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Windows SDK components missing from VS 2008?

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A couple of developers have written asking why the Windows SDK components that were expected to install with Visual Studio 2008 were missing after Visual Studio installed.  The Windows SDK installs several version 6.0a components whenever Visual Studio is installed:

  • Windows headers are installed by default to \Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\include
  • Windows libraries are installed by default to \Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\lib
  • Windows and .NET Framework tools are installed by default to \Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\tools (some, but not all tools are installed with Express SKUs)
  • Windows Reference Assemblies are installed by default to \Program Files\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft

These Windows SDK components are automatically installed with every installation of Visual Studio 2008. It’s not possible to deselect the Windows SDK components.  If the components are missing, and the folders listed above are empty, it's likely that your Visual Studio installation was corrupted.

If this is the case, you should repair your VS 2008 installation. (Start, Control Panel, Programs and Features (Add Remove programs on pre-Vista), and select the Visual Studio 2008 entry. Click Uninstall/Change, start the Maintenance wizard and select Repair when prompted.

If you want, you can figure out why the installation is not completing fully. If one of the components that installs before the SDK components fail, the SDK components may not install. You can review your Visual Studio install log to determine what the problem is.