
> Win3.x and Win9x (never used WinME), so I no longer need the tools in
> SystemWorks. WinXP's built-in defragger is adequate; I used it until I got
> a good deal on PerfectDisk, which I use now.
>
> The only Norton product that I still use is NIS, Norton Internet Security,
> which bundles NAV and NPF, plus the new Norton Antispam. Their Antivirus
> has always been one of the best, and their Personal Firewall is good,
> although it took a couple of versions for them to get it right. NAS is of
> some value; I wouldn't buy it standalone, but it enhances the NIS package a
> little.
>
> We see plenty of Symantec bashers, of course, and I won't argue with them.
> They've had their experiences with Norton; I've had mine. Using NAV - and
> practicing "safe hex" - I've never had a virus (yet). I'm not promoting
> NIS, but it does the job for me, so I'll keep using it until I find
> something that I like better. But I don't have or need SystemWorks.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@corridor.net
> Microsoft Windows MVP
>
> "Duane" <Duane@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:78D1DDC1-5AD7-4BF7-94BF-C6DC4135EC8C@microsoft.com...
> >I just got done having to restore my laptop / XP Pro SP2 due to some system
> > corruption...bla, bla, bla. Anyway, I am looking for a piece of software
> > to
> > maintain the integrity of the system and perform routine checks on system
> > health etc..
> >
> > In the old MAC days Norton Systemworks saved our butts many times. They
> > have a new version of Systemworks for XP called Systemworks Premier. It's
> > feature are:
>
> <SNIPped Symantec's sales pitch>
>
> > Has anyone had any experience with this program or suggest something else?
> > I
> > did purchase Reg Mechanic and it did nothing for me during the time of the
> > system errors that all started when I found noen of my HP printers /
> > drivers
> > would work (it gave me a system error when trying to print ---countless
> > posts on this community with helpful suggestions -- and many hours with
> > good
> > a bad reps from HP forced me to nuke and pave the drive). Everything seems
> > good now. I just want a tool that I can rely on for system health.
> > Plus....I
> > do like their anti-virus and spam control integrated into my Outlook
> > 2002
> > program. Currently, I am using Spygate for a firewall, S&D and Adaware
> > for
> > their purposes and AVG free addition for antivirus.
> >
> > Thaks for any advise and / or comments!!
>
>