Cannot install Microsoft Visual 2015 [duplicate] - visual-studio

Question

When installing Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition on Windows 10, using the web installer, everything runs fine, however, the following packages fail to install:
Team Explorer for Visual Studio 2015 -> Fatal Error
Microsoft NuGet - Visual Studio 2015 -> Package Failed
Microsoft Visual Studio Connected Services -> Packages Failed
Azure AD Authentication Connected Services -> Packages Failed
Microsoft Azure Mobile Services Connected Service -> Package Failed
Microsoft Azure Storage Connected Service -> Packages Failed
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Office365 -> Package Failed
I have attempted a few work around including uninstalling every Visual Studio Version on my system, manually deleting the files in C:\ProgramData\Program Cache, and even gone as far as to uninstall my Antivirus (AVG) having attempted to disable it and see if that works before hand. I even ran the command fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation L2L:1 L2R:1 R2L:1 R2R:1
I have even tried to use the ISO but ran into the same issue.
Since I don't use either Azure or Team Explorer any solutions which mean I won't have access to them will suffice.
The log file that was generated by the Installer can be found here as it was over 65,000 characters long (just scroll to the bottom for all the fun).

Answer 1

After the failed install you have to repair the 2015 vc redistributables and restart the visual studio installer.
The redistributable installer is messed up, it mixes up 64bit and 32bit dll's. You can check if you have this problem by looking at the vcruntime140.dll file size. Search your windows folder for vcruntime140 you should see 4 files (64 and 32 bit in both release & debug versions). If any files have the same size, you need to run a repair on the redistributable.
On my system the 32-bit dll is 83,3KB, the 64 bit is 86,6KB (release versions).

Answer 2

I spent a whole week trying to solve this issue. What finally did it for me was disabling my anti-virus programs. Before I stumbled upon my solution, I went through a lot of other solutions. I thought, I'd post some of the solutions that might prove to be useful for those who are still having trouble with installing Visual Studios 2015 Community Edition.
Solution 1: Minimal Installation
Try installing with minimal extra features. Run the Visual Studios 2015 installation, then click "Custom" and on the following screen, uncheck everything and proceed with the installation.
Solution 2: Delete installation cache
Perhaps the installation failed due to corrupt files in the cache. When installation fails, remove all Visual Studio cache related items and do a full re-installation. To do this, run command prompt (Run as Administrator) and type: "cd /programdata/package cache/" then press enter. Then type "del /f /s *.msi /f /s *.cab" then press enter.
Now run the Visual Studios 2015 installation again.
Solution 3: Delete temporary file data stored on your computer
Open up File Explorer and go to "C:\Users\[Your User Account Name]\AppData\Local\Microsoft". Then delete the following folders: VSCommon, VisualStudio, Blend, VsGraphics, ApplicationInsights, vshub, Team Foundation, Web Platform Installer and MsBuild. After this, run the Visual Studios 2015 Installer again.
Solution 4: Enable all four evaluations of Symbolic links
First, check to see if all four evaluations are enabled. Open up command prompt (Run as Administrator) and type "fsutil behavior query SymlinkEvaluation". All 4 evaluations should be enabled. If they aren't then type "fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation L2L:1 R2R:1 L2R:1 R2L:1". Once those 4 evaluations are set, clear up temporary files and clear installation cache (see Solution 2 and Solution 3) then run the Visual Studios 2015 installation again.
Solution 5: Repair the Redistributables
Perhaps, the problem is that your VC-redistributables are faulty and are in need of repair. To do so, run "Add/Remove programs" and look for all the x86 and x64 versions of Microsoft Visual C++ [Year] Redistributable (Version). Then press Change for each of them and when the uninstallation screen pops up, press Repair. I did it for all the versions I had previously installed: 2012, 2013 and 2015. Therefore, I repaired 6 of them: 2012: x86 and x64, 2013: x86 and x64, 2015: x86 and x64.
Solution 6: Check to see if x86 and x64 sizes are the same
As mentioned by others in this discussion, do a search for vcruntime140.dll and see if the x86 and x64 versions. They should NOT have the same size. If they do, see solution 5 or you can manually delete them (** Be cautious when deleting files from the Windows folder!) and re-install them (from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=48145). Also do the same check for msvcp140.dll. I personally did a search for these files in "C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and C:\Windows\System32" and compared the files from the two folders. Moreover I also checked for differences of vcruntime140.dll and msvcp140.dll in "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0" and "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
Solution 7: Temporarily disable all Anti-Virus Protection and Firewalls
For me, it turned out that the problem stemmed from having ByteFence Anti-Malware and Norton Security with Backup protection. I disabled real-time protection from ByteFence Anti-Malware and I disabled Auto-Protect and Smart Firewall from Norton Security with Backup. Before I ran the installation again, I repeated Solution 2 and Solution 3 (scroll up). And Voila, installation was successful. But how did I find out that the Anti-Virus Program was the culprit? Read Solution 8.
Solution 8: Carefully monitor Visual Studios Installation Process for Intrusions
I resorted to this solution in order to find out the problem. After reading Ezh's article, I decided to download Process Monitor v3.2 and Process Explorer v16.1. I was carefully monitoring 3 programs side-by-side: Process Monitor, Process Explorer and the Visual Studios 2015 Installer, and I watched very closely all the processes that the installer was invoking. Then I noticed that when VSIXInstaller.exe process came on and attempted to install something from a remote server, it kept failing over and over again because my Anti-Virus Program would suddenly appear on screen (as a process) and decide to hog/block some important DLL files that VSIX installation needed. Temporarily disabling the anti-virus program solved my issue!
Solution 9: Complete Windows format and re-installation
If all else fails, and you are really desperate to get Visual Studios 2015 working, I suggest a complete Windows re-installation. At this point, the problem is most likely some type of interference/intrusion with a program which you do not know of.

