>>>>>But you still haven't said what the exact same error is !
>>>>
>>>>I said it a couple of times. The Setup thinks that I don't have .NET 4.0 and VS Shell 2010 installed. Trying to install from the CD always fails with the exact same message.
>>>
>>>You've said the message is exactly the same but not *exactly* what it is :-}
>>>
>>>>>>It wants to get vs_setup.msi for VS 2010 Ultimate and I have no idea where to get it.
>>>>>
>>>>>MSDN downloads presumably?
>>>>>
>>>>The question is - how will I get to the right download and how can I download it after my MSDN subscription has already expired.
>>>
>>>I think the answer the the last part is simple at least - you can't :-{
>>>
>>>>>Never tried this but it might help : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144256.aspx
>>>
>>>>I'm not upgrading my existing SQL Server 2008 R2, I want to install SQL Server 2012 as a new instance and switch between them at will.
>>>
>>>It's not actually going to change anything but might throw a little more light on why things appear to be missing....
>>
>>Ok, I went to Add Programs and Features and uninstalled everything related to SQL Server 2012 I found. Now, how can I be sure I completely cleanly uninstalled it?
>
>Another simple, identical answer : you can't :-}

Got an answer from SQL Server Setup Engineer:


Hi Naomi,
I have investigated the issue and it turned to be bug that needs to be addressed by Setup team, for now the only workaround is to have Visual Studio Ultimate RTM media.

Thanks,
Ahmed


And unfortunately I don't have /can not find this media.