When older versions of Visual Studio 2017 report an error about not being able to load the instance, follow these instructions to clean up corrupt instances and re-install.
With the release of Visual Studio 2017 version 15.2, the ability to disable or move the package cache is now generally available and documented. Basically, payloads are removed after being installed or repaired, and we will download them again if ever needed (like when repairing the product instance). This does mean if you work offline and need to ...
I previously wrote about moving or disabling the package cache for Visual Studio 2017, which is a feature in the latest preview of Visual Studio 2017 and will be generally available update 15.2 is released. We have now published the documentation along with related material for administrators or developers looking to take more control of their ins...
Starting in the latest preview release of Visual Studio version 15.2 (26418.1-Preview), you can now find vswhere installed in "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer" (on 32-bit operating systems before Windows 10, you should use "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer"). While I initially made vswhere.exe available via Nu...
With the ability to disable or move the package cache for Visual Studio 2017 and other products installed with the new installer, packages are removed for whatever instance(s) you are installing, modifying, or repairing. If you have a lot of instances and want to clean all of them up easily from the command line - perhaps scripting it for users ...
In the latest preview release of Visual Studio we are introducing the ability to disable (or re-enable) the package cache, or move it to another drive. This can be done using the command line or the registry, which can be deployed on a domain using group policy. This will be generally available in Visual Studio in a few weeks - scheduled for the 15...
Visual Studio 2017 has brought big changes to extensibility that allow developers to install extensions to different instances and install dependencies. In support of multiple instances, a fast API was required that tools can use to find and launch Visual Studio and related tools, or to install extensions. I previously published some samples, and ...
We've listened to feedback over the years, and while each new release brought changes to the setup experience of Visual Studio and related products, none have been more significant than what we're doing for Visual Studio "15". New setup engine With Visual Studio supporting so many platforms and toolkits, one of the goals for Visual Studio "15" is t...
Many years ago when PowerShell was first in beta, I saw an opportunity to write cmdlets that I could string together in different ways rather than writing and maintaining a bunch of one-off Windows scripts for various day-to-day tasks and customer diagnostics. I created the Windows Installer PowerShell Module to fill that role. These cmdlets are no...
When you install Visual Studio and related content like Windows Kits or some add-ons, most packages that comprise those bundles are reference counted to make sure they are not removed prematurely. Uninstalling Visual Studio and related content should eventually remove those packages (i.e. last one out the door turns off the light). Contrast with ol...
