Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues
Article
Applies to: Visual Studio
This troubleshooting guide includes step-by-step instructions to resolve common issues with Visual Studio installation and upgrade.
Tip
Having a problem installing? We can help. We offer an installation chat (English only) support option.
Online installations or updates
Try the following possible resolutions that apply to a typical online installation issue in order.
1. Check whether the problem is a known issue
The first thing to check is whether or not the issue you're encountering is a known issue with the Visual Studio Installer that Microsoft is working on fixing.
3. See what the developer community says about the error
If repairing didn't fix the issue, search for your error message in the Visual Studio Developer Community. Other members of the community might have found a solution or workaround to your problem.
4. Delete the installer folder (update issues)
If you encountered an issue when updating, try deleting the Visual Studio Installer folder, and then rerunning the installation bootstrapper can solve certain update failures. Doing so reinstalls the Visual Studio Installer files and resets the installation metadata.
Close the Visual Studio Installer.
Delete the Visual Studio Installer folder. Typically, the folder path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer.
Run the Visual Studio Installer bootstrapper. You might find the bootstrapper in your Downloads folder with a file name VisualStudioSetup.exe (Visual Studio 2022) or vs_<edition>*.exe (Visual Studio 2019 and previous versions). Or, you can download the bootstrapper from the download pages for Visual Studio 2022 or Visual Studio 2019 and previous versions. Then, run the executable to reset your installation metadata.
Try to install or update Visual Studio again. If the Visual Studio Installer continues to fail, report a problem to support.
5. Report the problem to support
In some situations, when there are corrupted files, issues might require case-by-case troubleshooting.
Follow these steps to submit the problem to Microsoft Support:
Open the Visual Studio Installer, and then choose Report a problem to open the Visual Studio Feedback tool.
Give your problem report a title, and provide the relevant details. The most recent setup log for the Visual Studio Installer is automatically added to the Additional attachments section of your problem report.
Open the Visual Studio Installer, and then select Report a problem to open the Visual Studio Feedback tool.
Give your problem report a title, and provide relevant details. Select Next to go to the Attachments section, and then attach the generated log file (typically, the file is at %TEMP%\vslogs.zip).
Select Next to review your problem report, and then select Submit.
6. Remove all Visual Studio installation files
As a last resort, you can remove all Visual Studio installation files and product information:
Rerun the Visual Studio Installer bootstrapper. You might find the bootstrapper in your Downloads folder with a file name VisualStudioSetup.exe (Visual Studio 2022) or vs<edition>*.exe_ (Visual Studio 2019 and previous versions). Or, you can download the bootstrapper from the download pages for Visual Studio 2022 or Visual Studio 2019 and previous versions.
Try to reinstall Visual Studio.
7. Roll back to a previous install (for Visual Studio 2022 only)
If none of the previous steps helped you successfully upgrade Visual Studio, you can try to roll back to your previously installed version. Since Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4, you can roll back to your previously installed version if your original version was on the current channel version 17.1.7 or higher, or on the 17.0 Fall 2021 LTSC channel 17.0.10 or higher.
You can roll back to your previously installed version by using the Visual Studio Installer or by using the command line.
Important
If you're in an organization and are using a layout to update Visual Studio, your IT Administrator is expected to maintain the previous packages in the layout if the client is expected to be able to roll back. Also, rollback may be disabled or your rollback attempt may be undone if you're in an organization that has security compliance or software updating requirements. Contact your IT Administrator for further details.
To roll back with the Visual Studio Installer, follow these steps:
Launch the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.
In the installer, look for the edition of Visual Studio that you installed.
Select More.
Select Rollback to previous version.
Select OK to confirm.
8. Contact our live chat
If none of the previous steps help you successfully install or upgrade Visual Studio, contact us by using our live chat support option (English only) for further assistance.
Contact your organization's technical account manager for Microsoft.
Collect installation logs for Microsoft Support
If you contact Microsoft Support, you might be asked to collect setup logs by using the Microsoft Visual Studio and .NET Framework log collection tool. The log collection tool collects setup logs from all components installed by Visual Studio, including .NET Framework, Windows SDK, and SQL Server. It also collects computer information, a Windows Installer inventory, and Windows event log information for the Visual Studio Installer, Windows Installer, and System Restore.
Run Collect.exe in the folder where you saved the tool.
The tool must be run under the same user account that the failed installation was run under. If you're running the tool from a different user account, set the -user:<name> option to specify the user account under which the failed installation was run. Run Collect.exe -? from an administrator command prompt for more options and usage information.
The tool generates a vslogs.zip file in your %TEMP% folder, typically at C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Temp\vslogs.zip.
Report product issues to us using the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If you are an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback here.
Problems installing WebView2
If your organization's Group policies block the installation of the WebView2 component, you won't be able to install Visual Studio because the installer requires WebView2 to be installed. If this happens, check these policies:
If the Microsoft Edge 'Install (WebView)' policy isn't configured, the Microsoft Edge 'InstallDefault' policy determines whether WebView2 can be installed.
Warning
If neither policy is configured, WebView2 installation is allowed by your organization.
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