MSBuild does not contain a value for the "VCTargetsPath" property - visual-studio

I recently installed the Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview to try it out, and now my VS 2010 projects won't open. Instead, I get the following error message:
MSBuild does not contain a value for the "VCTargetsPath" property
I found someone that had reported the issue here on Connect, and the response from Microsoft was:
Posted by Microsoft on 12/2/2011 at 5:25 PM
Hi Afshin,
Thanks for the feedback. The issue you ran into is fixed for the next public release Visual Studio.
Jim Griesmer
Visual C++ Team
Fantastic. So how do I restore VCTargetsPath so my projects will work again?
"VCTargetsPath is a toolset property that is defined in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\4.0. "
I browsed to the VCTargetPath value in the registry and it has the value:
$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\
Not sure where to go from here. Any suggestions?

It seems reasonable that the solution Gavin Pugh gave would fix the problem, though I didn't try it. I too ran into this problem after uninstalling the Developer Preview of VS11. I think I know what is really wrong though.
Mladen Jankovic was on the right track. One of the follow two (necessary) registry keys was missing on my machine:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\4.0
Key Name: VCTargetsPath
Type: REG_SZ
Value: $(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\4.0
Key Name: VCTargetsPath
Type: REG_SZ
Value: $(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\
(You can edit registry keys in Windows by typing +R+regedit+Enter)
For me, the second value I listed above was the one that was missing. After I added it, I was able to work with my project again.

Here's the thing that did trick for me:
Change registry value named DefaultToolsVersion located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\4.0 from 2.0 to 4.0. Do the same thing in Wow6432Node too.

The registry editing method suggested by "Mladen Jankovic" didn't work for me.
I just ran a repair on Visual Studio 2010 (run the setup.exe on the VS2010 install disc, or invoke the 'uninstall' via Control Panel->Programs). It did the trick for me.
You also should run the SP1 install again.
For what it's worth, my 'add-ins' (including Incredibuild) behaved fine after this. They didn't need to be reinstalled or repaired. My settings/window/debugger placement also was retained.
Apparently this issue only presents itself if you uninstall the Developer Preview of VS11:
http://www.gamefromscratch.com/post/2011/12/15/Do-not-remove-Visual-Studio-2011-developer-preview!.aspx

For those who are here by google search :
If you had previously installed VS 2015 or any later versions of vs after vs2010, and then uninstalled, Here is the solution for you.
In the error message below :
Cannot evaluate the property expression
"$([MSBuild]::ValueOrDefault('$(VCTargetsPath)','$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V140\'))"
14.0 is the version number of VS2015. Unfortunately, the VS2015/2012 uninstaller forgets one of its registry keys, which then causes that error when you go back to VS2010.
Go to start/run/ regedit >
Look for
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0 (12.0 as well)
And
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0 (12.0 as well )
If there is a key 14.0/12.0 here, delete it and your VS2010 will hopefully work again.

Ugh I finally found the answer for this, which incidentally didn't give me the same error message - I get:
error MSB4019: The imported project "C:\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" was not found. Confirm that the path in the declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk.
For some reason it worked fine with 32-bit builds, but not 64-bit builds.
Anyway, the solution is to copy all the VCTargetPath* keys from HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild ToolsVersions\14.0 to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0. They were missing for me.
Actually I only copied VCTargetsPath and VCTargestPath14 because copying is quite tedious. Seems to be sufficient for VC++ 2015.

If working with VS 2010 SP1, go to Control Panel | Uninstall a program, Uninstall/Change the VS 2010 SP1 and pick reapply SP1. It worked for me.

I've been having this same issue, and found out that the toolset tag was not set in the project node
Setting the tools version solved it for me

I used C:\Windows\SysWOW64\regedit.exe and went to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\3.5 and in the folder for version 3.5 it had 2.0 listed in the defaulttoolsversion so I modified that to 3.5 and everything works now.

I arrived here when trying to build a c++ project without the c++ Visual Studio build tools installed. My solution was to download the Visual Studio Build Tools installer from the downloads page under 'Tools for Visual Studio 2017' tab, running the installer with the"Visual C++ build tools" and ".NET Desktop Build Tools" options.

I also suffered from the missing registry values under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0.
Adding the missing entries with the following commands fixed it.
REG ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0 /v VCTargetsPath /t REG_SZ /d '$(Registry:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0#VCTargetsPath)'
REG ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0 /v VCTargetsPath14 /t REG_SZ /d '$(Registry:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\14.0#VCTargetsPath14)'

Related

Cannot install Microsoft Visual 2015 [duplicate]

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

"Unknown Error" when launching Visual Studio 2017 Community after installation

I am getting an "Unknown Error" (shown below) alert when I try to launch Visual Studio 2017 Community after successful installation.
UPDATE: After Force uninstall & reinstallation
remove this folder (or similar):
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_db2a872f
folder name 15.0_db2a872f could be different in your machine eg. 15.0_XXXXXXX
found in the vs startup log that processing of Progression_NativePackage_Component_x86.pkgdef bailed out, indicating an inconsistent extension installation
I only had to rename(if you wan't to back it up)/delete the following file:
privateregistry.bin
or
privateregistry.user.bin
depending on Visual Studio version.
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_********\privateregistry.bin
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_********\privateregistry.user.bin
After restarting Visual Studio 2017 you may need to activate Tools or Extensions again.
Please check if the machine has Symantec Workspace Virtualization Agent installed. Removing the product from add\remove programs fixed the unknown error while launching VS 2017.
Here is the detail of the product.
Product code: {785F9A4D-D113-43B3-AA1D-77AD777F0A2F}
Package code: {32DB9767-3EF7-465A-ADF2-7ECFD25ABC12}
Install date: 2015.05.21
Version: 6.4.1266
Publisher: Symantec
I ran it as Admin and it somehow booted up just fine after that. I was getting the same error even after making sure that all packages and SDKs were installed until I ran it as admin.
Basically, just go to the shortcut in Start or to the .exe in the files, then right click it and run as Admin or change it in the properties. Tbh, it seems like a temporary fix and I'd actually like to know the real source of the problem, but for now, I don't have to reinstall and repair over and over.
Same version: Visual Studio Community 2017 installed using the launcher
I have a same problem after update VS 2017 Enterprise to the build 26228.9.
Repair installation doesn't fix anything. Still I got "Unknown error" message immediately after start VS2017.
Fixing is possible by removing this folder:
"C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_xxxxxxx"
where xxxxxxxx is some hexadecimal number.
BUT AFTER THAT YOU LOSE ALL SETTINGS that you done on your installation of VS 2017 (except product license key appliance).
Sorry that I must say this, but:
Maybe will be better stuck on the VS2015 for now. Because MS still not has really fully functional build of VS for now.
VS 2017 is still ready for first experimenting only and not for real work.
It is same story like a was when VS2015 has been published. (after several days stop working).
I fixed it the same way as niclar by deleting folder 15_.*. It does however appear that renaming privateregistry.bin has same effect with less trouble.
As mentioned by Torbjorn, ReSharper and other Extensions can mess up, however no reinstall required.
Merely go to Tools > Extensions and Updates... > Scroll through list of Installed Extensions > Enable those that should be enabled.
I have a side by side installation with VS2015. After opening and closing VS2015 once, VS2017 ist starting again normally. Strange but helped in my case.
I only needed to delete or rename ApplicationPrivateSettings.lock within C:\users{your username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_c31ecfb9 folder.
I was experiencing this issue with Visual Studio Professional
when not running as administrator. (It worked Ok as administrator)
I used Niclar's solution of deleting the folders.
I found same issue after installing the extension and removing the folder "C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_xxxxxxx" solved my problem.
you can rename the Solution Name and reopen the Project it solved for me after repairing the VS Installation

Multiple Errors Installing Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition

