Very strange: I insert the Visual Studio 2008 installation DVD, and my systems (WinXP) locks up. No app is running. Cursor has an hourglass, nothing can be clicked. Can’t eject the CD except with a paperclip. Only action possible is a hard reboot (hold down the On button for 5 seconds).
I seem to recall mention on the SDMB of a Microsoft toll-free installation support line, but I can’t seem to find it.
Can anyone help?
I’m assuming from your desription that you’re not getting even the first setup.exe wizard dialog.
That smells a lot more like a defective DVD which is crashing the DVD driver. Does the DVD drive correctly read other disks? Is there any chance you’ve got a Chinese pirate install disk?
Correct.
Yes - both disks containing data files and DVD movies.
I bought this copy of VS-2008 from Provantage (and it wasn’t cheap), so I’d say the chance is low.
Can you move the cursor?
Can you PING the PC from another machine? Do any remote tools work?
What happens if you leave it for 5 minutes? 30 minutes?
What happens if you copy the whole DVD to the HDD and install from there? (Turn auto-run off first.)
Can you try the DVD on another computer?