How do I install Visual C# express?? It says I have old version of Visual Studio but I don't

Question

How do I stop Visual Studio Express SP1 install detecting old version that doesn’t exist?

I haven't installed Visual Studio before on my computer. However when I try to install Visual Studio C# 2008 Express SP1 I get an error message:

"Setup has detected that this computer does not meet the requirements to install this software. These requirements must be met before you can install Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition with SP1 - ENU"

Requirements and Software Prerequisites Visual Studios 2008 Service Pack 1 An earlier version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 has been detected on the system that must be updated to SP1 before installation can proceed. Please update all other versions of Visual Studio 2008 to SP1 by visiting Microsoft Update and then install Visual Studio 2008 Express SP1.

I'm not sure why I get this message since I have not installed VS2008 before. I've tried to run the VS2008 Patch Removal Tool but it says "Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack Preparation does not apply". I've applied all the patches from Microsoft Update but still get the same error. Any ideas what could be wrong?

Answer 1

Just a suggestion: install the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility and use it to check for a previous version of Visual Studio and, in case, try to remove it.

Answer 2

Have you tried this (KB944899 Should be Removed before Installing Visual Studio 2008 SP1)

Answer 3

I tried both suggestions but still not working..

Answer 4

I had this issue, none of the above worked. Couldn't even install the full version of VS2008 because Windows reckoned the install MSI was invalid.

Through judicious use of Process Monitor from SysInternals I got past the problem.

First I uninstalled anything existing on the PC to do with Visual Studio.

Then I ran the VC# Express installer with Process Monitor running. Noticed that it was using a log file in the %temp% folder called 'dd_depcheck_vcs_exp_90.txt'.

In that file, noticed the following:

[11/07/09,10:27:16] Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 [11/07/09,10:27:16] This component uses the WinWFRegDW version check method. It will check for presense of Primary key AND absense of inequality of secondary key. [11/07/09,10:27:16] Primary Registry key being interrogated: HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DevDiv\VS\Servicing\9.0; Value: SP; Version: 0.
[11/07/09,10:27:16] Secondary Registry key being interrogated: HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DevDiv\VS\Servicing\9.0; For absense of Value: [SP] OR Version <> [1].
[11/07/09,10:27:16] Primary Version on user's machine: 0.
[11/07/09,10:27:16] Secondary Version on user's machine: 0.

Using RegEdit, I opened the key mentioned and changed the SP DWORD entry from 0 to 1. This allowed the VC# Express installer to start, it's obviously where the VC# Express install is looking for the VS2008 Service Pack level.

Answer 5

Why is this post tagged XNA? Do you have XNA Game Studio Express installed? That will need patching.