Answer 3

My problem did not go away with just reinstalling the 2015 vc redistributables. But I was able to find the error using the same process as in the excellent blog post by Ezh (and thanks to Google Translate for making me able to read it).
In my case it was msvcp140.dll that was installed as a 64bit version in the Windows/SysWOW64 folder. Just uninstalling the redistributables did not remove the file, so I had to delete it manually. Then I was able to install the x86 redistributables again, which installed a correct version of the dll file. And, voilà, the installation of VS2015 finished without errors.

Answer 4

Success!
I had similar problems and tried re-installing several times, but no joy. I was looking at installing individual packages from the ISO and all of the fiddling around - not happy at all.
I finally got it to "install" by simply selecting "repair" rather than "uninstall" in control panel / programs. It took quite a while to do the "repair" though. In the end it is installed and working.
This worked for me. It may help others - easier to try than many other options, anyway.

Answer 5

As described from other answers, but with steps:
1- go to control panel -> uninstall programs -> uninstall all Microsoft C++ ((year)) Redistributable
2- delete those files if they still exist manually:
c:\windows\System32\vcruntime140.dll
c:\windows\SysWOW64\vcruntime140.dll
3- download and install:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145
after that rerun the installation of Visual Studio, and hope that error won't show again.

Answer 6

None of the resolutions outlined in this question solved my issue. I posted a similar question and ended up having to open a support ticket with Microsoft to get it resolved. See my answer here if none of the other suggestions help: Error Installing Visual Studio 2015 Enterprise Update 1 with Team Explorer

Answer 7

Okay, so if you're on the same boat as me and found that none of these solutions helped you, you most likely have a problem where NuGet (or any of those packages) is failing to install from the VSIX program due it calling a method that doesn't exist on your computer (not sure what .dll it's referencing), so try this out from the following post:
Delete all instances of Visual Studio 2015- this includes all registry values.
Install a version of Visual Studio older than Update 1 (RTM version.); this is available here.
If you still get an error, try repairing just the Visual Studio 2015 program. This is what ultimately fixed it for me.
Hope this helped someone out. It's really frustrating that the installer's log file doesn't help at all. I had to look at the log file specific to NuGet, and that's where I noticed the error:
The installation was unable to install the extension to all the
selected products. For more information, click on the install log link
at the bottom of the dialog.
Method not found: 'System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable`1
System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509ChainStatus
Microsoft.VisualStudio.ExtensionManager.IInstallableExtension.get_InvalidCertificateInformation()'.

