Help needed re: Norton Systemworks

s@sha

I hope someone can help me out. My husband installed a new hard drive in our PC a few days ago.  He then installed Norton Systemworks Professional 2004 from a CD which he bought on Ebay. We have always used Norton but apparently this was an updated version. The problem is that the first time he tried to activate it after installation by entering the Product Key, the following message came up:

'you have exceeded the number of allowable installations for this product. Please visit the website below'

At this point I'm not quit sure what he did...I presume he visited said website (whatever it was) and it wasn't any help. Upon trying to re-activate again, all we get now is 'a8 Key abuse' ,then the message 'There is a problem with your product key. Please visit the website below for customer support'

Then when you click on the link to the website and choose the 'English (Europe) option, it just says

'We cannot provide further information about this product.

You may have been the victim of software piracy and could be in possession of counterfeit software. If you believe that this is possible, please send an email to piracy@symantec.com and let us know which product you purchased, your activation/product key, and how and where you bought the product. Any contact information you provide will be kept confidential.

If you would like to purchase a new copy of the product, click here.'
My husband has emailed the email address given & had no response. The only phone number for technical support we can find to contact them says it will cost £18 to ring them up!

To me, the first thing that seems obvious is that it is something to do with the Ebay CD, but husband is adamant that it is 100% genuine. He is quite IT savvy and says he has already tested it on another system (though without actually activating it with the product key, as he didn't want it activated untill it he had installed the new hard drive)

Any suggestions? We only have a few days left before the thing shuts down altogether.

backflip

I've had exactly the same problem with an Ebay Norton AV . The seller offered me my money back or a new disc. Not a hard choice for me to make. ::)
He said it was due to leaked CD keys and and illegal key generators. Mmmm...maybe....but maybe he bought a job lot from some company which had installed norton under licence on its network and they were then left with some discs which became superfluous but by then Norton had them registered as part of the network.

s@sha

I've sorted it

I emailed the seller as I noticed from his feedback that he'd helped a few other buyers with activation problems. Must admit I thought we had a dodgy CD, but he replied straightaway with this:

'Hi,

99% of all installation problems are caused by software conflicts with existing software on your PC. Also some problems occur if you have had previous versions of the software on your PC not all files have been deleted. Sometimes files are left in the windows registry, which can cause problems. This has been causing one or 2 isolated problems with registering Norton 2004 products where it is stating that the product key has already been registered. I suggest the following:

1. Go to http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/ where you will find a very helpful support section.

2. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for there, then search the error messages you are receiving at the following link:

http://www.symantec.com/search/

3. Contact Symantec customer support from the following link: http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/cs_contact.html

I have had customers who had problems registering where Symantec have just reset their registration key. The customer services number is 08003316014 lines are open 0900 - 1700 hrs (for UK). If you are having problems with a product key just let them know you are having problems with it and they should reset it. Please note that on isolated occasions call centre staff have been unhelpful. When this has happened I have advised people to try again and on all occasions it has been sorted so I can only assume some people at Symantec don’t know how to help people. I can only advise to try again if this happens and if no joy please email me.

4. If still no joy then you will need to try the disk on another PC. If it works fine on that PC then you know the problem is your PC and not the software. If the software doesn't work on that then you know it's the software. If that is the case email me to let me know and I will arrange a replacement. Unfortunately I have to ask if you can check all these first as I do get a lot of errors reported which are not actually errors.

Regards,

Julius

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Having already tried his first 2 suggestions, I rang the CS number he provided ( couldn't find a British CS number on the Symantec website earlier) & a very nice Symantec lady reset the product key for me. All I had to do then was try activating again, & it worked. What a very helpful seller!

backflip

I'm glad you got your problem sorted, I possibly could have done but opted for the refund to be safe.

condyk

I recognise this ebay sellers name. I have bought several versions of this same software from him over last two years. He is probably the most organised and helpful seller I have encountered. Luckily, touch wood, I have not experienced this kind of issue. However, I am about to update several machines with latest version bought from him, so hopefully it will go well. Cheaper than the Symantec annual subscription and you get an upgrade too. Highlky recomended. BTW ... I have no association other than as a very happy buyer!