Nuisance at Startup

My turn to ask for assistance please. The following (screen shot) dialog box arrives on my desktop at boot up. I have recently uninstalled Ghost 10 and installed Ghost 12. This is the only change I can think of. This unwanted message has appeared only after the new installation. Just a week earlier before updating Ghost I installed the maximum RAM (2GB) and installed a Nvidia GeForce 6200 Video Card. This nuisance message did not appear after the installation of RAM and Video card. My computer is running very well, it is just this unwanted box at startup I would like to have disappear. Could I have assistance please. kind regards,[attachment removed]

Hey Tallin You sure you haven't any remnants of the old ghost? (e.g. services and such) When windows goes looking for files that way, its almost always because a service asked for it. Does the process / service appear in the task-manager or msconfig? If its a file belonging to the new Ghost12 install, you might have to find the file, and re-direct path. Or re-install the ghost12. Regards Abydos

Hello Abydos,

Thank you for your reply to my query.

Before I posted my problem I did check:

• msconfig
• Services
• My computer > program files
• Checked for remnants.. there were none

No, the service does not appear in task Manager or msconfig.I searched for the file, it was not found.

All of the above I did before posting the thread.

As Norton's Ghost 10 software failed, a Symantec Analyst installed and set up the new Ghost 12 via remote from Chenai in India where their Support Team is located. I was impressed with their service, knowledge, and direct land line phone contact during the uninstall and reinstall of the upgraded Ghost 12. This was a complimentary upgrade, no cost to me at all.

I mentioned I could do this, but they insisted and said it was part of their service.

So there you go, what would be your next suggestion?

I would not uninstall/reinstall at this stage as Ghost 12 is working so well. The screen shot posted is not that annoying to warrant an uninstall/reinstall in my opinion. Hasten slowly is the best bet at this stage.

kind regards,

Well, entering, [ccapp.exe error] in Google gets 185K hits. It seems this problem is widespread affecting some users at bootup, some at shutdown, and some in between. From what I read, the most effective method used is to remove everything Norton/Symantec.

I think I would first try the Norton Removal Tool first, then purge my system and Registry with CCleaner, reboot and see what happens.

According to Symantec you should be able to disable it in msconfig. Are you saying it is not listed?

Hello Digerati,

Thanks for your reply.

I do not have either of the following:

• I have Norton AntiVirus or Norton Internet Security 2006/2005/2004
• I have Norton AntiVirus or Norton Internet Security 2003

as described in your very welcome answer to my query.

If I were to use the Norton's Removal tool it would then uninstall my Ghost 12 installation, at this stage the very last thing I want to achieve.

Yes, I am saying it does not show in msconfig. I have checked thoroughly as stated in my posts.

Any other ideas please?

kind regards,

If I were to use the Norton's Removal tool it would then uninstall my Ghost 12 installation, at this stage the very last thing I want to achieve.

Well, I still think that is what I would do, uninstall G12. To me, it sounds like G10 did not fully uninstall itself, or G12 had an imperfect installation.

That said, wait in case something else is suggested.

Hi Digerati, Yes, let us wait and see. I have posted the same problem over in Tech Academy on Geeks to Go so will let you know if those tech's have any other suggestions. Frankly the nuisance is not bad enough to warrant an uninstall and reinstall. kind regards,

Do you have a registry entry to run the norton that was removed? That would make the system look for norton, and not find it, giving the error. Run HJT and look for entries that would run the Norton that you removed, or post a HJT log and let the exprts look for the entry. (look for an entry for Norton in the 04's)

Do you have a registry entry to run the norton that was removed?
That would make the system look for norton, and not find it, giving the error.
Run HJT and look for entries that would run the Norton that you removed, or post a HJT log and let the exprts look for the entry.
(look for an entry for Norton in the 04's)

Hi HFCG,

Thanks for your help, and indeed it was of great help.

I have posted a HJT log, but not on here. There is an entry which I bet is the problem. I quote it here for your information. I will let you know the advice I receive.

kind regards,

O23 - Service: Symantec RemoteAssist - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Support Controls\ssrc.exe (file missing)

Well, that to me looks like just the problem I was describing - an unclean uninstall, or an unclean install - or some nasty mixture of both. You could try a reinstall of G12 right over the existing installation, in the hopes that will tidy up the Registry. For many programs, that preserves your personal settings. But if that does not fix it, then I am even more certain the removal tool and a pass through CCleaner would be my next step if this PC were on my bench.

Hi Digerati, With Norton's Ghost you need to use the Norton's Removal Tool to completely uninstall. Then reinstall again. There is no installing over the top of the existing installation. But there is the option to save your images if you do uninstall and reinstall. This happened with upgrading from Ghost 10 to Ghost 12. However the backups are saved to a different folder in 12 as to 10 by default. In Ghost 10 they are saved to Ghost Points, and in Ghost 12 saved in Norton's Backups. The Analyst doing the work explained to me the images are completely different in Ghost 12, but gave me the option of saving them in whatever folder I like to nominate. I went with the default recommendation. Let us wait and see what my expert says re the HJT log. I imagine he will advise me to 'fix' that particular 023 and all will be well, but who am I to even assume that move? kind regards,

Hello all,

Just to update everyone that was interested in my nuisance problem. I went back through Symantec Support in Chenai India. An Analyst (Shashank) used remote logmein and fixed my problem in no time. Winpatrol was the culprit. To find this the Analyst did the following:

Disabled all services except for Symantec and Microsoft to check if other programs were causing the conflict.

