Sunday, January 2, 2011

Installing Visual Studio 2010

Hopefully the preceding discussion whets your appetite on what VS can do for you. If
you haven't already installed VS, this section walks you through the setup process. The
guidance along the way will explain how to choose among available options to customize
the installation to your needs. The following steps explain how to install VS:
System Requirements
As of this writing Microsoft recommends you have a 32-bit x86 or 64-bit (x64) CPU,
at least 1GB RAM, a 5400 RPM hard disk drive, 3GB hard disk space, DVD-ROM,
DirectX video at 1280 × 1024 resolution, and a 1.6 GHz processor. Recommended
operating systems include Windows Vista (all versions except for Starter), Windows XP
SP2 or later (all versions except for Starter), Windows 7 (only Ultimate at the time this
chapter was written), Windows 2003 (SP1 or R2 or later), and Windows 2008 (SP1 or
R2 or later). Be sure to check Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) online, as system
requirements can change over time.
1. When you first place the VS DVD into the drive, you'll see the Microsoft Visual Studio
2010 window, shown in Figure 1-1. Available options are to Install Microsoft Visual
Studio 2010 and Check For Service Releases. Click Install Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.
Figure 1-1 Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Setup window
Figure 1-2 Setup Welcome window
2. The next window you'll see, Figure 1-2, is the welcome window, titled Microsoft Visual
Studio 2010. Figure 1-2 shows that I'm installing the Ultimate version. Installation for
other versions is similar, but the number of features available to install varies.
If you check the box on this page in the Help Improve Setup section, the installer
will gather logs produced during the setup process and send them across the Internet
to Microsoft after the setup is complete. To help you make an informed choice as to
whether to check this box, there is a Privacy Statement link under the check box to
click and read if you would like more information about what Microsoft does with
setup information. When you're ready, click Next. After setup components are loaded,
you'll see the licensing screen in Figure 1-3.
Figure 1-3 Setup Licensing window
3. In Figure 1-3, you'll see what components will be installed. You'll need to read the VS
license to ensure you understand what the terms are. The licensing terms can differ,
depending on what type of package you acquired and your particular country or region.
Once you've read the license, you'll need to check "I have read and accept the license
terms" to proceed. Next, enter the license key that comes with your software and enter
your name. The installer will automatically fill in the product key if you downloaded
VS via Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). Click Next and you'll see options for
customizing product installation.
4. Figure 1-4 lets you choose between full and custom installation. If you click the
Custom option, you'll be able to choose precisely which components should be
installed. This is a good opportunity to uncheck the items you won't ever use. If this is
Figure 1-4 Setup Customization window
your first installation and you have plenty of storage, you might want to go through the
list and check everything to take a look at what is available. You can always return to
this installation later and make adjustments.
The configuration screen in Figure 1-4 shows that you can also change the location of
where to install VS. Take note of the installation location because this is where you will
go to find sample code, common assemblies, and more items affecting the development
environment. Evaluate the disk space requirements to ensure you have enough available
storage. You've now completed the configuration options for installation. Click Install to
start the installation. You'll see a screen similar to Figure 1-5 during the installation process
where the small check marks indicate which VS components have successfully installed.
Figure 1-5 Setup Progress window
5. During the installation, the VS installer will need to reboot your computer, showing the
restart message in Figure 1-6. Make sure you close any applications you currently have
open so that you don't lose your work, and then click Restart Now.
Figure 1-6 Setup Restart window
Figure 1-7 Setup Success window
6. When installation completes without error, you'll see the Success window, shown in
Figure 1-7. If you have errors during installation, this window will give you guidance
on what to do to solve the problem.
Your installation is now almost complete. You can install product documentation by
clicking the Install Documentation button, shown in Figure 1-7. The initial installation
screen that appeared when beginning the installation will reappear, as shown in Figure 1-8.
You should also check for service releases; not only for the updated functionality to VS,
but also because service releases often include important security updates.
You are now ready to run VS for the first time. At that point, you'll need to perform
one more easy configuration step, where you will choose your default environment
settings, as shown in Figure 1-9.
Checking for service releases
Figure 1-9 Default Environment Settings window
The choice you make for default environment settings depends a lot on what
language or environment you'll use to write software in.
You should now have a good installation with the configuration and environment
settings of your choosing.

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