Repair Visual Studio

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  • 3 minutes to read

Sometimes your Visual Studio installation becomes damaged or corrupted. A repair is useful for fixing a wide diversity of install-time issues, including update problems.

When to use repair

Apply repair if you're having issues with:

  • Installation payload, which tin happen when writing a file to disk is unsuccessful and the file gets corrupted. Repair can reacquire needed files.
  • Client-side download—assuming yous've fixed any cyberspace connectedness or proxy issues.
  • Updating Visual Studio. Repair fixes many common update issues.

Tip

An unstable net connexion or an issue in a Windows service, similar Windows Installer, can cause install problems. In those scenarios, repair might besides be affected. To bank check for underlying issues, review the error report generated by the Visual Studio Installer.

How to repair

  1. Discover the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    For example, on a calculator running Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later on, select Start, and then scroll to the alphabetic character Five, where information technology's listed equally Visual Studio Installer.

    Note

    On some computers, the Visual Studio Installer might exist listed under the letter "Thousand" as the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer.

    Alternatively, you tin can discover the Visual Studio Installer in the post-obit location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vs_installer.exe

  2. Open the installer, cull More, and so choose Repair.

    Screenshot showing the Repair option in the More dropdown menu of the Visual Studio Installer.

    Note

    Repairing Visual Studio will reset the surround. Local customizations like per-user extensions installed without elevation, user settings, and profiles will be removed. Your synchronized settings such equally themes, colors, cardinal bindings will be restored.

    Tip

    The Repair option appears but for installed instances of Visual Studio. If y'all do not see the Repair option, chances are that you've selected More than in a version that'due south listed in the Visual Studio Installer as "Bachelor" rather than "Installed".

  1. Find the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    From the Start menu in Windows, y'all tin can search for "installer".

    Screenshot showing the result of a Start menu search for the Visual Studio Installer.

    Note

    You can also find the Visual Studio Installer in the following location:

    C:\Programme Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vs_installer.exe

    You might have to update the installer before standing. If so, follow the prompts.

  2. In the installer, wait for the edition of Visual Studio that you installed. Next, cull More, and then choose Repair.

    Screenshot showing the Repair option in the More dropdown menu of the Visual Studio Installer.

    Annotation

    Repairing Visual Studio will reset its environs. Local customizations like per-user extensions installed without top, user settings, and profiles will be removed. Your synchronized settings such equally themes, colors, and key bindings will be restored.

    Tip

    The Repair option appears but for installed instances of Visual Studio. If you lot do not see the Repair pick, chances are that y'all've selected More than in a version that'due south listed in the Visual Studio Installer as "Bachelor" rather than "Installed".

  1. Find the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    From the Get-go menu in Windows, search for "installer", and then select Visual Studio Installer from the results.

    Screenshot showing the result of a Start menu search for the Visual Studio Installer.

    Annotation

    Y'all can also discover the Visual Studio Installer in the following location:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vs_installer.exe

    You lot might exist prompted to update the Visual Studio Installer before standing. If so, follow the prompts.

  2. In the Visual Studio Installer, expect for the installation of Visual Studio that you want to repair. Then choose Repair from the More than dropdown menu.

    Screenshot showing the Repair option in the More dropdown menu of the Visual Studio Installer.

    Note

    Repairing Visual Studio will reset its environment. Local customizations, like per-user extensions installed without elevation, user settings, and profiles will be removed. Your synchronized settings such equally themes, colors, and cardinal bindings will be restored.

    Tip

    The Repair option applies to installed instances of Visual Studio. If you lot do not run into the Repair option in the More dropdown menu, chances are you're in the Available tab instead of the Installed tab of the Visual Studio Installer.

Support or troubleshooting

Sometimes, things can become wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.

Hither are a few more support options:

  • We also offer an installation chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
  • Report product problems to us via the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If yous're an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback hither.
  • Advise a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.

Run across likewise

  • Install Visual Studio
  • Update Visual Studio
  • Uninstall Visual Studio
  • Troubleshooting Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues