Aaron Stebner's WebLog
Thoughts about setup and deployment issues, WiX, XNA, the .NET Framework and Visual Studio
Creating an installer that includes a Visual Studio bootstrapper package and an MSI built with WiX 3.0
A few days ago, I wrote a blog post describing how to create an MSI-based installer for a Windows...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/21/2008
Online documentation is now available for XNA Game Studio 3.0
Yesterday, the publishing process was completed for the online version of the XNA Game Studio 3.0...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/19/2008
Creating an MSI-based installer for the XNA Game Studio 3.0 platformer starter kit
I previously wrote an introductory post describing Windows game deployment features that are a part...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/17/2008
New samples available for XNA Game Studio 3.0 and how to upgrade existing XNA Game Studio 2.0 samples
Earlier this week, we released updated versions of the existing XNA Game Studio starter kits on the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2008
How to target the .NET Framework 2.0 instead of 3.5 in a Windows game created with XNA Game Studio 3.0
By default, when you create a new Windows game project in XNA Game Studio 3.0, it will target the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/12/2008
Mailbag: How to detect the .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 or greater in an MSI-based installer
Question: I have an application that requires the .NET Framework 2.0 SP2. I would like to author a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/11/2008
Updated XNA Game Studio 3.0 starter kits are now available for download
To go along with the recent release of the final version of XNA Game Studio 3.0, we have posted a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/10/2008
Possible issue with ClickOnce publishing using a project created with the XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP
If you are using ClickOnce to deploy a Windows game created with XNA Game Studio 3.0, you might run...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/03/2008
Introduction to Windows game deployment features in XNA Game Studio 3.0 and 3.1
Note - I originally wrote this post when we released XNA Game Studio 3.0, but the content of this...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/31/2008
Final version of XNA Game Studio 3.0 now available for download
As announced today in this news item on the Creators Club site and on this post on the XNA team...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/30/2008
Visual Studio 2010 CTP that includes WiX 3.0 support is now available for download
As a part of PDC 2008, a community technology preview of Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/29/2008
Links to information about Media Center features in Windows 7
There has been some early information about Windows 7 presented at PDC 2008 this week. Of particular...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/28/2008
Links to information about best practices for creating Xbox LIVE community games
A couple of weeks ago, a Best Practices for Community Games guide was published on the Creators Club...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/24/2008
Link to more detailed information about cross-platform development in XNA Game Studio 3.0
Last week, I posted some high-level details about a couple of new Visual Studio features that are...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/20/2008
Mailbag: How to retain user-customized files during a Windows Installer major upgrade
Question: I have an application that installs some .config files that users can customize. I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/19/2008
The final release of XNA Game Studio 3.0 is coming on October 30th
There was an announcement on the XNA team blog earlier this week about a couple of upcoming release...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/16/2008
October 2008 Cumulative Update packages for Media Center available for download
A couple of new cumulative update package for Windows Media Center have been released this week. The...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/14/2008
.NET Framework cleanup and verification tools now support 2.0 SP2, 3.0 SP2 and 3.5 SP1
Right after the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 shipped, I updated the .NET Framework cleanup tool and the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/13/2008
.NET Framework Setup Verification Tool User's Guide
.NET Framework Setup Verification Tool User's Guide Introduction This .NET Framework setup...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/13/2008
VS bootstrapper packages for .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP2 available for download
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 shipped with a bootstrapper package for the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. ...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/12/2008
New Visual Studio features in the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta - multiple content projects and cross-platform synchronization
There are a couple of new features that have been added in the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta that are...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/10/2008
Link to information about the upcoming new 3.0 version of XNA Game Studio Connect
My colleague Michael Klucher posted some screenshots and details on his blog about the new version...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 10/08/2008
Link to more details about Zune game development and memory considerations in XNA Game Studio 3.0
Nazeeh, a colleague of mine, has posted a great article on his blog that I wanted to link to here....
