Visual Studio setup problem - 'A problem has been encountered while loading the setup components. Canceling setup.' - visual-studio

I've had a serious issue with my Visual Studio 2008 setup. I receive the ever-so-useful error 'A problem has been encountered while loading the setup components. Canceling setup.' whenever I try to uninstall, reinstall or repair Visual Studio 2008 (team system version). If I can't resolve this issue I have no choice but to completely wipe my computer and start again which will take all day long! I've recently received very strange errors when trying to build projects regarding components running out of memory (despite having ~2gb physical memory free at the time) which has rendered my current VS install useless.
Note I installed VS2005 shell version using the vs_setup.msi file in the SQL Server folder after I had installed VS2008, in order to gain access to the SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services designer in Business Intelligence Development Studio (this is inexplicably unavailable in VS2008).
Does anyone have any solutions to this problem?
P.S.: I know this isn't directly related to programming, however I feel this is appropriate to SO as it is directly related to my ability to program at all!
Note: A colleague found a solution to this problem, hopefully this should help others with this problem.

A colleague found this MS auto-uninstall tool which has successfully uninstalled VS2008 for me and saved me hours of work!!
Hopefully this might be useful to others. Doesn't speak highly of MS's faith in their usual VS maintenance tools that they have to provide this as well!

I had the same error message. For me it was happening because I was trying to run the installer from the DVD rather than running the installer from Add/Remove programs.

In my case, uninstalling from Add&Remove Programs didn't work. Instead, the problem was due to a recently hotfix installed through automatic updates. The hotfix to VS 2008 (in my case) has the number KB952241, so I uninstalled it using Add/Remove Programs checking on the show updates option. After it was unistalled the problem was gone.

I encountered the same problem and found a very easy solution.Go to the following Link:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vs2008/bb968856.aspx
and run VS AutoUninstall tool .This will automatically remove all the components of VS 2008.
Cheers

Sure enough, for me, it was the hotfixes. In Add/Remove Programs, check the "Show Updates" box, and remove ALL of the Hotfixes associated with your version of VS2008. Then try the "Change/Remove" button - it should now proceed without a hitch.
Well, it did for me, anyway... ;-)

I have Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition, and had to remove all updates and Hotfixes:
Update KB972221
Hotfix KB973674
Hotfix KB971091
Reboot, then the following Hotfix appeared, which I then removed as per #riaraos' answer:
Hotfix KB952241
Before the Change/Remove would work!
Hope that helps someone else.

Uninstall hotfixes installed in related to vs2008 and then try again.
It worked for me and hopefully it will for you as well.
Thanks,
Zelalem

Remove the following hot fixes and updates
Update KB972221
Hotfix KB973674
Hotfix KB971091
Restart the PC and try to uninstall now. This worked for me without problems.

Microsoft itself posted a KB article about this, and that article has a service pack that they claim fixes the problem. See below.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959417/
It took a while for the associated update to install itself, but once it did, I was able to run the Visual Studio setup successfully from the Add/Remove Programs control panel.

You should look for the MSI setup logs in the temp directory of your system. They will contain detailed inforamtion about why the setup failed.
I had a similar installation problem with Visual Studio 2008 which I was able to resolve by studying the logs.

I think this sort of question is entirely appropriate to the forum, especially if an easy solution can be found, as would save others hours of pain.
Unfortunately I dont have the solution, but would suggest (if you haven't already)
Run FileMon to see if the
installer is looking for specific
files which are no longer there -
this may give some clues.
Painful, but try uninstalling other apps based upon the VS shell (eg 2005) first.

