Product Availability
In general, all commercial and consumer Microsoft products that are relevant for software development projects are made available to Visual Studio subscribers. As a rule with Visual Studio subscriptions, products remain available for download long into the future—even after the extended product support period has ended—to enable customers to develop and test legacy applications and transition to newer platforms. There are cases where we are unable to provide certain products to subscribers as outlined below, but we make every effort to minimize these occurrences.
Products Unavailable to Subscribers
A product might not appear in Subscriber Downloads for several reasons:
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The product is not included in your subscription level or program.
Learn more about the software and benefits available with your subscription or download the full list of products available by subscription level. Some programs, such as Microsoft Partner Network, provide Visual Studio subscriptions as a part of their benefits, and these programs do not include every product that is included in purchased Visual Studio subscriptions. Subscribers to these programs should direct questions about product omission to the support teams for those programs.
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The product is not included in subscriptions. Some Microsoft products are not included in subscriptions due to special licensing terms, technical restrictions, or developer relevance. If you would like to suggest a product be added to the subscription, please send email to your Visual Studio Customer Service Center.
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The product is publicly available. Some tools, SDKs, DDKs, and service packs are publicly available from the Microsoft Download Center. Some such products may not be published to Subscriber Downloads.
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The product has not yet released. Many pre-release (beta) versions and release candidates are available from Subscriber Downloads. However, not all betas can be included; for instance, some betas require special registration or eligibility. For more information about open technical beta programs, please visit Microsoft Connect.
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The product is not available in your country. Some Microsoft products are not available due to regional restrictions.
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Redundant software. Select Office suites and standalone Office product keys are no longer available in subscriptions that include Office. Product keys are available for the corresponding highest Office suite of the same version (for example, OneNote is available in Office Professional). Additionally, previously claimed keys will continue to be available.
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Other special circumstances as outlined below
Products Unavailable due to Java-related Settlement
Some products have been removed from Subscriber Downloads due to the terms of Java-related settlements Microsoft made with Sun Microsystems. These products are no longer available from Microsoft in any form, but may be available through third-party resellers or Web sites.
These include (although not necessarily a comprehensive list): Internet Explorer 5.5, Map Point 2002, Office 2000, Outlook 2000, Project 2000, eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0, Visual Basic (Alpha Systems), Visual Studio 6 MSDE, Visual Studio 6.0, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Back Office Server 2000, SQL Server 7, IIS 6.0, Office XP Developer, Visio 2000, Exchange Server 2000, Exchange Server 5.5, FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions, Handheld PC 2000 SDK, Infrared Communications for Windows 95 DDK, ISA Server 2000, MapPoint 2002, Office 2000, Office 97, Plus! 98, Project 2000, Site Server 3.0, Small Business Server 2000, SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 3 & Service Pack 4, SQL Server 7.0, System Management Server 2.0, System Stress for Windows 2000, System Stress for Windows NT 4.0, Visio 2000, Visual Basic 5.0, Visual C++ (Alpha Systems), Visual FoxPro 6.0, Visual SourceSafe 6.0c & 6.0d, Visual Studio 6.0, Windows 2000 DDK, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 98 SE, Windows 98 DDK, Windows CE SDKs & DDKs, Windows CE Toolkit for Visual C++ 6.0, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 4.0 DDK, Windows XP (32bit) SR2 Checked/Debug Build.
Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003: Visual Studio subscriptions do not include Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003. Windows Storage Server is not extensible, and is available pre-installed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) only.
Windows Preinstallation Environment: Windows PE is available via several channels. Visual Studio subscriptions include the Windows AIK, and Windows PE is one of the tools in that kit. Any product that uses Windows PE from the WAIK must include the WAIK when redistributed. Microsoft no longer offers a WinPE and WAIK redistribution license for Independent Software Vendors or Independent Hardware Vendors. Licensing of WinPE is only available for Original Equipment Manufacturers who license Windows Products.
Microsoft Class Server: Visual Studio subscriptions and DreamSpark do not include Microsoft Class Server. Please visit Microsoft Education for evaluation and purchase information.