How to troubleshoot the MSDN Library installation in Visual Studio 2008

This article describes the best practices for troubleshooting the MSDN Library installation in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. This article also describes general steps for locating log files.

Most installations of the MSDN Library are perfomed as expected. The Microsoft Windows Installer is used to install these products. This is the same installation engine that most Microsoft applications use. Therefore, the installation should go smoothly. That is, the installation should create the required log files. Additionally, the installation should perform installation rollbacks if potential problems are detected. You can prevent many problems by using best-practices installation methods. You should consider using best-practices installation methods for all installations.

Steps for best-practices installation methods

Guidelines

For computers that are running Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003, best-practices installation methods include the following:

• Use the Local Administrator account.
  By using the Local Administrator account, you prevent permissions issues and rights issues. You should use this account when you install, remove, or repair programs on computers that are running Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.
• Close any applications before you run the installation.
  The installation process for the MSDN Library installation in Visual Studio 2008 may update files that are also used by other applications. For example, the installation process may update files that are used by Visual Studio 2008. To make sure that the installation process is successful, you should close all applications before you run the installation process.
• Temporarily disable any virus-scanning programs before you run the installation.
  Virus-scanning programs can sometimes interfere with the successful installation of the MSDN Library. To make sure that the installation is complete, you should temporarily disable or stop all virus-scanning programs.

Installation

During the installation of the MSDN Library in Visual Studio 2008, several prerequisites are installed. These prerequisites include the Microsoft .NET Framework and Document Explorer. Depending on your operating system, the installation process may require that you restart the computer. You can find prerequisite packages in the WCU folder of the MSDN Library layout.

You should not have any beta or release candidate version of Visual Studio 2008 or of the MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 installed on the computer. If you have these products installed, you must uninstall them and their components before you install the release version of the MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008.

The setup executable file for the MSDN Library in Visual Studio 2008 is named Setup.exe. This file is located in the root folder of the MSDN Library DVD-ROM installation media and in the MSDN folder of the Visual Studio 2008 DVD-ROM installation media.

By default, verbose logging is turned on for the MSDN Library installation in Visual Studio 2008. The log files that are created and the locations of these files are listed in the table in the "Component files and logs" section.

Component files and logs

The following table lists each component, its location on the installation media, and the log file that is generated. Note The placeholders * and **** represent a randomly generated suffix.

During the MSDN Library installation in Visual Studio 2008, the log files are located in the %temp% directory. For example, the log files may be in the following location: After the MSDN Library installation in Visual Studio 2008 is complete, the log files are located in the Logs directory in the folder in which Visual Studio 2008 is installed. For example, the log files may be in the following location: After the failure of an MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 installation or after the removal of the MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008, the log files are left in the %temp% directory.

Error messages

During setup, the following error messages may be displayed in an error dialog box. Or, they may be written to the installation log file.

Error message 1This error has been reported to occur occasionally during the installation of the MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008. This error may occur when Setup is run from an ISO image that has been mounted as a drive within a VPC or when the installation is run from a network share.

To work around this issue, copy the files from the MSDN image to a local folder, and then run Setup from that location.

Error message 2This error occurs when the NSList.hxl file has become corrupted. The NSList.hxl file is the common help data file that is used by many Microsoft applications.

To work around this issue, contact Microsoft Support for more information.

Error message 3You receive this error message when the installation for the MSDN Library in Visual Studio 2008 is complete, and you are opening the MSDN Library. This error occurs when the NSLIST.HXL file has become corrupted.

To work around this issue, contact Microsoft Support for more information.

Error message 4This error may occur when you have installed the MSDN Library on a Windows Vista-based computer. The setup for the MSDN Library in Visual Studio 2008 may be complete. However, you receive the error message when you open the MSDN Library.

To work around this issue, temporarily turn off the User Access Control in Windows Vista, and then open the MSDN Library. To temporarily turn off User Account Control, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts, and then click User Accounts again on the following screen.
3. Click Turn User Account Control on or off. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. Click to clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK.
   
   Note After you take this action, you may be prompted to restart your computer.
5. Open the MSDN Library.
6. Turn on the User Account Control by following steps 1 through 3
7. Click to clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK.
   
   Note After you take this action, you may be prompted to restart your computer.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to contact Microsoft support, visit the following Microsoft Web site: