4 ms·

Where did the ISO:s go? Please give us something with a known hash. I attempted to create the offline installer [1] but the vs_community.exe just silently quit

Where did the ISO:s go? Please give us something with a known hash. I attempted to create the offline installer [1] but the vs_community.exe just silently quit after some mintues, having downloaded only some certificates. The custom download idea is easily planted with malware and all those bad things. Also, please consider upgrading from SHA-1. > We understand that a lot of customers want an offline installer for Visual Studio 2017. Even though we don't offer an ISO image, it's easy to create your own. 1: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create-an-offline-installation-of-visual-studio https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create...

LyalinDotCom 10y ago
Due to licensing complexity of today's installer we just can't make the ISO for you but in the link above as you pointed out you can create your own. We're sorry for that but its what we can offer today.
- erryoiruye 10y ago
  Okay, well. Will MSDN subscribers get iso's eventually? It seems also to be broken, or your servers are choked :-(
  - LyalinDotCom 10y ago
    Demand is very high but honestly I'm not 100% aware of MSDN Subscriber ISO status. I will report this comment to that team though
- jasode 10y ago
  Fyi... I just tried the offline download and after 34 minutes, it is hung and won't finish. The command line I used: vs_Enterprise.exe --layout z:\VS2017_RTM --lang en-US last lines of the console: ... Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=823168' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=833503' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=833501' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://download.microsoft.com/download/B/5/5/B55373E5-8948-41DF-B1D5-F60896104294/WinSdkInstall.ps1' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=838828' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' stats of the target directory so far: 2,631 Files, 1,005 Folders total 14,444,652,261 bytes I previously got the offline download to complete with version RC1 in November 2016 but RC2 in Janurary 2017 always hung in the same spot. I didn't pursue RC2 troubleshooting since RTM would be available a month later and I hoped whatever problem with RC2 would be resolved in RTM. Well, it still doesn't work. Please let the MS team know that there's something about the offline download ("--layout" option) that's fragile and prone to hang. I don't believe it's an issue with overloaded servers because when I tried multiple times with RC2, it always hung on the exact same file whether it was morning/night/ weekday/weekend. I suspect the current problem is similar. I took a screenshot of the hung process for RC2 in January and it seems to hang right after downloading WinSdkInstall.ps1 which is similar to RTM behavior: RC2 hung in January: http://imgur.com/a/uwfoj http://imgur.com/a/uwfoj RTM hung in March (today): http://imgur.com/a/QxqC3 http://imgur.com/a/QxqC3
  - timsneath 10y ago
    Thanks the report, @jasode. I'm bringing in a few folk to take a look.
  - timsneath 10y ago
    Unfortunately the printed logs only show what has been downloaded, not what is currently downloading. I know - that's not very helpful in this case. It would be really useful to see the more detailed logs, which are stored in the %TEMP% folder. It might be that it's not hung at all - if it's a really large file that's being downloaded. If you're willing to mail me at tims@microsoft.com, I'd be happy to work with you to grab your detailed logs and investigate further.
    - jasode 10y ago
      Thanks for your reply. It helped me get past the problem. I want to the %TEMP% folder and looked at dd_setup_2017??.log and saw that it last executed: Running: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe with parameters: -NoLogo -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -InputFormat None -Command ... I then went to Task Manager and noticed the powershell.exe command hanging with 0% cpu consumed. I remembered that sometimes those commands hang on network paths so I ran "vs_Enterprise.exe --layout" again to local "C:\VS2017_RTM" instead of mapped "Z:\VS2017_RTM". It then completed without hanging. The completed target folder has: 1,901 Files, 765 Folders total 22,171,951,890 bytes It seems strange that the successful completion results in less files & folders but 8 more gigabytes. I assume some intermediate scripts cleaned up some files.