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/30/2008
Upgrading XNA Game Studio projects for use in the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta
One of the new features in the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta is an automated process to upgrade your XNA...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/26/2008
Possible problem adding a Zune in Device Center on a 64-bit OS using the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta
Description of this issue We received a bug report last week from a customer who was unable to add a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/22/2008
Link to a survey about .NET Framework deployment experiences
Peter Marcu has posted a survey on his blog that I wanted to link to here in order to try to help...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/21/2008
ClickOnce publishing integration and improved Windows game deployment in XNA Game Studio 3.0
Important note: The information in this blog post is specific to the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta. There...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/18/2008
Links to posts with more details about some new features in the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta
With the release of the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta, some of my colleagues have started posting...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/18/2008
XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta is now available for download
As announced today on this post on the XNA team blog, the XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta is now available...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/16/2008
XNA Game Studio 3.0 beta is coming soon
As noted in this post on the XNA team blog earlier today, the beta version of XNA Game Studio 3.0 is...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/13/2008
Possible cause of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 OS update failures with error code 0x8000ffff
Recently, I was helping a colleague troubleshoot an installation error in the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/10/2008
Naming an assembly incorrectly when creating an MSI can cause a 1935 error with HRESULT 0x80131047
Recently, I heard from a customer who was attempting to create an MSI-based installer using WiX...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/04/2008
XNA Game Studio talks from Gamefest 2008 are now available for download
The audio files for talks given by members of the XNA Community Gaming Platform team at Gamefest...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 09/03/2008
Link to .NET Framework Cleanup Tool User's Guide
I have posted several items on my blog in the past about the .NET Framework cleanup tool. The...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/29/2008
.NET Framework Cleanup Tool User's Guide
.NET Framework Cleanup Tool User's Guide Introduction This .NET Framework cleanup tool is designed...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/28/2008
Issue installing the .NET Framework 3.5 or 3.5 SP1 on checked or pre-release builds of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
I have heard from a couple of customers who ran into issues installing the .NET Framework 3.5 and/or...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/25/2008
Mailbag: How to create a Visual Studio project to compile the sample .NET Framework detection code
Question: I have downloaded both versions of the sample .NET Framework version detection code...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/18/2008
Link to pre-order Sara Ford's Microsoft Visual Studio Tips book and help Katrina survivors
Sara Ford posted an item on her blog this week that I want to link to here to hopefully help raise...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/15/2008
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Visual Studio 2008 SP1 download and troubleshooting links
As noted earlier today in this post on Soma's blog, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Visual Studio...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/11/2008
Enabling in-place assembly upgrades using Windows Installer and WiX
Recently, I tried to create a Windows Installer major upgrade for an MSI that I was working...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/10/2008
Possible cause of and workaround for XNA Game Studio Device Center crashes
We have heard from some customers about problems while using the XNA Game Studio Device Center to...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/08/2008
Added Windows LIVE Web page translator to my blog for quick automatic translations of posts
Earlier this week, a friend of mine let me know about the Windows LIVE Web page translator. I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/07/2008
How to uninstall the components of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
Question: As described in this blog post, I have been evaluating the beta of the .NET Framework 3.5...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/01/2008
How to use WiX to create an MSI-based installer that will install the DirectX 9.0 redistributable
As noted in the Highlights of WiX v3.0.4311.0 post on Bob Arnson's blog, Neil Enns recently...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 08/01/2008
Link to System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 that can help fix OS update install errors
I have heard from several customers in the past who have had issues installing hotfixes or updates...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/28/2008
Links to 3 new community spotlight features on the XNA Creators Club Web site
Three new community spotlight features were posted today on the XNA Creators Club Web site, and I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/25/2008
Some notes about OS installation conditions in Media Center application setup files
Recently, I noticed this post on the Big Screen Blog where Niall Ginsbourg talks about some changes...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/24/2008
Link to MSDN topic with descriptions of all Win32 error codes
I recently discovered a useful topic that was published on MSDN as a part of the Open Specifications...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/24/2008
More details about Xbox LIVE Community Games
Additional information was announced this morning at Gamefest about Xbox LIVE Community Games. This...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/22/2008
Scenarios where .NET Framework 3.5 setup tries to connect to the Internet and how to avoid them
The setup program for the .NET Framework 3.5 and the Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions contains...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 07/17/2008