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Clarifying the setup problem resolution

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I hope the user who just wrote to me won't mind if I use him to help explain what to do if your install of the Windows SDK fails. I know that I may have been guity of some classic "inside Microsoft" thinking, so I wanted to clarify the instructions.

My instructions are:

Based on the logs and internal testing, it looks as if two of the MSIs we're chain installing are the problem. Here's the fix that I recommend:

  • Go into Add/Remove Programs
  • Uninstall Microsoft Command Shell
  • Uninstall .NET Compact Framework
  • Launch the January CTP setup

If you have had install problems in the past, can you please retry and let me know how this fix work?

The user asked:

Since neither of these are components that can be uninstalled from XP SP2, I don't understand the instructions. The CMD shell could perhaps be deleted by booting DOS. The .NET Framework is just the .NET Framework. I don’t know what the “Compact Framework” is.

...

User, I think you're running up against the problem of Microsoft naming products with similar names.

Microsoft Command Shell is not the default cmd window. It's a seperate application commonly called Monad that has different command shell attributes.

.NET Compact Framework is a subset of the greater .NET Framework targeting mobile devices. Usually when Visual Studio is installed, the Compact Framework is installed at the same time. However, it can be uninstalled seperately.

Both applications should be available in your Add/Remove Programs, and can be uninstalled individually.

Does that help?

Both of these installation issues will be resolved with the February CTP of the Windows SDK, which should be available in about three weeks.