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

Visual Studio crash at start-up

My Visual Studio began crashing at start-up. In my search for finding a remedy, I found these two suggestions, but neither worked for me:
Launching Visual Studio while running in safe mode, and
Running repair on Visual Studio.
However, I found that if I logged into a different Windows account, Visual Studio was able to run from that account without crashing.
Here is an error code that that I observed in the crash report:
LCID: 1033
Can anyone provide a solution for returning my Visual Studio to working order?
For me it turned out to be the plugin that GitExtensions installed into Visual Studio 2013.
-- UPDATE: try this before uninstalling GitExtensions
#Enceradeira proposed in the comments to uncheck the Show current branch in Visual Studio option. In GitExtensions, you get there via Tools -> Settings -> Appearance:
-- END OF UPDATE
After uninstalling GitExtensions and reinstalling it with all VS plugin unselected my VS runs smoothly again.
I even put together a blog post about this issue because it bugged me so much.
Since you're able to run with another user login, something may be wrong with your local settings, you can try to reset them: devenv /resetsettings in Start menu -> Run.
Warning: this will restore visual studio to default settings.
In my case VS used to crash on a single solution. I resolved the problem by deleting the respective solutions's user file: SolutionName.suo
My colleague recently experienced a problem with Visual Studio 2013 crashing on start-up. Unfortunately, we found that the approach recommended in the answer by #Arun M did not solve the problem:
devenv.exe /ResetSettings
...however, using a different command line argument did:
devenv.exe /ResetUserData
An easy way to run devenv.exe is via the Visual Studio command prompt; on Windows 10, it can be found here:
Start Button => All Apps => Visual Studio 2013 => Visual Studio Tools =>
VS2013 x86 Native Tools Command Prompt
For more about these command line arguments for devenv.exe, see this answer to this related question: How do I truly reset every setting in Visual Studio 2012?. ⚠ In particular, please note the cautionary statement in that answer about the /ResetUserData command line argument!
Try to run VS as administrator. That's necessary in my case.
If coincident to these Visual Studio crashes you are getting "Heap corruption" (Exception code: 0xc0000005) errors in your Windows Application log (Faulting module name: WindowsCodecs.dll), here is something worth checking into: A faulty WIC component within Expression Blend can cause ALL versions of Visual Studio to crash upon launch, as well as cause Internet Explorer to crash upon visiting many, if not most sites. Even though Microsoft distributes this component, they call it a "non-Microsoft component". As such, a Visual Studio reinstall won't fix this,, an OS reinstall over existing Windows installation won't fix this, and a system file integrity check won't detect it.
If my case, the misbehaving codec was "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Expression\Common\Imaging\4.0.360.0\PSDCodec.dll", and simply unregistering this component got my Visual Studio working again from consistent startup launch crashes.
I post this in hopes this solution to one source of Visual Studio crashing might save others from the $500 Microsoft support incident fee and week of downtime this caused me.
I just changed the windows language in the bottom right to "EN", then started as admin. And it worked, interesting..
I had the very strange phenomenon that both Visual Studio 2010 and 2013 on a Windows 7 machine crashed when run in a remote desktop session, started from a Windows 10 pc. Debugging the crash showed a CultureNotFound exception. It was caused by regional settings on the Windows 10 pc, which could not be translated in something understood by Windows 7. I had language English(Belgium) with an Azerty keyboard. I added and selected English(UK) with an Azerty keyboard and the crashes disappeared. No other programs suffered from this.
For me it was being caused by Web Essentials and I was able to resolve by disabling it, restarting VS, enabling it back , restart again. Works now.
I had a crash on startup (or soon after startup, before opening any solution) occurring in git2-msvstfs.dll, caused by placing a 3GB temp file into a directory within my solution. Deleting the file fixed it.
Once I accidentally pressed a random key combination (maybe something like ctrl+', but I didn’t realize I was holding ctrl down so I forgot what keys I hit by the time I realized something bad had happened) that resulted in VS Professional 2017 15.3.5 crashing within half a minute. After relaunching, I found that VS would be interactive for a few seconds before it would crash within half a minute. It was really too fast for me to try to figure out what I had accidentally activated or for me to disable it before VS would crash. Also, it would even crash if I didn’t open any solution, so I figured it was not something that deleting a .vs (per project/solution Solution Explorer/open files state) folder would fix.
To fix, I followed Arun M’s comment and renamed my %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\15.0_3f4d04be folder. You will need to adjust the path for the edition/version of VS that is crashing. On my machine, I think 15.0_3f4d04be is Professional and 15.0_0fed6c59 is VS Community Edition. You’ll probably have to guess based on the folder’s modification timestamp which is probably going to reflect the date you last used that edition of VS.
After renaming the versioned dotfolder, VS launched without crashing. It started with default settings but automatically restored some of my settings through the cloud sync stuff after a minute of running and it even remembered my account information so I didn’t need to sign in.
I did not need to rename my %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\VSCommon folder (which Arun M had also suggested).
I had a similar problem, both VS2015 and VS2013 would crash at startup. Tracked it down to an application I installed which put .net 4.7.2 on the system. Once i removed that app, removed .net, and reinstalled .net 4.6, Visual Studio started working again.

How do I fix an "Invalid license data. Reinstall is required." error in Visual C# 2010 Express?

