Aaron Stebner's WebLog
Thoughts about setup and deployment issues, WiX, XNA, the .NET Framework and Visual Studio
Online Spotlight has been updated in Windows Media Center for Windows Vista
As several folks have already noted (including Ian Dixon in this blog post and Niall Ginsbourg in...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/18/2007
Mailbag: How to detect the presence of the VC 8.0 runtime redistributable package
Question: I am building an installer that will include the Visual C++ (VC) 8.0 runtime files...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/16/2007
Updated versions of Big Screen Headlines and mceBackup now available for download
I previously posted introductions to 2 Windows Media Center applications for Windows Vista - Niall...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/15/2007
Information about Windows Vista Multilingual User Interface (MUI)
I recently found some really useful information about multilingual user interface (MUI) features in...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/13/2007
Problems with custom actions that depend on the Visual C++ 8.0 runtime files on Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
I recently heard about a couple of scenarios that were causing problems for folks creating MSI-based...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/09/2007
Mailbag: How to launch an EXE from within Windows Media Center
Question: I have written an executable that I want to be able to run as a Windows Media Center...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/07/2007
Why .NET Framework 3.0 language packs will not install correctly on Windows Vista
I previously wrote a blog post describing why the MSI-based .NET Framework 2.0 language packs do not...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/04/2007
Links to detailed information about Visual Studio 2005 SP1 setup
Heath Stewart has written several very useful blog posts about Visual Studio 2005 SP1 that I wanted...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/03/2007
Why .NET Framework 2.0 language packs will not install correctly on Windows Vista
Michael Kaplan wrote a blog post a while back that described an algorithm for enumerating installed...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/01/2007
Possible issue with Media Center hosted HTML applications on 64-bit Windows Vista
A possible problem currently exists for hosted HTML applications in Windows Media Center for Windows...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/20/2006
Final version of Visual Studio 2005 SP1 has been released
The final version of Visual Studio 2005 service pack 1 has been made available for download. You can...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/16/2006
Bug in Votive can prevent culture settings from taking effect when building an MSI
Recently, I posted a set of instructions for creating an MSI-based installer for a Windows Media...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/15/2006
Some useful things I have learned about Windows Installer and UAC
Recently, I was helping a customer investigate an issue in an MSI-based installer that they created...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/14/2006
Sneak preview of a new Media Center application - Big Screen TV Series
Niall Ginsbourg from Mobilewares is working on another Windows Media Center application for Windows...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/12/2006
Converting the Q sample application setup to use WiX v3.0 and Votive
I previously posted an example of how to use WiX to build an MSI-based installer for a Windows Media...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/11/2006
Windows Media Center SDK documentation for Windows Vista now available on MSDN
I just noticed today that the documentation included in the help file that ships in the Windows...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/09/2006
New MSDN Forums for Windows XP Embedded
A new set of MSDN Forums have been created to discuss Windows XP Embedded issues. If you have any...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/08/2006
Application compatibility white paper for Media Center HTML applications on Windows Vista
A white paper has recently been published that outlines development, design and deployment...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/08/2006
How to resolve ehExtHost crashes that can occur when launching Media Center
I have heard from a few customers in recent weeks who received an error dialog every time they...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/08/2006
Mailbag: How to install the .NET Framework but not configure ASP.NET
Question: I have a production server that is running Windows Server 2003. This OS comes with the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/06/2006
Mailbag: What issues can I expect to see when using Visual Studio on Windows Vista?