Thanks, riaraos, uninstalling KB952241 was the solution for me, too. Before doing that I tried to run the installer from "Programs and Features" and from the installation DVD without success. I did not want to completely remove the VS 2008 installation but only add a few components.
Notes on my system:
Windows 7 Beta 1
Visual Studio 2008 SP1

Okay I had the same issues first my VS2008 was acting up so i tried to uninstall it and it didn't work...I read online that using an AutoUninstall by MS will do the trick it did just that , but left a lot of nasty files behind..
So i used "Windows Install Clean Up" and cleaned up more stuff that had to do with VS..
then went back into Add and remove in control panel Removed the KB952241...
then opened up Ccleaner and scanned the registry found a lot of left behind crap from VB2008 removed all that once that was done.
I went ahead and launch the installed back from the CD again and BAM its working.
I did all this without having to restart my PC..
Hope this helps people who are stuck..like i was

In my case, installing visual studio SP1 unbroke the uninstall/repair functionality.

Windows 7 suggested to "Uninstall using recommended settings" after hitting OK in the error message. It solved the problem.

Solution to this is
http://www.dotnetzone.gr/cs/forums/48758/ShowThread.aspx#48758

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.

Any quick ways to downgrade Visual Studio Ultimate/Enterprise edition to Professional?

I have Visual Studio Ultimate/Enterprise installed from a previous engagement. I've now started at a new place who only have licenses form VS Professional. So I need to downgrade but the supported route involves full uninstall and full reinstall which is obviously rather time consuming.
Are there any "clever" (probably unsupported) ways to do the downgrade?
It is not possible to downgrade an installation, as they are different products and can exist side by side. The components downloaded and installed for each product are different.
If you had previously installed VS Pro, as I had, you might be able to go to "Add/Remove Programs" and select "Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise with Updates." Modify->Uninstall worked perfectly for me. Be sure to backup any settings, as some of mine got reset. My extensions stayed the same, though. To be clear, I had VS Pro first, and I installed Enterprise Evaluation side-by-side with it.
I'm in a similar situation, unfortunately there's no supported option besides the uninstall/reinstall route you've already mentioned. You could probably save some time by backing up all your extensions and settings etc. The processes outlined below might be different for more recent versions but I think the process would be similar
Backup and restore settings
Backup and restore extensions
Edit:
This is pretty weird, I'm starting to think that perhaps Drunken Code Monkey's solution is more accurate than I initially thought. I was expecting to have to follow the same process as Schneider described (uninstall / full reinstall), but as soon as the uninstall of VS Enterprise finished, I was able to open VS Pro as normal.
Edit 2:
Turns out it was not as normal, a bunch of things didn't work (creating ASP.NET MVC projects) and I had to do a repair. Not quite as bad as a full reinstall, fortunately.
Just had to do this. You must first uninstall the enterprise edition. Visual Stuido Installer will complete the uninstall and when it's finished will prompt if you'd like to install a different version, such as Community.
Down Grade visual studio from enterprise to Professional
we can download separate professional version of Visual studio EXE.
Professional and enterprise run side by side in our machine but need separate 2 license for those 2.
if you want to downgrade you visual studio from Enterprise to professional just need to install EXe using below link
https://my.visualstudio.com/downloads?pid=2234.

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.

