How to create a network installation point for Visual Studio 2005 deployment (907964)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition

For a Microsoft Visual Studio .NET version of this article, see 307372.

SUMMARY

You can put an installation image of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 on a local area network (LAN) resource to provide better control to those users who have permission to install the product. This method of deployment can reduce the time that is required to install the product. Additionally, this method can reduce the occurrence of any problems that may be associated with the handling of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.

Note When you put the installation image on a shared LAN resource, such as a file server, you do not install the product on the server. You must install the product on individual client computers.

You can use a copy-and-paste operation in Microsoft Windows Explorer to copy the contents of the installation media to the hard disk of the LAN resource. However, the XCopy command has an advantage over a copy-and-paste operation. When you use the XCopy command, you can use the verify (/v) flag.

INTRODUCTION

Requirements

The following list outlines the recommended hardware, software, network infrastructure, and service packs that you need:
  • One or more of the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4), Professional or Server
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (SP2)
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2
  • Peer-to-Peer or Domain network
This article assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:
  • Best Practice installation methods
  • Networking issues that are related to connectivity, to shares, and to share permissions
  • How to run DOS commands at a command prompt

Copy-and-paste operation for DVD-ROMs

  1. Create a folder such as C:\Vsdotnet.
  2. Use Windows Explorer to view the contents of the DVD-ROM.
  3. In the right pane of Windows Explorer, click to select one item on the DVD-ROM, and then press CTRL+A to select all the contents of the DVD-ROM.
  4. Right-click the selected contents, and then click Copy to copy the contents of the DVD-ROM to the Clipboard.
  5. In Windows Explorer, open the folder that you created in step 1.
  6. Click in the right pane, and then press CTRL+V to paste the contents of the DVD-ROM from the Clipboard to the new folder.

XCopy command for DVD-ROMs

  1. Create a folder near the root folder of the destination drive. The name of this folder must have a maximum of eight characters and cannot contain spaces or special characters. A folder name such as C:\Vsdotnet\ is appropriate.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  3. Type the drive letter of the source drive. For example, if the DVD drive is drive R, type R:. Press ENTER.
  4. Type the following command, and then press ENTER. The destination folder in this command is C:\Vsdotnet. Modify this command to use the destination folder that you created in step 1.

    XCopy *.* c:\VSDOTNET\ /h /v /s

    Note The flags in this command are /h for hidden, /v for verify, and /s for subdirectories.

Copy-and-paste operation for CD-ROMs

  1. Create a folder such as C:\Vsdotnet.
  2. Create a subfolder for the Microsoft Windows Component Upgrade (WCU), such as C:\Vsdotnet\Wcu.
  3. Create a folder for the remaining numbered disks, such as C:\Vsdotnet\Vs.
  4. Use Windows Explorer to view the contents of the WCU CD-ROM.
  5. In the right pane of Windows Explorer, click to select one item on the CD-ROM, and then press CTRL+A to select all the contents of the CD-ROM.
  6. Right-click the selected contents, and then click Copy to copy the contents of the WCU CD-ROM to the Clipboard.
  7. In Windows Explorer, open the subfolder that you created in step 2.
  8. Click in the right pane, and then press CTRL+V to paste the contents of the WCU CD-ROM from the Clipboard to the new subfolder.
  9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 for each CD-ROM to copy all the contents of each numbered CD-ROM to the folder that you created in step 3. If a Confirm File Replace dialog box appears, click Yes to all.

XCopy command for CD-ROMs

  1. Create a folder near the root folder of the destination drive. The name of this folder must have a maximum of eight characters and cannot contain spaces or special characters. A folder name such as C:\Vsdotnet is appropriate.
  2. Create a subfolder for the Windows Component Upgrade (WCU), such as C:\Vsdotnet\Wcu.
  3. Create a folder for the remaining numbered disks, such as C:\Vsdotnet\Vs.
  4. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  5. Type the drive letter of the source drive. For example, if the CD drive is drive R, type R:. Press ENTER.
  6. Verify that the WCU CD-ROM is in the CD drive. Type the following command, and then press ENTER. The destination folder in this command is C:\Vsdotnet\Wcu. Modify this command to use the subfolder that you created in step 2.

    XCopy *.* c:\VSDOTNET\WCU\ /h /v /s

    Note The flags are /h for hidden, /v for verify, and /s for subdirectories.
  7. Verify that CD-ROM Disk #1 is in the CD drive. Type the following command, and then press ENTER. Modify this command to use the destination folder that you created in step 3.

    XCopy *.* c:\VSDOTNET\VS\ /h /v /s

  8. Repeat step 7 for the remaining numbered CD-ROMs. If a Confirm File Replace dialog box appears, click Yes to all.

Modify the Setup.ini file

  1. Right-click C:\Vsdotnet\Vs\Setup.ini, and then click Properties. Make sure that the Read Only check box is not selected.
  2. Open the C:\Vsdotnet\Vs\Setup.ini file by using a text editor such as Notepad.
  3. Make sure that the line under the [Baseline] section that starts with Dir= reads as follows:
    • For a DVD-ROM image
      Dir=.\
    • For a CD-ROM image
      Dir=..\
Users who have permission to install the product can now start Visual Studio 2005 Setup from one of the following locations:
  • For the DVD-ROM installation image:

    \\ServerName\Vsdotnet\Setup.exe

  • For the CD-ROM installation image:

    \\ServerName\Vsdotnet\Vs\Setup.exe

Note You must establish the share and the appropriate permissions for users to have access to these installation images.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:1/26/2006
Keywords:kbsetup kbhowto KB907964 kbAudITPRO