Windows desktop does not appear correctly, and you receive a "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc00000005)" error message after you enable the Norton CleanSweep Smart Sweep feature in Windows XP Service Pack 2

SYMPTOMS

When you reboot Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based PC you get following both symptoms, or when you log off and then log on the PC. These symptoms take place after you start the Smart Sweep quality in Norton CleanSweep:

• You get the following error message:
Explorer.exe - application Error

The application failed to initialize properly (0xc00000005).
Click OK to terminate the application.

• The Windows desktop does not show correctly and Windows can not be run.
CAUSE
This happens if all the following situations are right:

• Windows XP SP2 running on an AMD Athlon 64-based PC.

• Data Execution Prevention (DEP) switch enabled in the Boot.ini file.

• Norton CleanSweep organized to automatically load and monitor installations when Windows starts.

WORK AROUND

To work around this problem, turn off DEP in Windows, remove Norton SystemWorks, and then turn on DEP. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Windows in safe mode. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Start the PC, and then press F8 after the Power On Self Test (POST) is finished.
b. On the Windows Advanced Options Menu, use ARROW keys to choose Safe Mode, and press ENTER.
c. Use the ARROW keys to choose your Windows XP installation, and press ENTER.
d. Log on to the PC, and then click Yes to work in safe mode.

2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.

3. Change to the root directory of the hard disk where Windows is installed. Usually, this is drive C. To do this, type c:, press ENTER, type cd\, and press ENTER.

4. Type attrib -s -h boot.ini, and press ENTER to remove the hidden attribute and the system attribute from the Boot.ini file.

5. Click Start, click Run, type notepad c:\boot.ini, and then click OK. The Boot.ini file opens in Notepad.

6. Under [operating systems], copy the operating system path of your Windows installation, and then paste it under [operating systems].
7. In the newly-pasted operating system path, remove the following switch:
/noexecute=optin

8. Save your changes to the Boot.ini file, and then quit Notepad.

9. Restart the PC.

10. On the startup menu, use ARROW keys to select the second operating system item where you deleted the /noexecute=optin switch from the path, and press ENTER.

11. Log on to Windows, and then remove the Norton CleanSweep program.

12. Restart the PC, and then use Notepad to edit the Boot.ini file. Delete the second operating system path that you added in step 6.

13. Restore the hidden attribute and the system attribute to the Boot.ini file. For this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.

a. Change to the root directory of the hard disk where Windows is installed.
b. Type attrib +s +h boot.ini, and press ENTER.
c. Type exit, and press ENTER.

14. Restart the PC.