Can't install Visual Studio - stuck on Visual Studio Hub Services

Now I have some big problems with installing Visual Studio Community.
These problems came when I got back to Windows 7 from Win10 (because I had some problems).
When I launched the actual Visual Studio for the first time on Win7, it loaded good, but I didn't have any templates. So I decided to reinstall it.
Uninstall went good, but when I tried to install it again, it just stopped at Microsoft Visual Studio Hub Services or something like that. It just really stopped, when I let it go, the progress bar never moved. Then it also said that it couldn't find it or something similar.
And then the fun starts. I tried to do it several times, same. Then I downloaded the Visual Studio 2013 Community, and it stopped on Build x86. Same like the Hub Services at the 2015 version. I gave up at this moment. But after that, I went angry and removed the all Visual Studio folders in the Program Files.
But later on, I found the Visual Studio 2015 Express for Desktop, I downloaded it and that time it said right at the beginning: A Prerelease version of Visual Studio Community is currently installed. Please uninstall it prior to proceeding with your current installation.
I listened to it, went to Remove and Add Programs thing (don't know what name is it in english) and yeah, there was a version of that Visual Studio I removed. I tried to uninstall it, but it just said something again: The installation source for this product is not available. Make sure that the source exists and that you can access it.. And that's basically all.
So I would like to ask, how to fix this thing. It's because of that movement from Win10 to Win7? Or because of the VS folder deletement in Program Files? Any answers are very welcome!
EDIT: Main problem is that it stops at Microsoft Visual Studio Hub Services, I managed to uninstall the 2015 Community version, but then it stops and just didn't move, the only way was to remove the process to shut down the installing window and cancel the installing.
EDIT 2: Well, kinda shy of my grammar back then, fixed some bigger mistakes.
When Visual studio is installed, several other programs get installed. So when you try to uninstall visual studio, you should uninstall all other bunch of programs which were installed along with actual visual studio(which is a bit burden). It take so much time for me to uninstall all the programs from my computer. So while re installing please make sure you uninstall all the other installed apps also.
[EDIT: you may want to scroll to the bottom for the nuclear option which I wish I'd discovered earlier!]
I've downgraded two computers from Windows 10 to 7, both with VS2015 on them. One worked and the other had its VS2015 break horribly. I also deleted the VS2015 directory and registry data that mentioned VS2015 and all sorts, and I had even more problems than you describe :) I think the difference is that I installed some new things (node.js and TypeScript) under Windows 10, and they inserted things into VS2015 which were no longer properly installed after the downgrade.
Here are my discoveries in a hopefully useful order:
When it hangs, what it's actually doing is trying to display this prompt asking you to supply the path to an installer it couldn't find.
You usually get to see these prompts if you 'Run as Administrator' the (main) installer (rather than letting it obtain Administrator privileges itself). Process Explorer helps shed light on this: if the main installer's window is associated with the child process, then the dialogues are visible. If the root process, they're not.
The prompt relates to old versions of packages that the installer wants to uninstall prior to installing a new one, and for some reason the installer doesn't know how to re-download those packages. It is usually looking under C:\ProgramData\Package Cache for them.
If you aren't seeing the dialogue, you can view logs in C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Temp. Use the 'Details' view and sort this folder by date modified, to help you find the right one. Each sub-installer tends to make a new file so you may have to poke around a bit. Changing dates or file sizes also tell you that it's doing something.
Messages like this tend to be associated with the attempt to show a dialogue:
MSI (s) (24:D8) [13:00:25:033]: SOURCEMGMT: Trying source C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{388D7468-1CCA-40C8-9F08-4C20E972E922}v14.0.25123\packages\BuildTools_MSBuildResMsi_amd64\.
MSI (s) (24:D8) [13:00:25:033]: Note: 1: 2203 2: C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{388D7468-1CCA-40C8-9F08-4C20E972E922}v14.0.25123\packages\BuildTools_MSBuildResMsi_amd64\BuildTools_MSBuildResMsi.msi 3: -2147287037
MSI (s) (24:D8) [13:00:25:033]: SOURCEMGMT: Source is invalid due to missing/inaccessible package.
So, what to do about these missing packages?
If you have another computer with a working Visual Studio 2015 installation, you can copy the entirety of Package Cache from there to your bad computer (no need to merge folders that already exist) and that will hopefully catch many of them.
For the rest, I tried a few third-party uninstallers, and Revo Uninstaller helped. Go into its settings and enable 'Show System Components'. Then, whenever you identify a problematic package, you'll usually be able to find it in Revo Uninstaller. If you uninstall it, you'll see the usual prompt (cancel it), and after it fails, Revo's 'Moderate' registry cleanup option does the trick ('Safe' didn't). If you use the Pro version then you can multi-select and use the 'Quick Uninstall' batch option, which isn't quite automated - yes, I'm afraid it will be tedious - but with some patience, you can get through everything.
Identifying the problematic packages is still a manual process, but the good news is that you can cancel many of the prompts during a run of the installer without it aborting, so you can collect a lot of package names as you go. You can also look for patterns in version numbers; for me, a lot of them were 14.0.15123` or something like that.
For me, just one package didn't show up in Revo Uninstaller, and I searched the registry myself and deleted some occurrences. I'm not sure if that or the subsequent install of the new package was what did it, but even that one went away.
So, after all that, I'm pleased to report that Visual Studio 2015 has got through the 'Repair' operation with no further errors. I still need to reboot before I can see if it runs without a hitch...
[EDIT: Nuclear option follows]
It didn't. Many of the standard windows (code editor and error list to name a couple) failed to load with the error "An item with the same key has already been added". On the plus side, at least Visual Studio didn't suddenly exit moments after opening. So that's an improvement and 2-3 days well spent :)
After that:
I found this answer and tried the TotalUninstaller linked therein.
Then I deleted more of the installation where that uninstaller reported it couldn't delete a non-empty directory.
Then I was going to reinstall from scratch, but would you believe it - it gave me Modify/Repair/Uninstall options! So I ran the Uninstall. (Maybe Repair would have worked, who knows?)
Then I reinstalled from scratch.
There was just one more failed uninstall of an old thing (Microsoft Web Deploy), but it didn't even report a warning at the end because of it, and now my Visual Studio finally seems to be intact - fingers crossed! (I may never test that web deploy thing anyway - I mainly use it with Unity. Of course I had to install the Unity tools again.)
So yeah. I have no idea if this works by itself or if you also have to do all the other stuff. If you try it and find out, let us know.
Since you are still seeing Visual Studio in Remove and Add Programs, your environment may not be entirely clean and you will have to first completely remove Visual Studio from the system. This should be independent of whether you're using Windows 7 or 10.
You may need to do further research, but here are some initial pointers:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/Aa983433(v=VS.90).aspx
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/mats/program_install_and_uninstall
Beyond trying those things and then re-attempting the install, please look for any logs generated from the failures. For example, in your %temp% folder.
In my case , I just restart the PC and after it boots up the VISUAL STUDIO 2015 will automatic come back and keep running. I did it with 2 PCs of users and with version Professional. Hope this helps.
Note : Please make sure to close all VS running on your PC before running install 2015 (in my case is VS Pro 2013) and make sure Windows updates have finished running (if they have).
Uninstall any version of visual studio 2015 you already might have installed.
Then, delete this key: I had a similiar issue and found finally as cause entries under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\DevDiv\vs\Servicing\14.0. .

