Aaron Stebner's WebLog
Thoughts about setup and deployment issues, WiX, XNA, the .NET Framework and Visual Studio
Download preview versions of Xbox LIVE community games created with XNA Game Studio
Xbox LIVE Community Games (with XNA Game Studio) were announced this morning in a Game Developers...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/21/2008
Links to information about Xbox LIVE Community Games and Zune development with XNA Game Studio
It has been an exciting day for the XNA team here at the Game Developers Conference in San...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/21/2008
How to perform a silent repair and uninstall of the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 and 3.0 SP1
Since the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 and 3.0 SP1 shipped (as prerequisites for the .NET Framework 3.5...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/19/2008
Game Developers Conference 2008, here we come!
As mentioned in this post on the XNA team blog, the 2008 Game Developers Conference will be...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/18/2008
Link to information about MyNetflix application for Windows Vista Media Center
I just noticed an interesting post on Ian Dixon's blog that I wanted to link to here. Anthony Park...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/13/2008
February 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista available for download
A new cumulative update package for Windows Vista Media Center has been released this week. This...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/13/2008
Possible issue installing the .NET Framework 3.5 on an XP Embedded image that includes the .NET Framework 2.0
Recently, a customer contacted me with a question about a .NET Framework 3.5 installation error they...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/11/2008
DUAScriptGen has been published on Codeplex
Mike Hall and I have decided to move the source code and releases for the DUAScriptGen power toy for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/08/2008
How to gather additional information in case XNA Game Studio 2.0 setup fails
Since XNA Game Studio 2.0 shipped back in December, we've heard of a few installation issues from...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/07/2008
Link to info about a new feature in WiX v3.0 to globally set the default compression level
Bob Arnson recently posted some information about a new feature he contributed to the WiX toolset...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/05/2008
TV Toolbox beta 4 now available for download
Beta 4 of TV Toolbox for Windows Vista Media Center has been released recently on the MCEDev.com...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/01/2008
Link announcing Big Screen Global web site and Big Screen Photos and Weather v2
Niall Ginsbourg announced the launch of his new Big Screen Global web site and the release of the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/31/2008
How to re-enable Windows Media Center in the Default Programs control panel on Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate
Yesterday, I posted some information about a Group Policy setting that can prevent Windows Media...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/29/2008
How to use Group Policy to enable and disable Windows Media Center in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions
Description of the issue Recently, I was contacted by a customer who is running Windows Vista Home...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/28/2008
.NET Framework 3.5 deployment guides have been published on MSDN
The official deployment guides for system administrators and application developers have been posted...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/25/2008
XNA Game Studio 2.0 product feedback survey now available on the Connect site
The XNA team has published a new survey on the Connect site to gather feedback about the XNA Game...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/22/2008
Creating an installable layout for the .NET Framework 3.5 that includes language packs
A little while ago, I posted this item on my blog that describes a potential issue when installing...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/21/2008
Link to Channel9 video about Windows Installer application compatibility issues on Windows Vista
A new Channel9 video has been posted that I wanted to link to here. The video is located at...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/18/2008
Some behind-the-scenes details about .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 and 3.0 SP1 setup
Since the .NET Framework 3.5 shipped, I've written a few blog posts about some of the setup and...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/17/2008
Link to more detailed notes about changes in the weekly WiX build
Over the weekend, I noticed a couple of posts on Bob Arnson's blog that I wanted to link to here....
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/14/2008
Web Authoring Component can fail during VS 2008 setup if Program Files has a trailing backslash
I heard from a customer who ran into an interesting issue during Visual Studio 2008 setup that I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/14/2008
How the full install packages for the .NET Framework 3.0 and the .NET Framework 3.5 differ
Question: When the .NET Framework 3.0 shipped, 3 packages were made available for download - a 2.8...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/11/2008
Votive in WiX v3.0 now supports Visual Studio 2008
Since Visual Studio 2008 shipped last November, I have been asked a few times via my blog about...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/09/2008
Why XNA Game Studio 2.0 setup switched from using WiX v2.0 to using WiX v3.0
The MSIs for the XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 and 1.0 Refresh releases were created using WiX v2.0....
