I have been given a PC running XP SP3 to fix that has had McAfee installed on 26th Dec 2012.
Since the installation it did an update at the time but after a reboot has not managed to connect to the internet at all.
The network adapter reports it is connected but cannot obtain an IP address, looking in Services quite a few essential services aren't running and won't start. I have read numerous threads going back years and it seems that McAfee was a poor choice by the consumer. I have tried turning off the firewall, checking for lockdown, restoring default settings, all sorts of suggestions but couldn't get anything to work and allow a connection. So I have uninstalled the suite and rebooted and the internet works perfectly first go. Have informed the owner of all of this and am awaiting their account password to allow me to try and re-install it again myself and watch, and answer, any installation questions.
If it fails again I assume she can obtain a full refund for having been sold a defective product ?
Full refunds are offered up to 30 days after purchase I believe but she must contact Customer Service about that, linked under Useful Links at the top of this page. I'm wondering if simply going into PC and Home Network Tools in SecurityCenter and trusting the network might be all that was needed. But also in Firewall the browser(s) would all have have full permission under Web and Email Protection > Firewall > Internet Connection for Programs.
Technical Support could have probably helped with this in the first instance as they are available by telephone free of charge, also through Useful Links.
Something strange going on there because McAfee only reads network connections from Windows Network and Sharing Center. I'm wonderring if previous security software was properly uninstalled.
Thank you for the information of the 30 days refund policy, I shall pass that on.
I have tried everything I know (gained over the last 30 years) to resolve the problem including your suggestions. I was at one point optimistic when resetting the Default settings and basic network programs appeared in the program list with full access when they hadn't been there before. That was short lived.
I also wondered if the previous uninstallation of Norton 360 had gone wrong and caused the problem but that uninstall seems to have gone smoothly and internet access was still working after that. McAfee used it to access the internet and perform an update. Sadly it all points to McAfee causing the problem and now McAfee has gone it works fine.
I tried Safe Mode with Networking but that didn't work, I also saw that McAfee was still running services in Safe Mode. IPCONFIG didn't work in a Command Prompt window. The conclusion I came to was that something very low-level in McAfee was playing Gandalf (You shall not pass).
Did you use the Norton Removal Tool after uninstalling it? http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?lc=1033&id=TS101508
Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 10/01/13 5:28:29 EST PMOther than that all I can suggest is to uninstall the nhetwrok adapter and let Windows find it again and hopefully this time McAfee will see it.
I didn't witness the Norton 360 uninstall but I doubt the Removal tool has been used but I have checked for remnants of Norton (having been given PCs with their problems in the past) and have had to use it in the past when an uninstall didn't clear it all, but this one seemed well cleaned.
Thank you for the link to TS101508. It says "McAfee recently issued a software update that resulted in some customers experiencing a loss of Internet connectivity." but there is no date anywhere on the page so what is 'recent' ? Without a date how would I know what is recent or is this something that happens all the time so is always recent ?
Also, the only browser error is that it cannot display the web page because there is no internet connection. The network icon in the system tray shows a connection but no traffic, it will only complain if I pull the cable out.
Thanks for your help but until I can perform an install for myself I won't be able to check anything further. If I haven't had a reply to my request for the account password by the morning I'll install a free anti-virus/firewall and see how that works.
I withdrew that TS when I realised it was inapplicalke, sorry about that. What happens with you run a diagnosis in the right-click of the network icon by the clock?
Okay, no problem.
Do you mean if I click on Repair ?
It fails to repair because a service(s) is not running (sorry can't remember exact error). Looking in Services I found quite a few services not running and tried to get them started but they wouldn't (Error 1068). I found a McAfee advisory about how to start a list of services that needed to be started, some would but others wouldn't (and yes I went back and tried re-starting after getting the others started). The services happily run after removing McAfee, didn't have to do anything.
Am in the UK and have work in the morning so off to bed now, will check back in the morning.
I'm wondering if this customer has been using registry cleaners as this sounds awfully like it. I'm casting my mind back to the days before I became so ferociously opposed to them and it was Registry Mechanic that ate my Intel ProSet network connection software/drivers/the lot.. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to use its restore function immediately and all was well again.
Has the appropriate software been installed for the network connection, whatever it is? XP isn't very good at finding anything but the most basic drivers and I do know I had to physically install my network adapter's software otherwise it wouldn't work or wouldn't work properly, basic drivers only didn't cut it.
Right now the only XP I have is a VM installed within Vista so I can't really compare notes as it borrows everything from the host system.
You could always phone support.
.
Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 10/01/13 6:32:28 EST PM
You could also open SecurityCenter > Navigation > Quarantined and Trusted Items and see if by any chance something vital was mislabelled as an infection.
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