Can't install MSDN Library on VS 2003?!?!?

[Rico]

I'm hoping this isn't another one of Microsofts ever depleating free help
things, but I had to re-install Visual Studio 2003 Enterprise on a clean
installation of Windows XP Pro. When I hit the F1 Key, (no matter what I
use it on) I get "No links are available for the current selection". So I
clicked the menu bar "Help" and "Contents", I get a blank window. So I go
to the program menu and hit "Start>Programs>Microsoft Developer Network>MSDN
Library For Visual Studio .net 2003" and it does nothing more than bring up
the CHM frame and take me to the MSN.com website (not even a proper
techinical Microsoft type site). Any ideas what's going on? I know that
Microsoft is getting rid of all their free support, and I've noticed the
content of the help files and other documentation rapidly depleating in lieu
of a greater bottom line, but this is nutz if I can't even get a decent help
file.

Any help on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Darren Kopp]

Well a) go to link
ms-help://MS.VSCC.2003/VSCCCommon/html/coninstallinghelpforvisualstudio.htm
in your visual studio, that will tell you how to install the
documentation to work with visual studio.

b) Microsoft is not depleting their documentation
c) go to msdn.microsoft.com and search and you will find that the
entire library is online.

-Darren Kopp
http://blog.secudocs.com/

 

[Rico]

Thanks Darren, but

a) I've already installed the documentation twice, (I should have mentioned
that)
b) ..we'll see about that.
c) msdn.microsoft.com isn't context sensitive!

But thanks for responding!

 

[Darren Kopp]

Yes, msdn online isn't context sensitive. When you install the
documentation, are you calling the install from the Visual Studio
installer or just from the msdn installer?

-Darren

 

[Rico]

The first time through, I didn't have the MSDN Disks handy, so I installed
it separately, then when I ran into this problem, I installed it from teh VS
installer, but ran into the same issue. The only thing there is, I didn't
uninstall the original installation. VS still asked me for all the disks
when I tried to install the second time, but it seemed to be just going
through the motions. I've currently uninstalled MSDN Lib and will
re-install through VS as a clean install. I'll let you know if that changes
anything.

 

[Rico]

Nothing....same thing...empy windows and "No links are available..."

 

[Darren Kopp]

So you uninstalled both the documentation and visual studio?

I know that if you had visual studio installed, but uninstalled the
documentation, there is an option within the documentation installer to
"integrate" with visual studio. What is your documentation version (ie
March 2003, February 2003, etc).

-Darren

 

[Rico]

I uninstalled MSDN, left VS2003 installed and reinstalled MSDN from the
VS2003 install menu via control panel Add / Remove programs.

Version is Feb 2003.