Aaron Stebner's WebLog
Thoughts about setup and deployment issues, WiX, XNA, the .NET Framework and Visual Studio
How to build a managed assembly that contains Win32 resources using Visual Studio 2005
A few weeks ago, I started working on a sample Media Center add-in using the test builds of the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/28/2006
Additional causes for 1308 or 1309 errors while installing Visual Studio
I previously posted a set of instructions that can be used to copy Visual Studio installation CD/DVD...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/28/2006
Getting started with Media Center development with the Windows Vista February CTP
The Windows Vista February 2006 community technology preview (CTP) is now available, and with it...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/26/2006
Where to report tuning issues for HD channels in Media Center
I noticed a post on Matt Goyer's blog today that I wanted to post here as well to help improve...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/24/2006
How to transfer guide data from one Media Center to another
Given the number of people that I have heard from who have been having trouble getting guide...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/23/2006
How to quickly create an MSI-based setup for a Media Center add-in
After spending some time reading Media Center SDK documentation regarding setup and deployment of...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/21/2006
Building setup packages for Media Center add-ins
Windows XP Media Center Edition supports two types of add-ins - hosted HTML applications and Media...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/21/2006
Troubleshooting steps I use for Media Center component registration failure errors
I heard from a customer this week who indicated they were seeing all of the following errors that I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/17/2006
New tool - graphical UI to view fsnap output
I previously posted an article describing how to use the tool fsnap.exe to list all files installed...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/16/2006
Mailbag: How can I determine what beta products need to be removed before installing .NET Framework 2.0?
Question I noticed that the .NET Framework 2.0 is being offered on Windows Update the last time I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/15/2006
Mailbag: Why is Visual Studio.NET Baseline installed on my system?
Question I ran an MSI inventory tool on my system and it showed an item named Visual Studio.NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/12/2006
Mailbag: How can I deploy the .NET Framework 2.0 using Group Policy?
Question You previously posted a set of instructions that can be used to run the .NET Framework 2.0...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/10/2006
Additional information about using ARPSYSTEMCOMPONENT in an MSI
By default, an MSI-based setup will appear in Add/Remove Programs when it is installed on a system....
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/10/2006
What controls the information that appears in Add/Remove Programs for installed programs
I stumbled across an interesting item posted a while back by Raymond Chen about the Add/Remove...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/07/2006
Mailbag: How can I perform an unattended uninstall of the .NET Framework?
Question You have written blog posts in the past describing the command line parameters that can be...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/07/2006
Media Center guide download and error code 13
I have gotten several comments in blog posts and emails from customers who have been running into...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/06/2006
Media Center guide download error code 13
I have been getting several comments in blog posts and emails from customers who have been running...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/06/2006
Digital Audio Service overlays on Media Center systems with AVerMedia tuners
We have found another possible root cause of Digital Audio Service overlays in Update Rollup 2 for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/06/2006
Miscellaneous Update Rollup 2 issues and how to work around them
I wanted to list a few miscellaneous issues that have been found recently with Update Rollup 2 for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/05/2006
How to fix a Document Explorer Unknown Error dialog box that appears when launching the Visual Studio IDE
I heard from a customer who received an error message while trying to install Visual Studio 2005....
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/02/2006
Why is there a RegisterMceApp.dll and a RegisterMceApp.exe?
One of the things I noticed when I first started looking into the Media Center SDK to try to build a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/02/2006
Mailbag: Why does VS 2003 setup install the .NET Framework 1.1 if 2.0 is already installed?
Question I am running the Windows Vista December Community Technology Preview, which includes the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/01/2006
RegisterMceApp.exe is not setup-friendly
I have been exploring creating MSI packages to install Media Center add-ins as part of my ongoing...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 02/01/2006
Mailbag: why does SQL Express appear during VS install but not uninstall?
I decided to create a new post category for my blog entitled Mailbag. Periodically, I will pick out...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/31/2006
Assembly installation error codes in .NET Framework 2.0 setup
I have written several posts in the past about 1935 errors that can happen during the installation...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/28/2006
Obsolete API list for the .NET Framework 2.0
I have heard from several customers who have asked me what the differences are between the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/27/2006
Additional .NET Framework 2.0 language packs are now available
I just noticed today that several additional language packs for the .NET Framework 2.0 have been...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/24/2006
2 new update rollups available for Media Center 2005
We have released a couple of new update rollup packages to fix some issues that have been seen with...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/24/2006
Details about setup for the .NET Framework 2.0 configuration tool
Ever since I posted this blog entry last month about how the Administrative Tools shortcuts were...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/24/2006
How to troubleshoot failure to install Document Explorer 2005 during VS 2005 setup
I have heard from several customers who have run into problems installing Visual Studio 2005 because...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/20/2006
How to fix Visual Studio 2005 unattended installs on Windows Vista
We found an issue over the holidays related to unattended installations of Visual Studio 2005 on...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/20/2006
Launching the VS 2005 IDE gives an error about the J# redistributable package
I heard from a customer recently who installed the final release of Visual Studio 2005, launched the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/17/2006
More details about protected content playback errors in Update Rollup 2
I have previously posted blog entries (here, here and here) about protected content playback errors...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/17/2006
Details about protected content playback errors in Update Rollup 2 for Media Center 2005
Hotfix designed to fix this problem There is a new hotfix available as of 4/14/2006 that is designed...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/17/2006
How to re-enable the Create CD/DVD item in Media Center
I heard from 2 customers yesterday who had both run into an issue on their Media Center 2005...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/17/2006
How to change the temporary folder if you run out of space while burning a DVD in Media Center
I recently tried to burn a video DVD on my Media Center 2005 system. I tried to fit 2 hours of...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/15/2006
Answering follow-up questions about .NET Framework 2.0 setup behavior
I posted some instructions earlier this weekend about how to perform unattended installations of the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/15/2006
How to perform unattended installs of the .NET Framework 2.0 redist and SDK
I received a question from a customer about how to perform a sequential unattended install of the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/14/2006
Programmatic access to closed captioning data in Media Center
One of the folks I talked to at CES 2006 last week asked me about how to use Media Center...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/13/2006
NextGen Home at CES 2006
I found a link with a nice write-up of the features of the Next Generation Home that was located...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/12/2006
Possible cause of Media Center guide download error code 14 and 33
I have heard from a few folks over the past weeks who started running into guide download errors on...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/12/2006
How to determine whether a VS 2005 product is installed on a computer
A customer asked a question last week about how to detect whether or not Visual Studio 2005 is...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/11/2006
Report viewer package load failure when installing Visual WebDev 2005 to a non-default path
I heard from a customer who was running into a package load failure error with the Visual WebDev...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/11/2006
Visual Studio 2005 package load failure caused by Dotfuscator 3.0
I have heard from a couple of customers who have seen package load failure errors in Visual Studio...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/10/2006
Links to Media Center add-in download locations
I've found a couple of links that contain lists of available add-ins for Media Center 2005 that I...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/09/2006
Media Center Add-in Repositories
Here is a collection of links to Media Center Add-ins that I've found. I will continue to update...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/09/2006
Developing for Media Center in Windows Vista
CES 2006 is the coming out party of sorts for a lot of interesting details about what Media Center...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/06/2006
CES 2006 - here I come
I'm going to be heading to Las Vegas tomorrow night to attend the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/03/2006