Evaluating the VSTS/TFS 2008 SP1 Beta – How to get started

Now that Microsoft has released the beta versions of Visual Studio 2008 SP1, TFS 2008 SP1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, how should you go about evaluating them? Remember – As beta products, you should NOT install these in production environments. (OK – so you’re not silly enough to consider that anyway)

One of the best ways to evaluate these Service Pack 1 betas, is to use the pre-configured VSTS/TFS 2008 virtual machine which is available from the Microsoft web site. The following steps will walk you through downloading and installing the trial VPC and then adding the betas to the virtual machine.

**STEP ONE
** Download the VSTS/TFS 2008 Trial Virtual machine form the Microsoft Download Center is you don’t already have it. It’s a hefty download (~5Gb) but it’s a quick way to get started.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7a809d8-8c9f-439f-8147-948bc6957812&displaylang=en

**STEP TWO
** Download and install Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 if you don’t already have it. (~30Mb)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=04D26402-3199-48A3-AFA2-2DC0B40A73B6&displaylang=en

STEP THREE
Expand the Virtual machine you downloaded in step one and start it by double-clicking the “VSTS08RTM-V7.vmc” file from the folder you installed the virtual machine to.

STEP FOUR
Two of the SP1 packages are only download wrappers so you’ll need Internet access on the machine you wish to install the service pack betas on. One of the easiest ways to do this is to configure the virtual machine to use Shared Networking (NAT).
  a. In Virtual PC 2007, choose Edit | Settings
  b. Select Networking in the list of settings
  c. Change Adapter 1 to “Shared Networking (NAT)” or other options if you’re familiar with VPC2007.
  d. Click OK and confirm your virtual machine has Internet access

**STEP FIVE
** Download the SP1 Betas inside the Virtual Machine using the following links;
NOTE: The VS2008SP1 & .NET3.5SP1 downloads don’t actually download the SP1 beta. They download small applications that run and download the actual service pack 1 beta installers. The TFS download is the complete service pack 1 beta.
VS 2008 SP1 : http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/3/8/7382EA08-4DD6-4134-9B92-8585A5B07973/VS90sp1-KB945140-ENU.exe (450Kb)
.NET 3.5 SP1 : http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/f/c/8fc1fe13-55de-4bf5-b43e-375daf01452e/dotNetFx35setup.exe (2.79Mb)
TFS 2008 SP1: http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/e/2/ae2eb0ff-e687-4221-9c3e-9165a942bc1c/TFS90sp1-KB949786.exe (114Mb)

STEP SIX
Install the three service pack 1 betas by double-clicking the files you downloaded in Step Five. Make sure each installer has completed before running the next one.
_NOTE – I chose to install the three packages in this order for no specific reason.
_   a. TFS90sp1-KB949786.exe
  b. dotNetFx35setup.exe
  c. VS90sp1-KB945140-ENU.exe

STEP SEVEN
After you have rebooted the virtual machine, you’re ready to start exploring the many need enhancements and features available in the SP1 betas.

VSTSTFS_SP1

For a list of TFS 2008 SP1 features, check out Brian Harry’s blog post on “Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 Preview“

Scott Guthrie runs through many of the features of VS2008 SP1 Beta and ASP 3.5 SP1 Beta at

Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Beta

Once you’re up and running, you should use the following resources for feedback, suggestions and help: