Solutions if You Cannot Uninstall Norton 360

Solutions if You Cannot Uninstall Norton 360
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Problems in Removing Norton 360

There are Symantec customers that are having problems in removing Norton 360. One of the known issues on why Norton 360 uninstaller failed to remove the program using the Add/Remove programs option is corrupted or damage installation and files. So, what if you cannot uninstall Norton 360? To succeed in removing Norton 360 in Windows you can follow any of the solutions in this article.

Automatic Removal of Norton 360

Use Norton Removal Tool if You Cannot Uninstall Norton 360 via Add Remove Programs

Symantec has created a Norton Removal tool that people should use if the Add/Remove utility won’t uninstall Norton 360. The tool is free of charge and you should read the article on how to use Norton Removal tool. Using the Norton Removal tool is easy but before using it, there are things to take note of:

  • If you are using any programs from the Norton Add-on Pack, you should start backing up the settings of Norton Anti-spam and Parental Controls. Use the Add-on Pack migration tool to back up the settings of the programs. Note that you will be downloading BackupAOPSettings.exe file to back up the settings.
  • Norton 360 includes secure online storage. If you are using the free online backup service, you should consider backing up the settings of this service. Download <strong>BUdump.exe</strong> from Symantec’s website (clicking on the BUdump.exe will automatically download the file) to backup the online storage settings.
  • If you have another Norton product in Windows, you cannot use the Norton Removal tool because the Norton Removal tool will remove all installed Norton programs the removal tool supports.

If you cannot connect to the Internet to download the above tools and utilities, you should try using another computer with an Internet connection. You can save the files in removable, flash, or thumb drives.

If you cannot uninstall Norton 360 using Norton’s Removal tool, you can try using AppRemover or Revo Uninstaller.

Other method of removing Norton 360 is to use the System Restore feature in Windows. Restoring Windows to the previous state before Norton 360 was installed should also work.

Manual Removal of Norton 360

Manually removing Norton 360 is a long process and it is not recommended unless you are comfortable in deleting files on your computer. It also requires access to the registry editor in Windows. Using the registry editor to modify or delete entries should be done by advanced or expert users. Also, it’s best backing up Windows registry prior yo deleting any entries.

To manually remove Norton 360, follow the steps below:

  • Backup Windows registry.
  • Reboot the computer to safe mode and login to Windows using the user account with administrator permission.
  • Locate Norton 360 and Symantec folders in C:\Program Files, C:\Program Data. Delete if you find any.
  • Browse to delete Norton or NPE folders in C:\Users\{YOUR USER ACCOUNT NAME HERE}\AppData\Local and from C:\Users\{YOUR USER ACCOUNT NAME HERE}\AppData\Roaming folders.
  • Exit any open window and open the registry editor in Windows by typing regedit.exe in the run box.
  • Click “Edit” in the menu bar, click “Find" and then type Norton in “Find what." Press the enter key on the keyboard. Right-click the Norton key at the left or right pane and then hit the delete key. Note that you should not delete any registry key on the left, if the registry hive is not owned by Norton. Only delete entries that are pointing to Norton software.
  • Press the F3 key on the keyboard to allow the registry editor to find other Norton keys or values in the registry. Delete again any search results for Norton. Continue to hit the F3 key to find any Norton values, and then delete.
  • Close the registry editor when the finder doesn’t find anymore Norton entries.
  • Delete the Norton shortcut from the desktop, and then reboot the computer.

Note that it is still recommended to use the Norton Removal tool to remove any remnants of Norton 360 installation files.

Screenshots by author courtesy of Symantec