Question: I have seen some of your previous blog posts (such as this and this) regarding...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/05/2006
Media Center Presentation Layer Web Applications in action - Mobilewares Online Showcase
Niall Ginsbourg of Mobilewares has posted an interesting entry on the Big Screen Blog that I wanted...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/03/2006
UAC prompt from unidentified publisher appears when uninstalling MSIs on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
We ran into an issue while testing the final build before we released the Windows Media Center SDK...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/03/2006
How to determine whether or not a VS 2002 or VS 2003 product is installed on a computer
A while back, I wrote this blog post that listed registry values that could be used to detect the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/01/2006
Return codes for .NET Framework 3.0 setup
A while back, I posted a list of possible return codes for the .NET Framework 2.0. I recently found...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/29/2006
Windows Vista OS image creation and deployment guide
I was looking at some of the Windows Vista information on the main Microsoft site this weekend, and...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/28/2006
Design considerations for Windows Media Center applications on 64-bit operating systems
A little while ago, I wrote this blog post describing some changes that were made to the Q podcast...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/26/2006
Disabling services with MSConfig to work around setup failures
I was talking recently with a colleague who works on the .NET Framework setup and Windows Installer...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/25/2006
Updated warning - .NET Framework 3.0 cleanup tool removes MSDN and SQL Express
Yesterday, I posted a warning that the .NET Framework 3.0 pre-release version uninstall tool will...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/21/2006
Media Center Show Extra #4 - the Z sample application
Ian Dixon wrote a blog post over the weekend on the Media Center Show site about the new Z sample...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/20/2006
Warning - .NET Framework 3.0 cleanup tool removes final release of SQL Express
When preparing to install the final version of the .NET Framework 3.0 on a system, it is necessary...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/20/2006
New Windows Media Center applications for Windows Vista from OABsoftware
OABsoftware has released 3 new Windows Media Center applications for Windows Vista. All 3 are...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/20/2006
How the Q sample application was redesigned to support Media Center Extenders
The Windows Media Center SDK for Windows Vista was released yesterday. One of the changes that was...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/20/2006
How to automatically suppress application compatibility warnings on Windows Vista
Recently, a fellow employee contacted me with a question about unattended installation of Visual...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/18/2006
Final version of Windows Media Center SDK for Windows Vista available for download!!
Today is a really exciting day for me. After a lot of work, a ton of great beta feedback and a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/17/2006
Using and customizing the Visual Studio 2005 setup bootstrapper
As many of you probably already know, Visual Studio 2005 ships with a setup bootstrapper that can be...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/17/2006
How to fix error code 25015 with access denied message during .NET Framework 2.0 setup
Recently, I saw a post on the MSDN .NET Framework Setup Forum indicating that a customer was having...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/15/2006
Mailbag: More information about Workflow extensions for VS 2005 setup
Question: I would like to automate the installation of the Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2006
New Windows Media Center development blog by Niall Ginsbourg
Niall Ginsbourg, the developer behind several Windows Media Center applications, including Big...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/12/2006
Complete list of keyboard shortcuts that can be used in Windows Media Center
The Windows Media Center user interface is optimized for television displays and remote...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/11/2006
White paper with UAC development information for Windows Vista
Recently, a friend of mine asked me a question about an installer that his team was working on. They...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/11/2006
More details about how .NET Framework 2.0 setup reduces system reboots
A while back, Quan To posted an item on his blog that briefly described a project he worked on to...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/10/2006
Clarification about .NET Framework 3.0 detection registry key on a 64-bit OS
There is information in the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 deployment guide that describes how to read...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/09/2006
How to fix Application Data folder error when launching Visual Studio 2005 on Windows Vista
I have heard of a few instances recently where customers have installed Visual Studio 2005 on...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/08/2006
Windows SDK for Windows Vista has been released
Today has been an exciting day for developers. First, the final version of the .NET Framework 3.0...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/08/2006
The final version of the .NET Framework 3.0 is now available for download
I'm sure this is already old news by now, but the final version of the .NET Framework 3.0 has been...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/07/2006
Download Visual Studio 2005 hotfixes without contacting Microsoft Developer Support
I just heard about a pilot project that was introduced this past week and I wanted to let folks know...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/04/2006
Why to not use gacutil.exe in an application setup
I read the article titled Using the .NET fusion API to manipulate the GAC yesterday. That article...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/04/2006