BUG: Setup Does Not Validate First Three Digits of CD Key

• Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Edition, versions 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0

SYMPTOMS

During installation of Visual C++, at the Registration dialog, setup will accept any three characters entered for the first field of the CD Key. Setup will continue and eventually brand a possibly incorrect CD Key into the "About Developer Studio" dialog box of the installed product.

RESOLUTION

To correct an installation with an invalid CD Key, delete all files ending with the .pkg extension in the \Msdev\Bin\Ide directory installed on the hard drive. Then re-install Visual C++. At the Registration dialog, manually verify that the first three digits of the CD Key are correct.

NOTE: You will have to re-install other components as well, such as Test, Fortran, or MSDN.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The setup for this version of Visual C++ now correctly validates the second part of the CD Key, the seven-digit serial field. Setup will not continue unless these seven digits are entered correctly in the Registration dialog.