Symantec tool cleans up XP SP3 and Vista SP1 registry corruption

**Glaswegian** · 06-06-2008, 02:50 PM

Symantec Corp. yesterday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the company's security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1.

The tool, SymRegFix, had been promised by Symantec two weeks ago when users reported that upgrading to XP SP3 emptied Windows' Device Manager, deleted network connections and packed the registry with thousands of bogus entries.

Symantec initially blamed Microsoft for the snafu, but later accepted some responsibility. Last week, the company said the combination of a Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature of its Norton-branded consumer security software had added the errant registry entries, and it told users to turn off that feature before upgrading.

SymProtect, designed to protect Symantec's security software from being hacked by malware, guards against unauthorized changes to the registry.

Reese Anschultz, a senior Symantec manager, announced the availability of SymRegFix on a company support forum yesterday.

When some users on that same thread noted that the tool had not deleted all the spurious registry keys, another Symantec employee stepped in. "The other garbage entries may have been created by Microsoft's Fixccs.exe outside of the Symantec registry keys," said Steve Dang.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/...ce=rss_topic17

Download link to the tool:
http://solutions.symantec.com/sdccom...080530144453EN

06-06-2008, 02:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,512 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Symantec tool cleans up XP SP3 and Vista SP1 registry corruption Symantec Corp. yesterday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the company's security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1. The tool, SymRegFix, had been promised by Symantec two weeks ago when users reported that upgrading to XP SP3 emptied Windows' Device Manager, deleted network connections and packed the registry with thousands of bogus entries. Symantec initially blamed Microsoft for the snafu, but later accepted some responsibility. Last week, the company said the combination of a Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature of its Norton-branded consumer security software had added the errant registry entries, and it told users to turn off that feature before upgrading. SymProtect, designed to protect Symantec's security software from being hacked by malware, guards against unauthorized changes to the registry. Reese Anschultz, a senior Symantec manager, announced the availability of SymRegFix on a company support forum yesterday. When some users on that same thread noted that the tool had not deleted all the spurious registry keys, another Symantec employee stepped in. "The other garbage entries may have been created by Microsoft's Fixccs.exe outside of the Symantec registry keys," said Steve Dang. http://www.computerworld.com/action/...ce=rss_topic17 Download link to the tool: http://solutions.symantec.com/sdccom...080530144453EN __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner Last edited by Glaswegian; 06-06-2008 at 02:52 PM.