>>Not sure where to post this question, so I am posting in both SQL Server and .NET forums.
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>>I have done a lot of searching to find best practices and recommendations for creating an install CD or DVD for a new Visual Basic 2008 application with a SQL Server 2008 Express back end. This is a single user, single desktop application. The database will always be installed on the desktop (not intended for a server).
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>>The one problem is that our customers are going to be remote. We cannot drive over to their office to solve an installation error. They most likely will have internet, but some may not (and those that do may not have high speed internet).
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>>I have always had great respect for opinions here, and wondered what people have found works best for them when faced with creating a robust installation routine (with required prerequisites getting installed, database user configured, application files installed, shortcut created and database with some default data created).
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>Not really answering your question but, given that this is a 'single user, single desktop application' are you sure that SQL CE would not be sufficient. Much easier to install this embedded version........

We have been thinking about that. Of course, we started this project thinking "It's 2009! I bet the latest tools have come a long way to make building and deploying an application pretty straight forward!" Not so much. I am stunned how complicated every aspect of this project has been. Makes me wonder if Microsoft ever uses their own programs. If we could have done this in Visual FoxPro, we would have been done a couple months ago!

Without realizing what a challenge it would be to deploy this thing, we used some views in our database - which we will have to drop if we go to SQL CE. But we may have to do that if we have a hope in hell of creating a seamless user installation experience!!

Thanks for the info!