TFS Power tools installation error: no Side-by-side

Question

I have visual studio 2012 installed on my box and I am trying to install TFS 2012 power tools.

This is the error I am getting via getwindowText:

The Windows Shell Extension component cannot be installed side-by-side 
with previous versions. In order to continue, you must deselect that 
feature, or cancel this installation, uninstall the previous Windows 
Shell Extension, and restart this installation.

The questions I have are:

1. Do I really need to uninstall the existing windows shell extension or is it just some issue with version compatibility?
2. How do I go about un-installing the previous windows Shell extension?
3. How do I check the version of team explorer installed on my box?

Answer 1

1. yes you do, the previous shell extension will have been installed by an older version of the power tools (e.g. for TFS 2010)
2. Go to "Add Remove Programs" in the control panel and highlight "Microsoft Team Foundation server 201x Power tools" right click and select "change" then follow the wizard to remove the Shell extensions.
3. If you have installed VS 2012 you will have the 2012 version of Team Explorer installed (unless you've installed VS 2012 express) If you have installed VS 2010 you will also have the 2010 version installed. They can hapily live side by side but you will need to install a forward compatibility update if you want to use Team Explorer 2010 with TFS 2012

Answer 2

I also had to uninstall "Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2010 Component Model" to allow installing all the features in TFS Power tools.