      - timsneath 10y ago
        Great - so glad that you're up and running. Thanks for the update. We'll take this back and see if we can repro this in-house.
- yiwang110 10y ago
  "Due to licensing complexity of today's installer" - LOL If there is licensing complexity in making an ISO file, just make a ZIP file of the whole thing.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    The licensing complexity comes from things like downloading cordova and the android sdk, etc... Which are options that you can select. Distributing in ISO form, would mean changing the installer license, as opposed to optional licenses to agree to, you have to then composite the whole.
    - yiwang110 10y ago
      easy - how about making cordova, android sdks, etc as a downloadable component after the main Visual Studio is installed?
      - orf 10y ago
        > easy... just do this thing I have no idea about nor any clue how it would implemented lol.
      - tracker1 10y ago
        Which then negates the purpose of an offline installer...
neilsimp1 10y ago
Scott Hanselman had a blog post a while back about this. Maybe his instructions will help? (I haven't compared this against your instructions so for all I know they're the same steps.) https://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToMakeAnOfflineInstallerForVS2017.aspx https://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToMakeAnOfflineInstallerFo...
timsneath 10y ago
A few quick thoughts on the topic of ISOs, to give you all a little extra context. 1. Visual Studio 2017 is a huge product, because we support so many types of development: from Android to UWP to C++ to Unity to Linux. If we were to still offer a 'full' install, it would come in at over 50GB. That's one huge ISO image! 2. We surveyed hundreds of people during the previews and RCs, and people told us that they had historically used an ISO for two reasons: (i) because they wanted to download once and create a network install for enterprise deployment; (ii) because they had a shaky internet connection and wanted to be sure they'd downloaded successfully before installing. A single monolithic ISO isn't the best solution for either of those scenarios - it's just the one that people are habituated to over all these years. 3. For the former (enterprise deployment), we have a full administrators' guide that provides detailed guidance on how to deploy the product: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/visual-studio-administrator-guide https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/visual.... This includes PowerShell scripts, examples of using the installer to create and update a network cache, descriptions of how to deploy Visual Studio in a fully offline environment, and so on. 4. For the latter, we've worked really hard to improve the robustness of the installer. The componentization work we've done means that the smallest install is one-tenth the size of Visual Studio 2015, making it far more likely to succeed. And other typical installs are smaller too. We download VS in small packages that are more likely to succeed, and we use multiple ways (WebClient, BITS, WinInet) to download those files to minimize problems with AV and proxy software. If you want to download first then install, you can use the offline guide to cache just those pieces that you need, which we've just rewritten for RTW: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create-an-offline-installation-of-visual-studio https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create... 5. Because of the nature of our product (rapidly updating, lots of third-party components), an ISO is problematic. We don't have the rights to redistribute several large components (including Android), and others update on a rapid cadence that often includes critical security fixes, meaning an ISO image is incomplete, often outdated, and potentially insecure. Most customers assume that an ISO would support offline installation, but that's not true. And so we fear that offering an ISO will just creating more disappointment. Lastly, we're listening to requests for an ISO and paying attention to the feedback we're getting; at the same time, we're hoping that this is the release where we can gently move forward to a new model that better supports delivery of developer tools at a fast, well-maintained cadence. Hope this is useful context. And again, we're listening :) Tim Sneath | Visual Studio Team

