Cannot add Entity Data Model in Visual Studio

Question

I am running Visual Studio 08 Team Edition with .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on WinXP. I am trying to add a Entity Data Model to my project, however, the option to add an "ADO.NET Entity Data Model" selection does not appear. To give you a visual, I am essentially following the directions here, but cannot get past step 5 (Right click on project and click Add New Item) because the option to add an EDM does not appear.

Any ideas? I'm sure I have all of the prerequisites.

Answer 1

I was having the same issue as described here with VS2012. I have now installed VS2012 update 2 and this has resolved the issue, so if any one else stumbles upon this for VS2012, try that to fix the issue.

Answer 2

Here is a blog post about the issue.

Essentially, installing VS2008 SP1 (even if the about box on your installation can claim it's already SP1) resolved the issue for me.

Download page for SP1 here.

Answer 3

Can you verify that you have: Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR R2 The important thing to note is the GDR. Basically, it's like a service pack. They added some features, like Entity framework.

non-R2 would be ok too. the article you linked above doesn't list this at all, but it's required for entity framework

Answer 4

I'm guessing that your VS 2008 SP1 installation did not complete successfully. Here are some things to verify:

1. Take a look at http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/2/8/A2807F78-C861-4B66-9B31-9205C3F22252/VS2008SP1Readme.htm and verify if any of the known issues apply in your scenario

2. Open a Visual Studio 2008 SP1 command prompt and type: devenv.exe /setup [ENTER]

3. Repair VS 2008 SP1 from "Add/Remove Programs" or try uninstalling and reinstalling VS 2008 SP1