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/07/2008
Link to .NET Framework 3.5 readme with known installation issues
I often receive emails and blog comments from customers who are having trouble installing the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/03/2008
Link to knowledge base article describing how to repair Windows Vista OS files
I have previously posted some instructions (here and here) that can be used to verify and attempt to...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/21/2007
Creating an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1
I recently posted a set of instructions for creating an administrative install point for the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/20/2007
.NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 setup can fail on Windows XP and Server 2003 if the Print Spooler is not started
I just noticed this post on Aaron Ruckman's blog and wanted to link to it here to help raise...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/19/2007
Possible Silverlight install failure during VS 2008 Express Edition setup
The final releases of the Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions include an optional step to install...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/18/2007
Creating an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1
A while back, I posted some instructions that can be used to create an administrative install point...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/16/2007
How to create an installable layout for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1
A couple of weeks ago, I posted some notes about creating an installable layout for the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/14/2007
XNA Game Studio 2.0 setup can display an error requesting source files in some scenarios
Since the final version of XNA Game Studio 2.0 was announced earlier today, we have heard from a few...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/13/2007
More info and a tool for uninstalling previous betas and release candidates of Visual Studio 2008
I have seen several reports of issues related to uninstalling a beta or release candidate build of...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/13/2007
Final version of XNA Game Studio 2.0 now available for download
As described in this post on the XNA team blog, the final version of XNA Game Studio 2.0 is now...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/13/2007
Links to Visual Studio 2008 setup known issues and troubleshooting information
There are a couple of links that I want to post here in the hopes of making them easier to find for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/10/2007
Possible workaround for errors during installation of Document Explorer 2005 and 2008
Every once in a while, I hear from a customer who has encountered an error while trying to install...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/10/2007
Possible .NET Framework 3.5 installation warnings on non-English operating systems
The .NET Framework 3.5 is packaged as a core package that includes language-neutral binaries and...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/07/2007
Link to feedback request for Visual Studio installation and deployment scenarios
Aaron Ruckman has posted a request for feedback on his blog at...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/05/2007
Updated version of the .NET Framework cleanup tool that can remove the .NET Framework 3.5 RTM
I've posted an updated version of the .NET Framework cleanup tool that contains the following...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/04/2007
How to create an installable layout for the final release of the .NET Framework 3.5
Back when the .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 was released, I posted this item on my blog describing how...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/03/2007
Link to information about a .NET Framework 3.5 setup verification tool
One of my colleages, Aaron Ruckman, has created and posted a tool that can be used to verify the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/30/2007
Updated sample code that can detect the .NET Framework 3.5
Now that the .NET Framework 3.5 has been released, I have posted an updated version of the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/30/2007
New CTP of Visual Studio Team System Code Name Rosario now available with built-in WiX support
Jeff Beehler posted an item on his blog today announcing the availability of the Visual Studio Team...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/28/2007
VS 2008 Media Center Application project template installation issue in the Media Center SDK 5.3
There is a bug in the installation logic for the recently released Windows Vista Media Center SDK...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/28/2007
Voting now open for the Media Center Show Awards 2007
Ian Dixon posted an item on his blog indicating that the voting for the Media Center Show Awards...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/27/2007
Visual Studio setup /createtransform mode fails when the source files are marked read-only
Recently, a customer reported an issue to me with Visual Studio 2005 setup, and I have verified that...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/25/2007
Visual Studio 2008 SDK and Visual Studio 2008 shell now available for download
Earlier this week, the final versions of Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 were...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/21/2007
Visual Studio and .NET Framework setup log collection tool
I previously wrote about a log collection tool that will automatically gather and cab up Visual...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/21/2007
XNA Game Studio 2.0 beta now available for download
As noted in this post on the XNA team blog, the XNA Game Studio 2.0 beta is now available for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/19/2007
Windows Vista Media Center SDK version 5.3 now available for download
A refreshed version of the Windows Vista Media Center SDK (version 5.3) has been released for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/19/2007