Uninstalling Previous Versions of Visual Studio 2008

This article applies to pre-Release versions of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.  For 2005 version of this document, see Uninstalling Previous Versions of Visual Studio 2005.

 

For best results, Visual Studio 2008 should be installed on a computer with no pre-release (Tech Preview, Beta, or CTP) versions of Visual Studio 2008/Codename Orcas, or supporting components.

If your computer has any of the pre-release (Tech Preview, Beta, or CTP) versions on it, they must be removed in the correct order BEFORE you begin installing the release version. This process is not officially supported.  It is recommended that you run uninstall of the main product first (Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/Codename Orcas).  In most cases this will remove majority of other optional pre-release components installed with it. 

1. Go to the Control Panel and launch Add/Remove Programs
2. Remove all instances of Visual Studio 2008/Codename Orcas products
3. Remove any remaining supporting products in the specified order.
   1. Remove "MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 Beta"
   2. Remove "Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5"
   3. Remove "Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 Design Tools"
   4. Remove "Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 for Devices"
   5. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Performance Collection Tools"
   6. Remove "Windows Mobile 5.0 SDK R2 for Pocket PC"
   7. Remove "Windows Mobile 5.0 SDK R2 for Smartphone"
   8. Remove "Crystal Reports 2007"
   9. Remove "Visual Studio Asset System"
   10. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Web Authoring Component / Microsoft Web Designer Tools"
   11. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System Runtime"
   12. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System Runtime Language Pack" (non-English editions only)
   13. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime 3.0"
   14. Remove "Microsoft Document Explorer"
   15. Remove "Microsoft Document Explorer 2005 Language Pack" (non-English editions only)
   16. Remove "Microsoft Device Emulator 3.0"
   17. Remove "Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 3.5"
   18. Remove "Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0 SP1"
   19. Remove ".NET Framework 2.0 SDK"
   20. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio Codename Orcas Remote Debugger"
   21. Remove "Microsoft Visual Studio 64bit Prerequisites Beta" (64-bit platforms only)
   22. Remove "Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5"
4. Install the Visual Studio 2008 edition you wish to use

Most pre-release projects can be carried forward to the release version.  If you have problems, report your specific issue on the Visual Studio Express Forum, or the Visual Studio Forums