09
In the pre-broadband era, local documentation was not a luxury but a necessity. The inclusion of MSDN Library CD1 and CD2 in the ISO set represents a distinct era of knowledge management.
The MSDN Library is the essential documentation companion. Without it, the "F1" help key in the IDE won't function, leaving you without API references or sample code.
Consider migrating legacy projects to modern toolchains where feasible (e.g., VB6 → VB.NET rewrite or wrapping COM components).
Option A — Use a Virtual Machine (recommended)
: This two-disc set provides over 1.1 GB of critical offline documentation. It is widely considered the definitive reference for "classic" Win32 API and COM-based development, as later MSDN versions removed much of this legacy content to focus on .NET. Features of the MSDN Library CDs