orchard cms: module package not installing - orchardcms

Question

Setup:
I have created a module that works fine in the solution where it was created, ie, the orchard source code. I then package it up using package create.
Edit: I now realize that the problem appeared IMMEDIATELY after installing visual studio 2012.
Problem:
If I now install the module on a different app using the package and install from file, all the alerts show the module is installed, it appears in the features list, it is enabled... but there are no menu items, no entry in the migrations table, nothing.
Edit: Nothing appears in the logs. The files are, however, installed correctly in the modules folder of the site.
Question:
What could be going wrong that stops the module being properly installed using the package given that the module works fine in the source code solution where it was created??
Any suggestions?
Edit:
How could installing visual studio 2012 have affected Orchard?
I notice that installing visual studio 2012 resulted in various bits of sql server 2012 being installed at the same time. Could this be relevant? EG, is this why the migrations code never runs?
Edit on the basis of Bertrand Le Roy's comments (see below this question):
BertrandLeRoy says that having ASP.NET MVC 4 installed in the GAC, as well as Razor 2 (both of which came with VS 2012), is the problem.
He suggests upgrading to Orchard 1.5.x.
However:
I have tried using a new install of Orchard 1.5.1, and the problem is the same:
Creating a new module using VS 2012 and Source Code for Orchard 1.5.1 and the module appears correctly when running the orchard site from VS.
Creating a package and then installing that into an Orchard 1.5.1 site, eg, using WebMatrix, running and then installing the package has the following effect:
2.1. The alerts in the dashboard tell me that the package has installed correctly.
2.2. However, enabling the feature does nothing.
2.3. This is hardly surprising, as installing the package has not even run the migrations.
The last test I can do is to see if the package runs on a web server that doesn't have asp.net mvc4 installed. I will post back once that is done.
However, the main point is that using Orchard 1.5.1 produces the exact same result. So, if the problem really is the fact that MVC 4 and Razor 2 are on the machine, then Orchard 1.5.1 is not solving it.
Ie, what will happen when I install mvc 4 on the web server as I will inevitably have to for other, non Orchard apps?

Answer 1

I experienced the same thing on version 1.8.1. That is, the module appeared to install fine, but it didn't actually perform migrations or load correctly.
Initially, I saw nothing in the log to indicate a problem. However, after adjusting the /Config/log4net.config file to log ALL instead of just ERROR messages. I got this:
... Orchard.Environment.Extensions.Loaders.PrecompiledExtensionLoader -
- Extension "Transformalize" will not be loaded as pre-compiled extension
because one or more referenced extension is dynamically compiled
The part saying my module "will not be loaded as pre-compiled extension because one or more referenced extension is dynamically compiled" seemed to explain why my module wasn't loading. So, I Googled and found this documentation regarding the Orchard module loader and dynamic compilation. It's a bit complicated at 2 AM, but what I gathered is my module's reference to another module (Orchard.Autoroute in this case) caused the log message (above) in the production environment. I removed my module's reference and dependency on Orchard.Autoroute, and then it installed fine.
The documentation explains how modules are dynamically compiled and how the settings in /Config/HostComponents.config can change how things work.