Symantec can't give me an answer on uninstalling its antivirus software, maybe you can?

I'm trying to uninstall my symantec antivirus software. It's 'version 9 or later' according to the error message I get, BUT, here's what I did. First, I tried to remove it in the add/remove panel (win xp). When the countdown for removal ended, instead of uninstalling, the time line backed-up, said I couldn't uninstall. Next, I went to norton symantec customer help. Got info. that I sould download the uninstall exe tool to my computer and uninstall it that way. Downloaded it, ran it, got the message 'you have symantec version 9 or later. You must first uninstall via the add/remove panel. Back to the add/remove panel. Same snafu. In other words, the instructions I'm getting on circular. Symantec charges $39.99 for live help. Don't want to pay to UNINSTALL a program. Now, I don't have a password or product key since the symantec came pre-installed. Any suggestions for a work-around? Visited the forum sites; couldn't find anything.