Gave me this link for you all and advised you do the same if you want fast bootup with no load to carry. It was just a conflict between Winpatrol and Ghost 12 he said.

Best regards,

Great! I am glad you got it resolved and thanks for the followup.

I do have some followup concerns, to separate generalities from the specifics of this particular problem, while we're here.

With Norton's Ghost you need to use the Norton's Removal Tool to completely uninstall. Then reinstall again.

Sorry, but that lost me! If talking about repairing a corrupt installation of Ghost, then it seems you are saying exactly what I said earlier!

But if talking about a "matter of routine"…

Windows requires the option to uninstall all "installed" (not just copied, but added to the Registry) products, including Norton/Symantec products, through Control Panel's Add and Remove Software applet. For most big programs, all traces of the program are rarely completely removed. Instead, there are orphaned folders, files, and Registry entries. Except for taking up some drive space, these remnants go dormant (use 0 bytes of RAM) and cause no problems.

But as we know, historically, Norton/Symantec have done a notoriously lousy job of uninstalling properly. Unlike most other products, Norton products, when uninstalled, on some (more than a few!) computers, did not go dormant, but instead, continued to load, use system resources and interfered with the computer's operation. Not Cool!

After much upheaval from users and in the IT press, the Norton Removal Tool was created to finish the job if the uninstall module failed. The Removal Tool was not developed to be used as a "matter of routine".

To be fair to Symantec, too many times, Norton products were installed on broken machines, and the installations failed, making a complete uninstall impossible. The user may have been unaware of the PC's prior condition, or was installing Norton to fix it. In either case, it states clearly on the Norton Removal Tool page:

Use the Norton Removal Tool to remove a failed installation or a damaged Norton product.

Therefore, the normal procedure is to uninstall the product through the Control Panel's Add and Remove applet (or you can go through the Start Menu, if that option is there). If that fails, then use the Removal Tool to complete the task.

There is no installing over the top of the existing installation.

Ummm, sure there is. This is a very common method used to repair a corrupt installation of any program (drivers too), or to re-register a program with the Registry, such as when an installed program is moved to another location.

Having said all that if you mean you cannot upgrade G10 to G12 by installing G12 over G10, then I agree, you cannot install G12 over G10 - well, you can, but it will not be pretty. That said, under "Installing Norton Ghost" on page 25, Step 1, the Ghost User Guide says to,

"Uninstall any previous versions of Norton Ghost or Drive Image."

Winpatrol was the culprit.

Just what you would expect Symantec to say! As one in this industry when some new kid, Peter Norton, released his revolutionary Norton Utilities for DOS, destroying the original PC Tools, through its take over of McAfee, who until then dominated the AV market, it's success at blocking Microsoft's attempt to make XP more secure by including an integrated AV (not made by Norton), that is exactly what I would expect them to say. There is much history of it never being their fault.

My thoughts are this - why is an image "copy" program dinking with critical system files that a security program, such as WinPatrol, is monitoring for unauthorized "changes"? I note on the WinPatrol FAQ Page - Q13, it says,

WinPatrol works much differently than traditional Anti-Spyware & Security programs. We don't hook directly into any system resources and all system monitoring is done as read only operations. Many of our users also use programs from Norton, Sygate, McAfee, AVG, Panda, TrendMicro and no conflicts have been reported. Our users have also had success with Adaware, SpyBot as well as the highly recommended Zone Alarm.

Who's right? I don't know.

Accept there is a conflict, but not that it is WinPatrol's fault.

Hi Digerati,

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.

The fact that my initial problem is fixed is a joy.

As WinPatrol does not now show in my Systems Tray, it is not starting up on boot. I clicked on it this morning in programs to open it and check if all my delayed start up items were as I left them before the remote session with the Analyst. They were there, but immediately I did the nuisance warning re-appeared on the desktop. Certainly proves that WinPatrol is the culprit in my case.

Just for your interest although you most likely know all this and more, here are the steps I was taught to install and reinstall Ghost 10 - so it would apply to my current Ghost 12 as well:

• First take a good independent backup image with ghost 10 and verify it.
• Do a system restore point.
• Uninstall Ghost 10/12 through Add and Remove.
• Run Norton's Removal tool.
• Run Windows installer cleanup tool and cleanup any leftover Symantec Norton entries.
• Use Windows Explorer and Windows search function to manually look for folders that have Symantec, Norton, etc in them and delete them.
• Reinstall Ghost 10/12.
• Run Live Update to update Ghost 10 to 10.03.

The Analyst did not say it was WinPatrol's fault, he said that Ghost 12 and WinPatrol conflict. I want Ghost 12 to remain, so WinPatrol does not now startup at boot time.

Infact re startup, it is now very fast as there are no programs starting up at all outside Microsoft and my Antivirus, Ghost 12 and Firewall.

kind regards,

Interesting. Well, I think it proves there is a conflict between WinPatrol and ccapp.exe, a component used by several Norton products. Whether that proves WinPatrol is the culprit - that is, at fault, or it is something with the Norton product, I don't know. But I am glad you got it going just the same.