I've tried to install Visual C# 2010 Express edition onto my PC, but whenever I try to run it, I get a error message.
Invalid license data. Reinstall is required.
I've already tried reinstalling it, and the message persists.
OS is Vista Home Premium. I already have VC# 2008 Express installed.
I am using Visual Studio 2013 and I have the same issue but it occurs when I try to open a solution that was made using Visual Studio 2010.
The solution for me is to open the solution file (.sln), using notepad and change this line:
[# Visual Studio 2010]
to this:
[# Visual Studio 2013]
I just right-clicked, and opened with Visual Studio XXXX (in my case 2015). Then save it. Done.
I have the same problem with Windows 7 Pro. Have tried everything suggested by the Microsoft people, including uninstalling, cleaning up, reinstalling both from the web installer and the VS2010 Express iso - with the same result every time.
To say it's frustrating is an understatement and the disinterest from Microsoft in fixing what appears to be a common problem (you can find lots of search engine 'hits' for the problem, none for a solution) is quite unbelievable.
Since this is virtually a virgin Win7 install, the only conclusion is that MS have broken their licesing checks again (why check for a license on a free product?).
Edit: Following further investigation I have concluded that the advice given by Microsoft is useless and does not attempt to diagnose the problem. It simply assumes a corrupt installation source. I believe that the problem is in fact corrupt permissions/ownership of registry keys. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Licenses and subkeys needs to be owned by SYSTEM with admins having full access. On my affected system the owner cannot be displayed and no permissions are shown when viewed by admin.
I don't have the definitive fix for this so far, as I cannot adequately edit the permissions for the affected registry keys.
Re-installing Windows is an almost certain fix, but also an extremely drastic one.
I have had this EXACT problem with VS2010 Professional Trial / Evaluation download. I can provide clear and concise steps to reproduce:
Set your system clock ahead by 1 day (oops!)
Install the trial software.
Set your system clock back to the correct date.
Start VS2010, you will receive the vague message indicating "Invalid license data. Reinstall is required."
In my case, the resolution was quite simple - set the clock back ahead to the wrong date. The next day, I was able to set the clock back to the correct date and continue using the product.
Based on other answers to this question, it would appear there are numerous reasons that you could receive this message. This specific issue is most likely to be encountered by someone with a "virgin" install of Windows since it is not so difficult to set the clock incorrectly when setting up a new computer and then fix it later (and if you fix the clock hours after installing the product, it might be hard to put it all together and realize what happened).
Hope this helps someone else.
I had this issue but I was able to resolve this by right clicking and using Run as Administrator. This boots up the program just fine.
This worked for me on Vista. It's based on work-around at MS: http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/520110/invalid-license-data-reinstall-is-required
Download subinacl command line tool
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?FamilyID=e8ba3e56-d8fe-4a91-93cf-ed6985e3927b&displaylang=en
Run these commands:
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Licenses /setowner=everyone
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Licenses /grant=everyone=f
Start VS 2010 Express again and this time it asks for a license key.
(On Windows 7 Home I had to run the above commands twice before they worked correctly)
I got the problem when instelled MS SQL 2012 with IngegrationService, the MS Visual Studio 2010 (Isolated) was installed from sql installer .
This VS returned error: Invalid license data. Reinstall is required.
I've fixed the problem by reinstalling SSDT with MS VS 2012 (Integrated)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/jj650015
I had this problem when installing a new SQL Server 2012 standalone Server.
Cause: When installing SQL Managemnt Tools it will install the VS Shell. It seems like this is all you need but this ist not enough! (it actually shows it will install VS)
Strangly the path and the application are shown in windows put you can't open them without the error.
Fix: You need to also install "SQL Server Data Tools" via Feature Add with the SQL-Server.iso
Hope this helps someone... i took me quite a while.
I get this error only when trying to open older solution files. For instance, I've got VS2013 installed and this error message pops up when I double click on a VS2010 solution file.
Getting rid of it is so simple:
Launch VS2013
Open the old solution file by clicking
"File->Open->Project/Solution..." from the menu (or simply by
pressing Shift+Ctrl+O)
Save the solution with the new format by clicking "File->Save
Solution As..." and overwrite the old file.
It appears that this has been reported as a bug, but has been closed as "Not Reproducible". One suggestiong from the Microsoft supporter is to redownload and reinstall:
