 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Norton Utilities 3.0 - YMMV Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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Last November I wrote about Norton Utilities (NU) 2.0. A month later,
Symantec released NU 3.0 (NU3). I will cover this new release in brief, emphasising the major changes. One of
our readers wrote to the Editor questioning my enthusiastic recommendation of NU2 and complained, in part,
that the program basically did "nothing". I will touch on that, also.
I reviewed the Windows 95 (NU3) component of the NU Gold Edition (a marketing coup that bundles Win 95, DOS,
Win 3.1 and NT in one box). Not only are the other platform versions numbered differently (NT 4.0 = NU 2.0;
DOS/Win 3.x = NU 8.0), but also they have fewer tools in the toolbox. While we don't expect the DOS versions
to have a Registry checker (a Windows 95 concept), for example, the NT version lacks many valuable features.
Check the side of the carton before considering a purchase for Windows NT.
NU is a virtual toolbox of programs ranging from "essential" to "optional", depending on your circumstances.
The tools in NU can be grouped into two broad categories:
- Repair/Recovery Tools
- Optimisation/Tune-Up Tools.
The main point to remember is that if you have NU 2.0 or earlier, uninstall it first. Then install NU3 and run LiveUpdate before running any NU3 component. This ensures that you have the latest patches. Better still, set your newsreader to subscribe to service.symantec.com and browse through the relevant newsgroups (every component seems to have its own newsgroup) and watch for references to some hardware you use, such as a graphics card, in case it is relevant.
What's new
WinDoctor checks the Registry and tells you if there is a problem, and its severity. While I have found competitive programs giving slightly overlapping diagnoses, and thus not perfect, I like the way Symantec has implemented this feature. I had no handy trashed disk, so the best I could manage were Medium warnings, usually the remnants of uninstalled programs. I like this program, compared to some others I have tested recently.
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Rescue Disk has been significantly enhanced to accommodate Iomega Zip
drives. This means you can save your vital files on one large, removable Zip disk that can boot directly into
Windows 95 whereas one can only boot to DOS from a multiple-floppy-disk equivalent. The manual mentions Jaz
drives in one place as being equivalent in purpose to Zip drives but as I have neither, I could not test this
feature.
LiveUpdate Pro (LUPro) is an Internet-based service from Symantec that claims to find updates for "hundreds"
of hardware drivers and software applications. You get a free, six-month subscription to it when you register
and cite the ID or number on the subscription card or coupon or certificate (the manual can't make up its
mind). Be sure not to discard the white card marked "Subscription Certificate" because that is your LUPro
entry ticket.
I was hoping to compare Cybermedia OilChange with LUPro but I couldn't, for unrelated reasons. I did compare
it with Quarterdeck TuneUp and the difference is baffling.
LUPro checked my PC and decided that the only software I needed to be updated was DirectX, Hyperterm, and
four Power Toys. By contrast, TuneUp found over 50, although I suspect it was overzealous in some instances,
for it found updates for things I've not heard of. I think some programs are hard to identify, because when I
was testing OilChange, I recall it finding "updates" that were already installed on my system.
Nevertheless, one recommendation bugged me. The DirectX update recommended by LUPro was 5.0a, size 231,552
bytes, file name DPLAY50A.EXE. TuneUp said I needed DirectX 5 and prescribed a file called DX5ENG.EXE, size
5,804,600 bytes. I am not happy about this. I mentioned this in the appropriate newsgroup and it wasn't
answered by a Symantec staffer. Another user thought that the first file is a "subupdate", to be used if I
had the second file. This can only mean one needs to use both programs and in the right order to get a
complete update picture.
Ironically, LUPro does not check, as yet, for updates to Symantec products! You must run the plain LiveUpdate
from each Symantec program to update them.
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Overall feeling
This is the first time I have been disappointed by a "Norton" product. Several other users have posted
similar sentiments about the continued use of Peter Norton's name and face on the box when he has no active
involvement with the software. Symantec President Gordon Eubanks confirmed this to us last November at
Comdex.
While it looks impressive to set up System Doctor to display all those gauges, it may annoy you as they go
about doing their work, particularly when they are checking various disk drives. Disk Doctor often has to
endure several automatic restarts because one of the sensors is writing to disk. This is all proper
behaviour, so you may want to go make a cup of coffee while your PC is booting up and set various sensors to
do their stuff while you are not at your desk.
Norton AntiVirus (NAV) Starter Edition (SE) caused some confusion because I was already running the full
product NAV 4.0 and the two programs' anti-virus definition update checkers couldn't agree who was boss.
Symantec online support staff asked me to disable the one from NAV SE, although I wish NU3 had been smart
enough not to install NAV SE at all.
CrashGuard 3.0 has a nice AntiFreeze feature that is best seen when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del. You can
"unfreeze" a locked application. To test this, I made sure no competing product was physically on my PC.
Unfortunately, I had my share of Blue Screens and complete lockups that needed a power reset of the PC. I
will ask another reviewer to test the free-standing release of this program for a second opinion and deeper
review.
I have not mentioned the other repair and preventive tools such as the essential Disk Doctor, which repairs
your disk because they all worked well for me and were covered in the review of NU2. Similarly, Speed Disk
does a fine job of defragmenting your disks. All such tools have been improved.
Does nothing?
Some users whose software and hardware configuration rarely changes, or who have managed to find entirely
bugfree products will say that the software "does nothing". Hey, that is good--a good diagnostic and repair
tool should do its work quietly, without alarming you. NU3 can ring an alarm and let you decide what to do,
but it can also work automatically if you feel you have no expertise to make that decision or if you trust
the product completely. I can confirm that, over the years, NU has repaired my scrambled disks reliably;
well, better than I could have, armed only with DOS.
Cautious recommendation
The heading of this article contains a common abbreviation found on Usenet: "YMMV", which means "Your
Mileage May Vary". NU3 appears to have been released in time for last Christmas. There have been some serious
bugs, as reported in the computer news media and although most seem to have been fixed through patches, the
shrinkwrap CD-ROMs may take some time to be updated.
NU3 is a useful program for any user who values his or her data. Ironically, be sure to download the latest
patch else you might have problems. Some problems require you to upgrade your browser (LUPro has some
conflicts with one file supplied with Internet Explorer 3.02, for instance, but the Symantec newsgroups tell
you how to resolve this).
Unfortunately, for Symantec, a few good competitors such as Cybermedia and Quarterdeck are offering strong
alternatives but with overlapping functionality, so I am reluctant to offer a resounding recommendation for
NU3. Nevertheless, it will remain on my PC for the foreseeable future.
Reprinted from the March 1998 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
