Encounter errors when installing visual studio express editions(eg.visual web dev).Causes: read "http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/" (VS 2005 setup fails with 1935 or 2908 error) or when suggested "... orphaned registry key/value that VS setup..." by Aaron Stebner is not found. My suggestion is the following:
1. My solution though a bit ridiculous, install NET Framework 2.0. Run visual web developer express setup... and asks you to uninstall all previous versions as listed. To uninstall all, DO NOT use 'Add or Remove programs' under Control Panel. DOWNLOAD AND USE 'VS 2005 troubleshooting tool' (a.k.a. ttool).
Please Note: Prior to steps above, I used the 'ttool' AFTER (repeat emphasis, AFTER) even when all previous editions were removed by USING 'Add or Remove programs' of Control Panel as a requirement to install visual web dev, and still encountered the error codes. END Note
2. And run visual web developer express setup again. It was a successful installation for me, came as a relief.
3. Analysis: Mitigating issues on proper error codes definition, revolving around on several released versions of visual studio editions as to registry entry conflicts, specific APIs, etc. I downloaded the full version of 'WEB.img' MANUAL version of visual web developer express rather than the website installation.
Hopefully it helps you.