Answer 8

(I encountered the identical issue. After many tries I SOLVED it and located the MY ROOT CAUSE. I keep my try path here but you can skip to the end if you want.)
I want to point it out that BE VERY CAREFUL WITH enden's solution 2. Some other programs may cache installation packages in the C:\ProgramData\Pacakges Cache folder. If you remove data from that folder, you may jeopardize other programs installation/uninstallation.
I encountered this multiple failures during install VS2015. And after I remove all the content from the C:\ProgramData\Pacakges Cache, both my VS2013 and VS2015 stuck in the Programs and Features window and I cannot change/repair/uninstall them.
To fix the change/repair/uninstall failure, I have to go to below 2 registry keys:
First of all: BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING TO IT.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall]
And remove every key whose InstallLocation points to the C:\ProgramData\Pacakges Cache AND whose DispalyName looks related to Visual Studio 2013/2015 (this may requrie some experience/intuition).
Then, the stuck items of VS2013/2015 in Program & Features window are gone. And now I am able to re-install the VS2013.
But I still cannot install VS2015 with the installer. The error is still as below:
But at least I can change/repair/uninstall VS2015 in the Prgram & Features window. So I choose to repair it. But the repair doesn't work. I still got the same error as above.
Then I uninstalled the failed VS2015 and tried to repair the VC++2015 redist as said in TimVdG's marked answer. And then reinstall VS2015 with the installer.
Still failed.
Then I tried Brian Swart's solution to install VS2015 without Update 1. But it still failed with TeamExplorer. I checked the log and found this:
MSI (s) (48:A0) [14:53:34:997]: Windows Installer installed the
product. Product Name: Team Explorer for Microsoft Visual Studio 2015.
Product Version: 14.0.23102. Product Language: 1033. Manufacturer:
Microsoft Corporation. Installation success or error status: 1603.
And I googled a bit about 1603 error. Now I am trying to add full control to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0 folder and try again.
Still doesn't work.
Some refs:
https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/remove-program-from-add-remove/
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/247501/how-to-manually-remove-programs-from-the-add-remove-programs-list
https://superuser.com/questions/401511/how-to-remove-a-broken-program-from-the-programs-and-features-list-in-windows-7
=========> The Final Solution <=========
So in my scenario, it has nothing to do with the VC2015 redistributables.
My root cause is the incorrect .NET version number in the registry.
On a 64bit Windows, .NET version is stored in 2 places in registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full\Version
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE**WOW6432Node**\Microsoft\NET Framework
Setup\NDP\v4\Full\Version
Below is what my box has:
Note that leading character v in the Version? I don't know who put it there. But once I removed it, my VS2015 with Update 3 can be installed smoothly!
So you may wonder how could I find this. Well, since I couldn't install VS2015, I turned to VS2017. But after intalled VS2017 successfully, I couldn't launch it. It says this:
So I decided to check the installed .NET version and saw the interesting difference above. Once I removed the leading v, VS2017 can be started.
But anyway, I still don't know who put the v there... Shame on it!
Last but not the least: Please also make sure the Release, Version registry key value are consistent and can work with your Windows version. Refer to below:
.NET and Windows version dependencies.
how to determine the installed .NET version.
Windows 10 version info
Add some more findings:
After I finished this install sequence: VS2017 -> VS2015 -> VS2013, I noticed that there's even no VC++2015 redist on my box:
Because both VC++ 2015 and VC++2017 redists are 14.xxx. So having the higher version is enough. When I try to manually install VC++ 2015 redist, it says this:

Answer 9

This was killing me as well, I must have re-installed visual studios a thousand times before Stack Overflow helped me! First is began with a Windows update problem While installing Visual Studio 2015 the Update flagged me that it needed
- the update KB2919355.
Went to the Windows update and saw several failed updates. No matter how I tried did not work. The Error code that were cited was 80070543 did some research found nothing worked until I encountered this advice http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/SLN293803/en Having followed those instructions did the Windows update again and it worked. Went back to to do the Visual Studios update got the same error again! So I decided to research KB2919355 and was frustrated until I found this site http://www.eightforums.com/windows-updates-activation/45441-update-kb2919355-finally-successful-after-multiple-fails.html
followed the instruction precisely about loading other updates and they worked. KB2919355 was finally updated so I tried again and a different error came up involving language packs. “Fatal Installation error”. After going through a series of frustrating reinstallations, uninstallations light broke through of the advice of that came this (the above) Stack Overflow entry “repairing the C++ Redistributables” which involves:
Going to Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features
Right mouse-clicks on each the redistributables (from the bottom up) and click repair for all. If any ask for a “Restart” do it immediately right then and there!
Then I did the Visual Studio installations….finally after days and days of trying….it worked.