Please try downloading the complete ISO from http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/#2010-All, mount it as virtual drive. Then execute Visual C# setup from the ISO media and select an option to remove the product. Once the Visual C# has been uninstalled, please try installing it again from the ISO media.
It sounds a bit far fetched to me, but you might want to give it a try.
If that does not help you, I would suggest that you either post a new bug report to Microsoft or vote to reopen the existing one (I am not sure if/how this is possible).
I have faced this problem when installing the Visual studio 2010 - C# express using the local administrator account, then trying to register the application using another account that doesn't have Admin privileges, due to corporate polices this account can’t edit in the Registry by any means, so suddenly that’s how I figured out how to solve this issue I open VS 2010 as a local administrator then entered the registration key, and it is worked , I don’t understand how do that Microsoft itself didn’t mention this solution or even try hard to investigate or solve this issue
I just encountered this problem on a virgin install with a system that has a bad clock battery (when I turn off the power, it resets the date/time. Syncing to time.windows.com again allowed me to run VS2010 successfully.
It was not the clock for me, and all the hours spent re-downloading and reinstalling were a waste of time (except for the last one, of course....).
Also, for some odd reason, just adding Read permissions to the HKCR node using psexec -i -s regedit did not work by itself.
To fix my problem on Windows 7, I made sure (using psexec -i -s regedit) that my login account had full control permission over every node in the registry and that the everyone group had read permission over every node in the registry, and did all of the steps in the following link (rebooting after each step):
http://windows.microsoft.com/troubleshootwindows7sp1
This is probably overkill, but after spending 10+ hours trying to get this working, I am just happy it works... Good luck!
I was stuck for several days with the same problem. Investigating the registry i found several keys in HKCR were i was denied access even as adminstrator. Among these keys were the Licences key. Tried a lot of things to resolve this access problem but could not fix it.
Finally i worked around this problem with a reinstall of Windows 7 - choosing the Upgrade option when prompted to choose between upgrade or a fresh install. Had to reinstall video drivers but all my programs and user accounts survived.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Installing-and-reinstalling-Windows-7
After the upgrade i have access to the HKCR\Licenses again and Visual Studio 2010 starts as expected.
I had this problem and finally got passed it. I tried the solutions above to no effect. (I set my license keys to open permissions, set my clock forward, etc.) After two days I gave up...
In the end, I installed VS 2012 Express, which could handle VS 2010 solutions but could not compile 2010 code (without a COFF error). After finding this article on requiring VS 2010 to be installed to compile 2010 solution in VS 2012, I reinstalled VS 2010 even though I assumed it wouldn't work on its own. I tried opening 2010 anyway and it worked!
Analysis: as per the previous correct note by reece (and the original workaround author), I used ProcessMonitor to see what devenv.exe tries to do and fails.
Unfortunately, it was attempting to read a number of reg keys which were not under the Licenses node (so it wouldn't have been enough to take ownership of the latter with subinacl). Furthermore, even after taking ownership, the affected keys still yielded "ACCESS DENIED". Doing it as Administrator was equally useless. Plus, Visual Studio didn't fall for any date change nonsense either.
Solution - Don't try this at home :D though: I downloaded pstools and ran psexec -i -s regedit to get System privileges, then I changed permissions on the entire HKCR node to allow Everyone to Read (:P what can I say, viva el comandante).
I want to point out that adding "Everyone" to have read permissions on HKEY_Classes_Root did fix this issue for me.
I am not sure exactly what permission is needed, but this "worked for me" ... YMMV
This may also occur if you are trying to invoke an xml file instead of the exe application.
An another solution I have found to work is the one mentioned Mac by over at SuperUser: https://superuser.com/questions/651261/how-do-i-fix-an-invalid-license-data-reinstall-is-required-error-in-visual-s
When simply reinstalling the Visual Studio 2010 shell doesn't work, he points out that installing it through SSMS 2010 can solve the problem:
I was able to resolve my issue without making any manual changes to
the Windows Registry by installing SQL Server Data Tools 2010, which
is also free and includes the Visual Studio 2010 Shell.
You don't have to go through the entire install process. I cancelled the process when it was done installing the shell and it worked our fine.
If you're here from Google and are experiencing this issue with GFI MailEssentials's config export tool, check to make sure you aren't trying to open WebMon.SettingsImporterTool.exe.xml instead of WebMon.SettingsImporterTool.exe
If you have "hide common file extensions" enabled, you will see the .exe but not the .xml
