Installing Visual Studio 2010 after SQL Server 2012: Visual Studio doesn't appear in Start Menu

Question

I installed SQL Server 2012, and then attempted to install Visual Studio 2010. Visual Studio 2010 doesn't appear in my Start Menu. How do I fix this?

Answer 1

Hello Roger,

As far as I know that SQL2012 and VS2010 are seperate from each other, so I do not think the installation order of these two products are very important.

To deal with your issue, please first make sure that you have installed your VS2010 successfully. You can take a look at the information in the Registry, go to the node: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\<version>\Setup\VS\<edition>

In addition, as far as I know that by default all the shortcuts shown in the Start menu are stored in the path: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. For example, once you add or remove one shortcut in that folder, the shortcut will disappear or appear in the Start menu as well. If you have installed the VS2010 successfully, but still can't get the VS2010 shortcuts shown in the Start menu, please try to create the shortcuts manually and then put it to that foder I specified above. For further information, please see:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307358

Thanks.

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Vicky Song [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us

Answer 2

Given that SQL Server 2012 uses Visual Studio 2010 as its interface (even without installing son-of-BIDS), I think that the installation order could potentially be very important.

According to Add/Remove Programs, Visual Studio is installed. But is it installed correctly? That's the million-dollar question.

Recreating the shortcuts manually is missing the point -- I don't know whether it installed correctly, and I don't want to be plagued with missing features for the lifetime of this machine.

Surely someone at MSFT attempted to install these products in this order during testing, and noticed that they don't work? Or maybe they do work for most people -- that'd be a useful data point as well.

Either way, I was only three hours into a complete nuke-and-repave of the machine anyway, so I'll start again and install them in the other order.

Answer 3

Hi Roger,

Please update me your result once you finished to frist install VS2010 and then SQL2012. And I will install these two products with your original order to see if I can reproduce the same issue as you. I will update my result once I finished it.

Thanks.

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Vicky Song [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us

Answer 4

If I install Visual Studio 2010 first, followed by SQL Server 2012, then everything works as expected. Thanks for taking the time to look into this.

Answer 5

Hello Roger,

I can reproduce the same issue on my side. However, I am sorry that I can't figure out you the root cause of the issue. I think you need to reopen one feedback on the Microsoft Connect site so that more experts can help you out.

Please post back the URL once you finished it, I will help you to vote it.

Thanks.

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Vicky Song [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us

Answer 6

Thanks Vicky,

I've reported it on Connect: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/739885/installing-vs2010-after-sql2012-results-in-missing-visual-studio-2010-shortcut