If you ever tried to install Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 or a standalone Visual Studio product on Windows 2000 or XP, you already know that setup fails. But luckily there is a workaround. At the command prompt, type the following command:
E:\SETUP\acmsetup.exe /T E:\SETUP\PRODUCT.STF /s E:\ /n "NAME" /o "ORGANIZATION" /k 1234567890
where:
E:– your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive letter. Also you can replaceE:\with path to the folder where you have your installation files.PRODUCT– File name of the product you are installing with.stfextension. The specific.stffile that is required for the manual command line will vary depending on the specific product you are installing. Search the\SETUPfolder on the CD-ROM of the product you are installing for the.stfto use. For example, for Visual Basic 6.0 Professional, usevb98pro.stf; for Visual C++ 6.0 Professional, usevc98pro.stf.NAME– your nameORGANIZATION– your organization1234567890– your CD key
If you get the message “You must first run the Installation Wizard before running this setup”, run the following command and repeat.
regedit /s E:\key.dat
In the same way you should install service packs.
Service Pack 5:
C:\SP5\acmsetup.exe /T C:\SP5\sp598ent.stf /s C:\SP5 /n "NAME" /o "ORGANIZATION"
Service Pack 6:
C:\SP6\acmsetup.exe /T C:\SP6\sp698ent.stf /s C:\SP6 /n "NAME" /o "ORGANIZATION"
where:
C:\SP5andC:\SP6– folders where you have extracted service pack files.
Microsoft published an article regarding this problem at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/250343. However they suggest to use /B1 (or /B 1) command line argument, which in my case resulted in product options dialog being skipped.
5 Responses
Thanks so much—you’re real man ^^!
Thank you buddy! It helps me to use this old good stuff!
Many thanks. Your solution worked perfectly.
Thanks! Note the third E:\ must point to the path to the contents of the CD. So if you are installing from a path like E:\ENGLISH\VISUAL_STUDIO_60\ENT\CD1 this whole path must go where the third E:\ is shown.
Or you can use the SUBST command to map a drive letter to the folder.
You’re a life saver.