In my consulting roll with VSTS/TFS, one of the things I often work with clients on is how to setup and configure their development environment on their developer PCs. With the size and complexity of developer SOEs these days, it can be quite a time consuming process to install and configure all the software a developer will need to use.
In searching for ways to improve and automate the installation of much of the Microsoft software, I have come across Aaron Stebner’s blog. There are some GREAT TIPS and instructions for automating the installation of many of the VS2005 generation products including Visual Studio 2005, MSDN, Express products and more. His posts include steps on how to script unattended/silent installs and how to suppress unnecessary reboots when installing VS2005 and the Team Foundation Client.
Have a look at a number of great articles listed in Aaron’s blog post below;
Heath Stewart also has a couple of really helpful blog posts