Aaron Stebner's WebLog
Thoughts about setup and deployment issues, WiX, XNA, the .NET Framework and Visual Studio
How to fix 5.1 analog surround sound in Media Center 2005 Update Rollup 2
There is a known issue in Update Rollup 2 for Media Center 2005 that causes 5.1 analog surround...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/03/2006
Decoder checkup utility for troubleshooting Media Center TV playback problems
I found a link today to a tool that could be useful when trying to diagnose TV playback problems in...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/03/2006
How to silently uninstall .NET Framework hotfixes
I heard from a customer recently who had run into the scenario described in this previous blog post...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 01/02/2006
How to short a Media Center remote control if it stops working correctly
A couple of months ago, I posted a list of workarounds that have proven useful to resolve problems...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/29/2005
How to repair a Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition without redownloading the source files
While trying to configure Visual C# 2005 Express on my laptop as I prepared for my trip home for the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/27/2005
Trick for setup developers - how to remove a setup package with a known uninstall bug
I was recently working on developing an MSI-based setup package as a learning exercise to teach...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/25/2005
.NET Framework 2.0 source caching for repair mode
Several folks have installed the final release of the .NET Framework 2.0 and then contacted me...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/22/2005
Administrative tools shortcut has moved to the SDK in .NET Framework 2.0
Some of you have noticed in the beta program or when installing the final release of the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/19/2005
WinFX December CTP is available for download
I was getting my laptop ready to take with me for the holidays (because my parents have a 56K modem...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/19/2005
How to resolve errors running Visual Studio on Windows Media Center
I have heard from a few folks who have run into issues trying to install and run Visual Studio on...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/17/2005
.NET Framework 2.0 Japanese language pack is now available
The .NET Framework 2.0 Japanese language pack is now available for download. This page has more...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/16/2005
Definitive list of workarounds for Package Load Failure errors in Visual Studio 2005
Important note - the steps in this blog post have typically only proven useful in cases where a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/16/2005
How to use FSnap to locate files with a specific version in the GAC
The following steps can be used to gather a list of all files installed in the Global Assembly Cache...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/16/2005
How to escape quotes in the command line for .NET Framework setup
I heard from a setup developer here at Microsoft last week who was working on updating his team's...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/14/2005
More detailed steps to fix .NET Framework install errors that ask for tmpXXXX.tmp
I previously described a set of steps in this blog post that can be used to manually remove the .NET...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/10/2005
How to clean up a SQL 2005 instance name left behind by a previous uninstall
I have heard from a few customers who have tried to uninstall and re-install SQL 2005 and have run...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/08/2005
How to configure the Visual Studio 2005 IDE to use custom XSD files for IntelliSense
I've finally gotten some time to experiment with some of the features of the Visual Studio 2005 IDE...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/08/2005
List of possible return codes from .NET Framework 2.0 setup
A few weeks ago I posted a list of supported command line switches for the new setup wrapper that is...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/07/2005
What to do if Media Center Extender for Xbox 360 setup crashes
I have heard from a couple of customers who have tried to download and install the software to...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/06/2005
Resolving error creating smart device projects in Visual Studio 2005
I heard from a customer this week who uninstalled all beta versions of Visual Studio 2005 and then...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/03/2005
Possible workaround for Media Center guide download error code 20
Our development team has found a possible root cause and workaround for error code 20 that may...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/03/2005
Digital Audio Service errors on machines with Emuzed Maui TV tuner cards
We have identified a root cause and a fix for one of the sources of Digital Audio Service overlay...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/02/2005
How to resolve TV glitching in Media Center 2005 on dual core AMD computers
Some customers have been reporting TV glitching issues in Media Center 2005, and Dave Fleischman has...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/01/2005
KB910393 has been removed from Windows Update
As I described in this blog post, we found an issue with a Windows Media Player hotfix (KB910393) if...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/01/2005
Update on root cause of Digital Audio Service error
I posted a blog entry about a month ago about an issue that started appearing after customers...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 12/01/2005
Media Center crashes when launched after installing KB908250 and KB910393 from Windows Update
I mentioned yesterday that there is a new Windows Media Player hotfix (KB910393) available that will...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/30/2005
Hotfix available to prevent Media Player 10 setup from breaking content protection in Media Center 2005
I previously described a scenario where installing Media Player 10 on top of Update Rollup 2 for...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/29/2005
WinFX November CTP is available for download
I know I'm a little late in providing a link to this, but I still wanted to mention here that there...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/29/2005
How to resolve "Windows - no disk" errors when launching Media Center 2005 on an HP machine
I have heard from a few folks (mostly via comments on this blog post) regarding an issue with HP...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/29/2005
Adding assemblies to the Add References dialog in Visual Studio 2005
I heard from a customer and a Microsoft employee asking how to register new assemblies so that they...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/28/2005
SonicWALL firewall may interfere with Media Center guide downloads
A couple of folks have reported issues to me via my blog about errors downloading television guide...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/23/2005
How to resolve errors opening currentsettings.vssettings in the final release of VS 2005
I have heard from a few customers who have run into some strange behavior in the Visual Studio IDE...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/22/2005
More details about J# redistributable package installation in VS 2005 setup
Now that Visual Studio 2005 has shipped, I've gotten a couple of questions from customers wondering...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/22/2005
Cannot pre-install .NET Framework 2.0 during the T13 stage of OS setup using svcpack.inf
I have heard from 2 customers this past week who were trying to pre-install the .NET Framework as...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/20/2005
Additional step to resolve package load failures in the final release of Visual Studio 2005
I have heard from and read about problems reported by several customers who are running into package...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/18/2005
How to deploy the .NET Framework 2.0 by using the MSI directly
If you try to extract the contents of the .NET Framework 2.0 setup package and install it using the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/18/2005
How to get Sonic CD/DVD burning software to create a log file for debugging
I learned a cool trick last week that might be useful if you are running into issues while using the...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/17/2005
New knowledge base article published about component registration failures in Update Rollup 2
We have gotten a knowledge base article written and published based on some of our findings...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/17/2005
How to select an audio channel if the Audio menu does not appear in Update Rollup 2
I recently heard from a customer who lives in Spain and has been using Media Center 2005 for a...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/15/2005
ClickThrough - a new WiX tool for creation and automatic updating of simple MSI packages
Rob Mensching posted a blog entry last week that I wanted to make sure everyone reading my blog also...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/15/2005
Introducing the Visual Studio 2005 and .NET Framework 2.0 Setup Troubleshooting Guide
I've talked to a few folks who work at Microsoft who have resolved issues installing the final...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2005
Errors in MCE 2005 after installing Update Rollup 2 if Rudeo PC Remote Control is also installed
I heard from a customer today who was running into component registration failure errors after...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2005
How to resolve invalid license data errors after upgrading to the final release of Visual Studio 2005
I have heard from a couple of customers who have uninstalled beta versions of Visual Studio 2005 and...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2005
How to fix IR learning problems that occur after installing Update Rollup 2 for Media Center 2005
I have heard from a couple of folks who have had trouble getting IR learning to work for their...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/14/2005
How to specify the exact time for Media Center guide downloads
I received a question from a customer today asking how they could update their Media Center...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/11/2005
Visual Studio 2005 IDE (devenv.exe) command line switches
There is some good documentation available on MSDN that describes various command line switches that...
Author: Aaron Stebner Date: 11/11/2005