Just happened to me with a new install of Visual Studio 2010 ultimate in a new computer.
This new computer had the internal time correctly set, but the date was set to one day late. I installed Visual Studio 2010 with the incorrect date. Then, I noticed of the incorrect date and changed it by sync'ing with a NTP server, and from that moment Visual Studio 2010 would not work... so I'll have to stop using Visual Studio 2010 until DateTime.Now > installationDate.
I met the same problem yesterday.And I fixed already.
Please follow the steps:
Run setup.exe again; Change or Remove Microsoft Visual Studio 2010;
Upgrade license Key (Enter new license key); Complete.
GOOD LUCK !
To everyone who has internet connection. Don't mingle with your
registry it's just a waste of time. Set your CMOS clock right then
just click on the button that say's "Obtain registry key online" fill
up the form(two fields are only required) then the registry key would
show up to your screen then just copy and paste it. then everything
works fine. sorry I can't post any images I still need to earn more points...
Background: Visual Studio 2012 Pro installed by Administrator account.
As "Joe User" (member of Win 7 Users group, but NOT Adminstrators) I got the error message.
On reading this forum I concluded this is a generic error message.
Steps to fix:
As an adminstrator, open HK_CLASSES_ROOT.
Open context menu on the Licenses subkey
Select Permissions...
Set Full Control for all users.
Now log on as "Joe" again.
Voila!
Next, as Administrator change the permission on HKCR/Licenses back to read only for Users.
Two hints for developers.
If you can develop and run an application as an ordinary user, then presumably your poor
clients don't need admin rights to run it either.
Don't leak security information in "helpful" error messages. Microsloth are probably following their own advise and giving a vague and unhelpful error message here.
I have no idea why changing the permission to FC then back again to the original setting worked. I can only assume the Visual Studio writes something to that key the first time it runs.
While none of the above solution worked for me (else than running the application with an other username),Renaming the application folder in %appdata% fixed the porblem for me.
"C:\Users...\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\MS Project"
I had this issue while installing dynamic ax setup in VM, while installing it was showing me to 'licence is not valid, Reinstall visual studio shell 2010 version', so i uninstalled the visual studio shell 2010 version and its following component and tried to install again the AX admin it worked.
I'm having this problem with Visual Studio 2015 installed.
ramonsantana over at forum.unity3d.com had the solution for me: https://forum.unity3d.com/threads/if-anyone-is-having-visual-studio-shell-2010-invalid-license-data-reinstall-is-required.298824/
Copied here for reference
Use regedit go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for Visual Studio.DTE
Since i have Visual Studio 2015 CTP installed i have 3 DTE, one is
VisualStudio.DTE, the other Visual StudioDTE.10.0 and
VisualStudio.DTE.14.0 Go to VisualStudio.DTE.14.0 ( or whatever
version of Visual studio you have installed) and click CLSID.
Copy the
Default (Double click Default and Copy the key inside), now go back to
Visua Studio.DTE and double click the Default there and paste the key
you just copied.
Almost there
On VisualStudio.DTE go to CurVer and
double click the key there to Edit it. Change the 10.0 in the end to
12.0 or 13.0 or 14.0, depending on what version of Visual Studio you have and you are done.
Installing SQL server data tools for visual studio 2010 did it for me! SSDT has an VS2010 IDE along with it, which overwrites the required registry entries.
You can find SSDT here.
My problem:
VS works fine, but when I create new Solution Setup and Deployment it make Setup file but when I run this Setup file, it say: "Invalid license data. Reinstall is required."
subinacl do not work.
My PC:
OS: Windows 7 64bit.
Visual Studio 2012
My way:
Close Visual Studio
Run regedit.
Pull down HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Looking for Licenses
Right click on Licenses -> click Permissions... -> click Advanced -> click User you want edit -> click Edit -> choose This key and subkey -> check all Allow: Full Control, Query Value, SetValue, Create Subkey, Enumerate Subkeys, Notyfy, Create Link, Delete, Write DAC, Write Owner, Read Control... -> check Apply these permissions to objects... -> click OK -> click OK -> click OK -> Close Registry Edit
Start VS
Hope this help
This was my problem with my Visual Basic Net 2005.
This is how I got it solved:
Click start :-> type run (Or press win+r)
Type regedit
Click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Click Licenses
Double click (Default)
Clear all text written in Value data field
Press Ok
Run again Microsoft visual studio
Believe it or not, I have found cases where this problem occurred due to a build error when the build error was due to an error in xcopy in the pre-build events.
We had this problem at a colleges computer, and after trying everything here we set to forget it and fix the error from xcopy. When this was fixed the Visual Studio 2010 shell error stopped popping up, for some reason.

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