SeahawkFan

I have a deployment that requires installation of .NET Framework 3.5 on applicable workstations. The problem is that the zipped setup files include both the x64 and x86 versions of the Framework when only x86 will ever be needed. I tried to excise the x64 files from the setup assembly but I received errors indicating that the setup must stop because the x64 files were missing.

How do I configure the setup project in VB 2008 to only bother with the x86 install and ignore everything about the x64 option? I want to keep the MB size of the zip file as low as possible and avoid connecting to the internet to download the files due to firewall concerns.

SeahawkFan

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

PlausiblyDamp

Is the application set to build as AnyCpu or x86? You should be able to find this as part of the project properties on the build tab.

If you are building as AnyCpu then the application will run as 32 bit on a 32 bit os and 64 bit on a 64 bit os, therefore both frameworks are needed. If you set it to x86 then it will only ever run as a 32 bit app and you should be able to just deploy the 32 bit runtime.

SeahawkFan

According to the Properties tab for the Deployment project, the TargetPlatform value is x86.

When I go to the Property Pages window for the Deployment project and select Prerequisites, the choice I have for Crystal Reports Basic for Visual Studio 2008 states it covers both x86 and x64. The .NET Framework 3.5 choice has no specification regarding version type included, but when I build the Deployment project and review the files I see that both x64 and x86 are included in the folder for Framework.

If I go to the Configuration Manager... button on the Property pages window, I have the following settings configured:

Active solution configuration = Release
Active solution platform = x86

Project Contexts:
Deployment Project = Release, no platform, build unchecked
Main Project = Release, platform x86, build checked


The rest of the Property Pages window is set as follows:

Package Files: In setup file
Compression: Optimized for size

CAB size is greyed out but set to unlimited. There is no installation URL as I set my prerequisites to download from the same location as my application.

PlausiblyDamp

I can't seem to find anything that even indicates this is possible. Is this application being installed on your own network or will it be installed on 3rd party computers?

If it is on your own network then it might be a case that the file size isn't an issue or the framework might already be installed anyway.

For 3rd parties it might be easier to just ship without the full framework but include the web bootstrapper which will just download and install the appropriate version from the internet anyway (assuming the framework isn't already installed)

SeahawkFan

It'll be installed on 3rd party computers and deployed as part of a silent installation package to target workstations over the company network.

The IT rep who will be setting up the installation package and is the one who asked if it was possible to do this in the first place recommends that we just have the .NET Framework 3.5 installation be separate altogether. That does dramatically cut down the size of the package from 227Mb to 27Mb. Now it is more my curiosity that wonders if the prerequisite option for the Crystal portion can be altered to be just x86 or if I'm just stuck having to add both the x64 and x86 options.

What part of the package is causing the need to have the x64 parts of the package present: the setup.exe file, the .msi file or both? I'm really new to deployment concepts and am unclear on how this transpires.

And before I forget, thank you VERY much for your responses to this query. It's much appreciated!