Solved Errors after removing VS 2015 CE and reinstalling VS 2008

pete barnes

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I had installed VS 2015 Community Edtion to replace my long-used VS 2008 awhile back, but I did not like it and uninstalled it; everythihg seemed to go OK on the uninstall, completed successfully. I then reinstalled my VS 2008 software, but after it installed, seemingly OK, it would not open any new or existing projects or anything other than code snippets and such. When I try to open a new or existing project, I get an error message:

[MSBuildToolsPath is not specified for the Tools Version "14.0" defined at
"HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\Tools Versions\14.0", or the value specified evaluates to the empty string]

What is going on here? I tried doing a repair of my VS 2008 installation, it went OK no problems or errors reported, but same problem occurs.

If I knew exactly what this message was talking about, I could repair the Reg Key, but I don't know what it is looking for. The VS 2008 tools were installed, but that "14" looks like something from VS 2015 maybe.

Any help or suggestions?

Pete B
 

My Computer My Computer

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Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
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The "14" is from VS 2015 and it's a leftover from the uninstall. It's causing VS 2008 to think it needs to open project files with VS 2015 and it can't find the executable to open them because it's been uninstalled.

There are two ways to fix this. Some registry editing (or a worse idea, using a registry cleaner). Or you can reinstall VS 2015 if you have the hard drive space. The two should happily coexist. At least VS 2105 and VS 2010 Pro do on my system.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mellon Labs (custom build)
OS
Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual boot
CPU
AMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 4200
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Memory
16 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-10-10-10-31)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio on MB. Sounds great.
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 24", Acer 22"
Screen Resolution
3840 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 x Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SSD (Win 10)
1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Win 7)
1 x WD 1TB SATA Blue
1 x WD 1TB SATA Green
PSU
Corsair TX-750
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CoolerMaster HAF 912+
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Coolermaster Seidon 240M Liquid AIO. 6 case fans
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Logitech G710+
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Logitech G500s
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Much better since I got fiber, but still way overpriced.
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MSE, Malware Bytes for scanning
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Firefox
Other Info
Corsair VOID USB headphones.

A Mellon Labs X-1 - LCD Smartie driven system status display.

Brought to you by the letter E
Thanks for the reply, but....

One problem with that: I looked in the registry, and that key does not exist! So what the heck is going on, where is that error message coming from when I try to open a new or existing project in VS 2008?

Pete B
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G645 @ 2.90GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B75M-D3H
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10EZEX-60ZF5A0 (2) HP Officejet J6400 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1130 USB Device
Antivirus
kasperskys
Browser
ie 10
It's probably coming from the Visual Studio Version Selector. Have you gone into Programs and Features and deleted everything related to VS 2015?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mellon Labs (custom build)
OS
Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual boot
CPU
AMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 4200
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Memory
16 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-10-10-10-31)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio on MB. Sounds great.
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 24", Acer 22"
Screen Resolution
3840 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 x Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SSD (Win 10)
1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Win 7)
1 x WD 1TB SATA Blue
1 x WD 1TB SATA Green
PSU
Corsair TX-750
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912+
Cooling
Coolermaster Seidon 240M Liquid AIO. 6 case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G710+
Mouse
Logitech G500s
Internet Speed
Much better since I got fiber, but still way overpriced.
Antivirus
MSE, Malware Bytes for scanning
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Corsair VOID USB headphones.

A Mellon Labs X-1 - LCD Smartie driven system status display.

Brought to you by the letter E
Thanks all for the replies. I finally got the matter solved, sort of, after much investigating keys etc.:

I completely uninstalled VS 2008, then reinstalled it, still had the problem. So then I installed VS 2015 as well, whaddya know now they both work!! I am just going to leave them both alone!! :=)

Pete B
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G645 @ 2.90GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B75M-D3H
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10EZEX-60ZF5A0 (2) HP Officejet J6400 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1130 USB Device
Antivirus
kasperskys
Browser
ie 10
Glad you got it working. I'll bet anything it's that stupid project selector.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mellon Labs (custom build)
OS
Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual boot
CPU
AMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 4200
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Memory
16 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-10-10-10-31)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio on MB. Sounds great.
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 24", Acer 22"
Screen Resolution
3840 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 x Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SSD (Win 10)
1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Win 7)
1 x WD 1TB SATA Blue
1 x WD 1TB SATA Green
PSU
Corsair TX-750
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912+
Cooling
Coolermaster Seidon 240M Liquid AIO. 6 case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G710+
Mouse
Logitech G500s
Internet Speed
Much better since I got fiber, but still way overpriced.
Antivirus
MSE, Malware Bytes for scanning
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Corsair VOID USB headphones.

A Mellon Labs X-1 - LCD Smartie driven system status display.

Brought to you by the letter E
Well, after I got the software all reinstalled, I looked at the "missing" key, and it is loaded with about a dozen paths to tools, so I can see why it would be "missed". But at least I am all set now, thanks. To answer your original question, yes, I had deleted everything I saw that involved VS 2015, but I guess I may have missed something.

Thanks

Pete B
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G645 @ 2.90GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B75M-D3H
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10EZEX-60ZF5A0 (2) HP Officejet J6400 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1130 USB Device
Antivirus
kasperskys
Browser
ie 10
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