+1  A: 

Ok, here's the thing. I tried with the Client Profile but it didn't work, I think it's because the Client Profile Installer does not have the features of .net framework 3.5 SP1. So in the installation process it ask for .net framework 3.5 SP1 too, so I had to make that available offline too. Here's the deal:

  • First you need to download the Client Profile Offline Installer
  • Then you need to copy the file into the following folder: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\Bootstrapper\Packages\DotNetFx35Client
  • Once that's done, you can deploy your Setup Project and it will compile (This is only for Client Profile installation).

Since in my case it complained and asked for .net Framework 3.5 SP1, this is what I had to do:

  • Enable .net Framework 3.5 SP1 prerequisite in your Setup solution
  • Download .net Framework 3.5 SP1 Full Package
  • Put in the the C:\ drive (for fast access) and go to command prompt and type: C:\dotNetFx35Setup.exe /x
  • Extract everything anywhere you want, this will create a folder called wcu
  • go to wcu\dotNetFramework, take all the files and folders and copy them to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\Bootstrapper\Packages\DotNetFX35

Now build your solution and it should work. You will get 2 warnings though. These are a know issue and according to Microsoft they don't interfere in the installation process of your application. Read this for more information.

This was a little tedious for me to find and come up with, so I really hope this can help anyone else with this problem. If you have any question post a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Thanks for reading!

Carlo
See my solution for the setup problem.
Marcel
A: 

To have your setup working with the client profile (not complaining, as you say)at install time, you additionally need to change the checked conditions to require only the client profile.

You need to change the property of the .NET Launch condition to actually say "Client Profile". Do it like here:

.NET Launch condition - properties

This is from the following document: WPF Performance and .NET Framework Client Profile, section "Deployment", by Jossef Goldberg.

Although the document refers to the Client Profile of version 4, this also works for 3.5. I have done it, and it worked perfectly.

Marcel