What's required for a clean uninstall of Visual Studio 2005

Due to continuing crash problems, I'm about to uninstall and reinstall my copy of Visual Studio 2005. I know that just running the uninstaller leaves a lot of resources and settings on my machine and would like to be able to reinstall from a pristine state.
Is there any way to completely uninstall VS2k5 from my machine so that it's as if it was never there?
Visual Studio 2005 is known for not uninstalling so well (especially the Express editions). Use the technique found here to manually uninstall all of Visual Studio.
sure, it starts with 'format c:' :)
Seriously though, I've had that type of issue with various MS products. Clean uninstalls are almost impossible because even windows hasn't kept track of what shared DLLs were installed by VS2005. You could try installing VS express, hope that it overwrites whatever problem is there, and then reinstall VS2005, but I wouldn't hold my breath on it working.
The other possibility is that it's something local to your user. You could try moving your folder under documents and settings and getting it to regenerate and see if that works...
A hell of a lot of luck. I have tried many times to pull this off and each time I ended up just restoring to before I installed it or doing a fresh install.
If DevStudio is crashing a lot on you, you might try uninstalling any add-ins and extensions as a first step.
It might save you a lot of pain.
Rebuild your machine. Things just get mucked up after a while, and in the process you'll clean out all the muck you've accumulated in Windows in addition to the Visual Studio muck. It seems harsh, but after you do it a couple times it's really faster, less painful, and more complete than trying to track down a bunch of random issues.
Aaron Stebner's WebLog has a link to a specialist uninstaller for VS2005 here. More straight forward than the official MS solution of downloading MSIZap.exe and the Windows Server 2003 SDK.

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