Answer 10

If no other option in this thread works, you can try the steps given in this guide (see below): https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/heaths/2015/07/14/how-to-install-visual-studio-to-another-directory-when-a-pre-release-is-installed/
Download and install http://psmsi.codeplex.com (Note: new site https://github.com/heaths/psmsi) These are general-purpose PowerShell cmdlets I created for all sorts of development and troubleshooting operations for Windows Installer-based installs. You do not need to elevate to install them, though if you pre-elevate you can install them per-machine (by default they are per-user).
Open an elevated PowerShell command prompt and run the following to discover which products have installed the key shared component:
get-msicomponentinfo '{777CBCAC-12AB-4A57-A753-4A7D23B484D3}' | get-msiproductinfo
If you’re fine with uninstalling all the listed products (especially given that you’re probably going to install RTM next), run the following:
get-msicomponentinfo '{777CBCAC-12AB-4A57-A753-4A7D23B484D3}' | get-msiproductinfo | uninstall-msiproduct -properties IGNOREDEPENDENCIES=ALL
Personally, this worked for me. I forgot that I had some old files laying around on an old drive, which appearantly later on messed something up in the registry (I think..?). Anyway, with everything clean, it installed just fine!
Note: if you have issues with importing the PSMSI-tools in PowerShell, check this out: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn568022.aspx
In summary, you may need to run the command
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned to be allowed to import the software.
Hope this helps someone in need!

Answer 11

I did the redistributable repair thing, but for me it worked after I installed Office365.
(for me it also was the last failing package on the list).

Answer 12

For me, nothing from this list of answers worked.
What finally did the trick is:
Performing an uninstall of VS by running the installer with the /uninstall /force command-line options (ref. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt720585.aspx)
Manually renaming all VS14 and nuget related folders from the following places:
%AppData%/Local and its sub-folders
%AppData%/Roaming and its sub-folders
%ProgramData% and its sub-folders
%ProgramFiles% and its sub-folders
%ProgramFiles(x86)% and its sub-folders
%ProgramData%/Package Cache itself
Rebooting the machine
Installing again.

Answer 13

Make sure to check your machine.config files in both locations
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework[version]\Config
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64[version]\Config
I found out after trying all the solutions on this page.

Answer 14

I've faced the same problem with Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition Update 1. The problem in my case was, the installer somehow could not install Visual C++ Redistributable x86 version. When I checked Add Remove Programs only x64 version was installed.
If that's the case for you, you can get the missing redistributable package from here; or you can find the version appropriate to you through a google search.

Answer 15

In my case the solution had to do with enabling symbolic links. See How do I overcome the "The symbolic link cannot be followed because its type is disabled." error when getting the target of a symbolic link on Server 2008? for multiple ways to do it.

Answer 16

Like the rest of you, I've spent days trying to figure this out. I've been down this thread trying every combination of what you have all said, and nothing. I finally went to AppData/Local/Microsoft/VisualStudio and deleted all the folders in there. Then proceeded to turn off everything in my Anti virus and I finally got the basic installation to go all the way through. Frustrating, but hopefully this will help someone else who has tried everything.

Answer 17

Also you can find log files in %Temp% folder about exact problem, in my case the problem was with symlinks.
if with "fsutil behavior query SymlinkEvaluation" you get message .."is currently controlled by group policy" check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Filesystems\NTFS or simply search throug registry for "Symlink".

Answer 18

After battling with this problem on and off for a couple of months, I finally got it to install.
I downloaded the Visualstudio2015AzurePack which uses the web installer.
One of the requirements it to install VS2015 community edition which worked without problems.
I hope this helps someone.

Answer 19

This is a very elusive problem. No (simple) solution looks to apply. I tried -all- the previous options with the same negative result: multiple packages errors.
Resorted to install VS 2013, success no issues, then VS 15 (Preview) success no issues (btw very cool).
Finally what works for me, was to install the very basic first 'Visual Studio 2015' with -NO- updates. During the installation, setup automatically downloaded 'Update 2' and the installation finished successfully.

Answer 20

For some reason the installation broke while in process. After this, nothing helped and repair/unistall only produced package errors. What finally helped was this thing:
https://github.com/Microsoft/VisualStudioUninstaller
after I ran it a couple times (it didn't remove everything on the first pass...es) I was finally able to start a fresh installation and it worked.

Answer 21

I just found similar issue and I tried to fix it by uninstall, and reinstall several time both using the web installer and the ISO but it cannot solved the problem. Finally, I have fixed it by reset the PC and installing Visual Studio 2015 again by using the ISO.

Answer 22

Since the marked answer mentioned repairing the VC Redist 2015, I list all the ones I can find instead of burying them in the comments.
Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015
Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 Update 1
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3
This thread discussed the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 Update 2. But all the links are broken and I didn't find it.

Answer 23

I did.
1) Stopped Avast Internet security.
2) uninstall all Microsoft C++ 2015 Redistributables.
3) install vs-2015 community.
installation finished.
thanks.