LyalinDotCom 10y ago

Due to licensing complexity of today's installer we just can't make the ISO for you but in the link above as you pointed out you can create your own. We're sorry for that but its what we can offer today.

erryoiruye 10y ago
Okay, well. Will MSDN subscribers get iso's eventually? It seems also to be broken, or your servers are choked :-(
- LyalinDotCom 10y ago
  Demand is very high but honestly I'm not 100% aware of MSDN Subscriber ISO status. I will report this comment to that team though
jasode 10y ago
Fyi... I just tried the offline download and after 34 minutes, it is hung and won't finish. The command line I used: vs_Enterprise.exe --layout z:\VS2017_RTM --lang en-US last lines of the console: ... Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=823168' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=833503' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=833501' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://download.microsoft.com/download/B/5/5/B55373E5-8948-41DF-B1D5-F60896104294/WinSdkInstall.ps1' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' Download of 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=838828' succeeded using engine 'WebClient' stats of the target directory so far: 2,631 Files, 1,005 Folders total 14,444,652,261 bytes I previously got the offline download to complete with version RC1 in November 2016 but RC2 in Janurary 2017 always hung in the same spot. I didn't pursue RC2 troubleshooting since RTM would be available a month later and I hoped whatever problem with RC2 would be resolved in RTM. Well, it still doesn't work. Please let the MS team know that there's something about the offline download ("--layout" option) that's fragile and prone to hang. I don't believe it's an issue with overloaded servers because when I tried multiple times with RC2, it always hung on the exact same file whether it was morning/night/ weekday/weekend. I suspect the current problem is similar. I took a screenshot of the hung process for RC2 in January and it seems to hang right after downloading WinSdkInstall.ps1 which is similar to RTM behavior: RC2 hung in January: http://imgur.com/a/uwfoj http://imgur.com/a/uwfoj RTM hung in March (today): http://imgur.com/a/QxqC3 http://imgur.com/a/QxqC3
- timsneath 10y ago
  Thanks the report, @jasode. I'm bringing in a few folk to take a look.
- timsneath 10y ago
  Unfortunately the printed logs only show what has been downloaded, not what is currently downloading. I know - that's not very helpful in this case. It would be really useful to see the more detailed logs, which are stored in the %TEMP% folder. It might be that it's not hung at all - if it's a really large file that's being downloaded. If you're willing to mail me at tims@microsoft.com, I'd be happy to work with you to grab your detailed logs and investigate further.
  - jasode 10y ago
    Thanks for your reply. It helped me get past the problem. I want to the %TEMP% folder and looked at dd_setup_2017??.log and saw that it last executed: Running: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe with parameters: -NoLogo -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -InputFormat None -Command ... I then went to Task Manager and noticed the powershell.exe command hanging with 0% cpu consumed. I remembered that sometimes those commands hang on network paths so I ran "vs_Enterprise.exe --layout" again to local "C:\VS2017_RTM" instead of mapped "Z:\VS2017_RTM". It then completed without hanging. The completed target folder has: 1,901 Files, 765 Folders total 22,171,951,890 bytes It seems strange that the successful completion results in less files & folders but 8 more gigabytes. I assume some intermediate scripts cleaned up some files.
    - timsneath 10y ago
      Great - so glad that you're up and running. Thanks for the update. We'll take this back and see if we can repro this in-house.
yiwang110 10y ago
"Due to licensing complexity of today's installer" - LOL If there is licensing complexity in making an ISO file, just make a ZIP file of the whole thing.
- tracker1 10y ago
  The licensing complexity comes from things like downloading cordova and the android sdk, etc... Which are options that you can select. Distributing in ISO form, would mean changing the installer license, as opposed to optional licenses to agree to, you have to then composite the whole.
  - yiwang110 10y ago
    easy - how about making cordova, android sdks, etc as a downloadable component after the main Visual Studio is installed?
    - orf 10y ago
      > easy... just do this thing I have no idea about nor any clue how it would implemented lol.
    - tracker1 10y ago
      Which then negates the purpose of an offline installer...

neilsimp1 10y ago

Scott Hanselman had a blog post a while back about this. Maybe his instructions will help? (I haven't compared this against your instructions so for all I know they're the same steps.) https://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToMakeAnOfflineInstallerForVS2017.aspx https://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToMakeAnOfflineInstallerFo...

timsneath 10y ago

A few quick thoughts on the topic of ISOs, to give you all a little extra context. 1. Visual Studio 2017 is a huge product, because we support so many types of development: from Android to UWP to C++ to Unity to Linux. If we were to still offer a 'full' install, it would come in at over 50GB. That's one huge ISO image! 2. We surveyed hundreds of people during the previews and RCs, and people told us that they had historically used an ISO for two reasons: (i) because they wanted to download once and create a network install for enterprise deployment; (ii) because they had a shaky internet connection and wanted to be sure they'd downloaded successfully before installing. A single monolithic ISO isn't the best solution for either of those scenarios - it's just the one that people are habituated to over all these years. 3. For the former (enterprise deployment), we have a full administrators' guide that provides detailed guidance on how to deploy the product: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/visual-studio-administrator-guide https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/visual.... This includes PowerShell scripts, examples of using the installer to create and update a network cache, descriptions of how to deploy Visual Studio in a fully offline environment, and so on. 4. For the latter, we've worked really hard to improve the robustness of the installer. The componentization work we've done means that the smallest install is one-tenth the size of Visual Studio 2015, making it far more likely to succeed. And other typical installs are smaller too. We download VS in small packages that are more likely to succeed, and we use multiple ways (WebClient, BITS, WinInet) to download those files to minimize problems with AV and proxy software. If you want to download first then install, you can use the offline guide to cache just those pieces that you need, which we've just rewritten for RTW: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create-an-offline-installation-of-visual-studio https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/create... 5. Because of the nature of our product (rapidly updating, lots of third-party components), an ISO is problematic. We don't have the rights to redistribute several large components (including Android), and others update on a rapid cadence that often includes critical security fixes, meaning an ISO image is incomplete, often outdated, and potentially insecure. Most customers assume that an ISO would support offline installation, but that's not true. And so we fear that offering an ISO will just creating more disappointment. Lastly, we're listening to requests for an ISO and paying attention to the feedback we're getting; at the same time, we're hoping that this is the release where we can gently move forward to a new model that better supports delivery of developer tools at a fast, well-maintained cadence. Hope this is useful context. And again, we're listening :) Tim Sneath | Visual Studio Team