BleepingComputer.com: Can I use Visual Basic 2008 Express with Windows 7 RC x64?

I'm trying to install Visual Basic 2008 Express on a computer running Windows 7 RC 64-bit. I'm having many problems (basically package load errors, I believe), and before I start posting for help with those I need to know if VB2008 EE can even run on my machine.

The system requirements (http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7648111) don't say if Windows 7 is a supported OS, but is that because the document hasn't been updated? Or VB2008 EE can't be used in Windows 7 even though it can be in Vista?

It should run just fine. Do you have a debugger enabled when trying to install? What are the error messages specifically? Are you installing as an admin?

I ran the Setup as Administrator. You know how there's a list of components that are installed in order? The VB Express Edition component gives the error "The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2003". Then there's a Windows error message saying that Setup has stopped working, with this report:
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: VisualStudio8Setup
Problem Signature 01: 10859
Problem Signature 02: 9.0.30729.01_ORCAS_X86_NET
Problem Signature 03: MSI
Problem Signature 04: INST
Problem Signature 05: F
Problem Signature 06: CreateFolders
Problem Signature 07: -
Problem Signature 08: 1603
Problem Signature 09: -
Problem Signature 10: -
OS Version: 6.1.7100.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
LCID: 1033
Finally, there's a VB message saying that couldnt' install five other components (4 of which were related to SQL Server) either.



I get similar messages when I try running the Unistaller or the Repair.

I can open the main VB screen, but when I try to do anything I get the message: "Package Load Failure. Package <'Visual Studio Debugger' or other component>).

When I try to open an existing project, I get "The project system components are not installed on this computer. Please reinstall Visual Studio." I've tried that, of course.

Are you trying to install the package in somewhere other than the default location?

No.

I tried it again. Now every component installed but Visual Basic and SDK for Win32

This post has been edited by shawnvw: 27 December 2009 - 11:49 PM

Crap. I meant to ask whether or not you had an anti-virus (not a debugger) installed, and if it was enabled at the time?

yes, I had AVG Free version installed. I'll try it again in Safe Mode

This post has been edited by shawnvw: 28 December 2009 - 02:18 AM

I downloaded and install Visual Studio 2010 Express Beta 2 on my Vista laptop the other day and that works ok. What operating systems are supported? Mind you its just as crap as Visual Studio 2008 Express.

Tried it in Safe Mode. It still doesn't work. I still get Error 2330 when installing, But now when I try to uninstall it, I get an Error 1310

Oh, I have .NET Framework 1.1. I'll update it to 3.5.1.

And I don't have Windows Installer 5.0, which is the only version that works on Windows7, but I can't find out if I can download it. It's not at Microsoft's Download Center.

This post has been edited by shawnvw: 29 January 2010 - 12:03 AM

SOLVED.

I doubt that anyone else's installation problem has this exact same cause, but maybe my solution will give others ideas about solving theirs.

At one point, when the Setup failed, and the Feedback window was going to send some info to Microsoft about it, I clicked the link that offered to show me what files it was sending. One of the files was: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\VSW1\VSSWMSIFailInfo.txt

Since that sounded like it would contain error information, I opened and read it. The part I found interesting was a line describing the 2330 error: it referred to a subfolder of C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\. I tried to open that folder, only to be told it was corrupted. Aha! Of course it couldn't read or write any files there.

I tried renaming the folder, so that the next time I ran Setup, it would hopefully recreate a new version of the folder with the correct name. It didn't work. So the next time I ran Setup, I simply installed everything to a new folder location, bypassing the existing files. That worked.

I'd like to know the best way to delete the old partial install -- is it safe to just delete the old folders?

This post has been edited by shawnvw: 29 January 2010 - 03:12 AM

Yes, you should be able to just delete the folders without any effects on your program.

However, you may encounter errors, given that you mentioned that the folders were corrupt. In that case, try a program called Unlocker. It should be able to delete the folders for you.