John,
we have not heard of any other customers having this problem, nor have we been able to reproduce it here. However, I have some suspicions about what might be causing the problem.
Visual Studio looks for C++ directories for include, lib, and executable files. It first looks for a file called VCComponents.dat, located in the directory
:\Documents and Settings\\local settings\Application Data\Microsoft\VisualStudio\7.1
If this file does not exist, or is empty, Visual Studio looks in the registry for its directories at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\7.1\VC\VC_OBJECTS_PLATFORM_INFO\Win32\Directories
If the VCComponents.dat file does not exist, viewing the C++ directories in the "Options" dialog and clicking "OK" causes it to be created. When the file is created, Visual Studio populates it with the directories from the registry. Note that if the file exists and is empty, this process will not change the file's contents - it will still be empty.
MeasurementStudio appends its directories to those already existing int the VCComponents.dat file. I believe what is happening on your system is this:
1) You have a VCComponents.dat file, but it is empty. This causes visual studio to look in its registry keys for the directories.
2) After installation MeasurementStudio sees that the file in present, and appends it directories to it. Since the file was empty, the only things in it now are the MeasurementStudio directories.
3) Because the VCComponents.dat file is no longer empty, Visual Studio relies solely on its content for the include, lib, and path directories from then on.
To confirm this, can you send me a copy of your VCComponents.dat file BEFORE you install MeasurementStudio on the system? The file is located at:
:\Documents and Settings\\local settings\Application Data\Microsoft\VisualStudio\7.1
This will help us to get a better idea of why your system is ending up in a strange state.
Glenn Burnside
National Instruments