First, this is obviously my fault for having "manually" removed beta VS 2005
in an incorrect order prior to the release of the VS 2005 RTM.
The VS 2005 installer pops up the dialog telling me to remove beta
components. The component list is empty. I have tried reinstalling Beta 2,
then removing it and it's components according to the removal instructions
provided with the RTM (including using the removal tool), but starting the
RTM installer still results in the "Thank you for beta testing..." dialog
with the empty component list.

When I run the removal tool, it finds Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
Beta 2, but fails when trying to uninstall it because it has been
uninstalled. I think I'm down to finding the registry keys or other
leftovers that are triggering the dialog. Any help with this would be
greatly appreciated.

[quoted text, click to view]
<snip>
I've been through all that, Rhett, and still the installer insists that VS
2005 Standard Edition Beta 2 is installed.
I realize I've caused this problem myself by not uninstalling the beta in
accordance with the instructions you posted, but that happened long before
the RTM release. I'm now looking for help with overcoming the bad uninstall.
What I was hoping to get from Microsoft Support in this managed group are
some manual procedures for removing leftover pieces and/or some registry
keys to look for.
I have also tried reinstalling the Beta 2 product, but that fails with an
error log entry indicating there is not enough space on the original target
drive for the install. I have over 11 Gigabytes free on the target drive.

If you installed previous versions of Visual Studio 2005, there are some other things we must be uninstalled either. KB908452 provide more details on the installation,
you can find it at:
KB908452 Contents of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Setup Issues Readme file
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=908452

For your convenience, I quote the part we need here:
1.2. Uninstalling Previous Versions of Visual Studio 2005
If you have installed previous versions of Visual Studio 2005, such as Beta 2 or Community Technical Preview (CTP) builds of Visual Studio Team Suite, Visual Studio
Standard or Visual Studio Professional, then you must uninstall in the exact order shown below before beginning to install any version of Visual Studio 2005: 1. Go to the
Control Panel and launch Add/Remove Programs
2. Remove "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition"
3. Remove "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tools Express Edition"
4. Remove "Microsoft SQL Native Client"
5. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 64bit Prerequisites Beta" (This step is needed only if Visual Studio is installed on a 64-bit machine)
6. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office System 2005 Runtime Language Pack" (This step is not needed if you have only the English Edition)
7. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office System 2005 Runtime Beta"
8. Remove "Microsoft Device Emulator 1.0 Beta"
9. Remove "Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Beta"
10. Remove "Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 1.0"
11. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional" or other related IDE installs such as (Visual Studio Professional/Standard/Enterprise Architect/Team Suite,
etc.)
12. Remove "Microsoft Document Explorer 2005 Language Pack" (This step is not needed if you have only the English Edition)
13. Remove "Microsoft Document Explorer 2005" (This step is needed for post-Beta2 builds)
14. Remove "Microsoft SQL Mobile 2005 Development Tools"
15. Remove "Microsoft 64-bit SDK" (This step is only needed if Visual Studio is installed on a 64-bit machine)
16. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Remote Debugger (x64)" (This step is needed only if Visual Studio is installed on a 64-bit machine)
17. Remove "Microsoft MDAC 2.8 SP1" (This step is needed only if you are running Windows 2000)
18. Remove "Microsoft MSXML 6 SDK and Parser"
19. Remove "Microsoft Visual J# .NET Redistributable 2.0 Beta Language Pack" (This step is not needed if you have only the English Edition)
20. Remove "Microsoft Visual J# Redistributable Package 2.0 Beta"
21. Ensure all Visual Studio 2005 products have been removed from your system
22. Remove "Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Beta Language pack" (This step is not needed if you have only the English Edition)
23. Remove "Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Beta"
Notes:1. If you see an error removing J# .NET Redistributable Package 2.0 from Add/Remove Programs, please run "msiexec /x {9046F10C-F5E7-4871-BED9-
8288F19C70DF}" from a command line window.
2. If you see an error removing .NET Framework 2.0 from Add/Remove Programs, please run "msiexec /x {71F8EFBF-09AF-418D-91F1-52707CDFA274}" from a
command line window
To download a tool that may help you clean your computer in preparation for installing Visual Studio 2005, please visit this link (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=
47598). Please Note: This tool is not supported or thoroughly tested by Microsoft. This is a free tool and you should use it at your own risk. No warranty or support is
provided, expressed or implied.

If you have any problems after following these steps, or for more information about the uninstall process, please review the following page: Uninstalling Previous
Versions of Visual Studio 2005
Thanks,
Rhett Gong [MSFT]
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/msdn/nospam.asp&SD=msdn

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Before the installation begins, a process named Dependency checking is performed, so you may check %temp%\DepCheck*.txt to see what modules/Components have
been found installed. If there is something listed, please delete files and registry keys related to these components and try again.

Thanks,
Rhett Gong [MSFT]
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/msdn/nospam.asp&SD=msdn

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.

[quoted text, click to view]
Yes, I am aware that dependency checking takes place. As I stated earlier,
the result of the check is that I'm told that something left over from the
Beta 2 is still installed.
But, *the dialog is empty*. No products are listed.
There is no file anywhere on my system (full search of all hard drives)
named anything like DepCheck*.txt. I've searched with the VS 2005 installer
active and displaying the dependency check dialog and with the dialog and
installer closed.
The only clue I'm able to get is through the auto-uninstall tool, which
attempts to uninstall "Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition Beta 2 - ENU",
but fails as that product was uninstalled several weeks before the RTM
became available.
Perhaps you could be a bit more specific when you refer to "files and
registry keys related to these components" and tell me which keys and files
to look for?

|>Yes, I am aware that dependency checking takes place. As I stated earlier,
|>the result of the check is that I'm told that something left over from the
|>Beta 2 is still installed.

you remind "Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition Beta 2 - ENU",so could you check the log if you get following line?
[09/01/05,17:50:39] VS70pgui: [2] DepCheck indicates Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition Beta 2 - ENU was not attempted to be installed.

|>But, *the dialog is empty*. No products are listed.
|>There is no file anywhere on my system (full search of all hard drives)
|>named anything like DepCheck*.txt. I've searched with the VS 2005 installer
|>active and displaying the dependency check dialog and with the dialog and
|>installer closed.

In my side, the depcheck file can be found at: C:\Documents and Settings\v-raygon\Local Settings\Temp. Since hte "local setting" folder has hidden attribute, you may
need to get it by drilling down the folder.

|>Perhaps you could be a bit more specific when you refer to "files and
|>registry keys related to these components" and tell me which keys and files
|>to look for?

the files are the files listed in the DepCheck*.txt and then type regedit through Run box and search registry for these components' name and delete them. If you can't find
depcheck*.txt, you may download regmon through systeminternals, start it to monitor which registry is queried and then delete the registry according to the log from
regmon.

Thanks,
Rhett Gong [MSFT]
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/msdn/nospam.asp&SD=msdn

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.

[quoted text, click to view]
Thanks very much for all your efforts, Rhett. I did locate DepCheck71.txt by
drilling down, and another log file pertaining to the VS 2005 Standard Beta
2. I ran down all the listed registry settings and files referenced, but the
installer still balks.
I believe it's time for me to just admit that my earlier mistakes
(uninstalling the beta components not according to the instructions provided
with the RTM) have left me in an untenable situation.
I'm going to format the partition, reinstall XP and go from there.
again, thank you very much for trying to save me from my own errors :)

You are welcome.

Anytime you have questions on installing VS2005, please feel free to let me know; I am glad to be of your assist.

Best regards,
Rhett Gong [MSFT]
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/msdn/nospam.asp&SD=msdn

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.