Visual Studio 2012 Install Fails: Program Compatibility Mode is on

Question

I'm trying to install Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Desktop and every time I run the installer I get this error:

"Windows Program Compatibility mode is on. Turn it off and then try setup again."

I checked the file properties and compatibility mode was off. Googling found that changing the name to "vs_premium.exe" or "vs_ultimate.exe" or changing the registry keys might help, but the name changes had no effect, and there were no registry keys to delete. I have restarted my machine several times to no avail.

Changing to Visual Studio 2013 is not an option for me, as my work computer has Visual Studio 2012 on it which they will not update to 2013, and I need to work on my project on both computers.

The computer I am using has a Windows 8.1 HP Pavilion g6. I have installed Visual Studio 2013 for Windows Desktop, Web, and Windows, as well as the 30-day trial for Professional (which has recently expired). I have also installed Visual Studio 2012 for Windows Phone but I have not used it yet.

score 132 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 03 '15 at 10:33

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Previous posts are correct in that compatibility mode appears to be based entirely on file names. There is a simple method for determining precisely which name Windows expects:

Right-click the file, select Properties and navigate to the Details tab. There should be an entry labelled "Original filename". Simply rename the file accordingly and it should run happily.

Screenshot:

edited Aug 03 '15 at 10:33

skuntsel

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answered Aug 03 '15 at 10:14

CJPN

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This just fixed the same issue installing VS2015 community edition... and I had NOT changed the name of the file, rather the original name was something like bootstr.exe, not even close to "vs_community_ENU.exe" sent from microsoft.com – Alejandro B. Mar 10 '16 at 17:13
Not work for me (Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10586]) – Alex Erygin Jul 26 '16 at 07:48
once you change the name as above - and run the .exe file there may be one more popup with a file name error -- choose 'Ignore' and the installation should go OK. – Grant Shannon Jan 05 '17 at 11:02
This is hilarious from MS. And it is working. Test done with a VS2013 installation. – Júlio César Schincariol Filho Apr 26 '20 at 13:00

score 94 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:07

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If you downloaded Visual Studio 2012 and Visual Studio 2013 at the same time and one was renamed with a "(0)" suffix (just as I did) then change the installer to the original name will probably fix it, because "somehow compatibility checking is based on file naming"

edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:07

shA.t

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answered Apr 16 '14 at 16:01

ohw

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I knew to rename the VS2012 one wdexpress_full_2012.exe instead of wdexpress_full.exe. In addition, I said I tried renaming it to vs_premium.exe and vs_ultimate.exe after it didn't work the first time. I found a workaround anyway. – einsteinsci Apr 16 '14 at 19:17
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Seems any variant of the file name causes the application to be flagged as being run in compatibility mode. For example `win1express_full.exe` will not work either, but `win8express_full.exe` works fine. Very obscure issue. – Will B. Oct 29 '14 at 14:32
so it was that easy... same problem occurs for VS tools – Sebastian 506563 Dec 15 '15 at 11:58
Note that the fastest way I've found to see what the expected name for compatibility checking should be is to see what executable name the UAC prompt uses to describe the program. – Tetsujin no Oni Sep 30 '16 at 20:37
same applies for `vs_teamExplorer.exe` from MSDN downloads. – Alan Sep 21 '18 at 15:46
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The connect link is dead now, unfortunately. – jrh May 27 '20 at 18:57

score 25 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 10 '17 at 13:47

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I just have to Rename the setup name. I rename the setup file to vs_ultimate and it worked.

edited Sep 10 '17 at 13:47

shA.t

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answered Nov 10 '14 at 22:40

hossein chaker

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This also works for the Visual Studio SDK if you've done multiple downloads. I.e. rename vssdk_full(1).exe to vssdk_full.exe and it ran fine for me. My case was Visual Studio 2012 SDK, – Dave Jellison Feb 14 '15 at 23:25
unbelievable just need rename the setup.exe to vs_ultimate.exe and nothing else – saber tabatabaee yazdi Dec 28 '18 at 18:19

score 17 · Answer 4 · edited Sep 10 '17 at 13:48

In case you mounted it, first extract the content before you install. it worked for me.

Had the same issue installing vs_ultimate on Windows 10, It tells me to turn compatibility mode off which I didn't know to do. After reading all the solutions above without success, I was able to solve it on my own.

I mounted the .iso before installing which was giving me problem, but later as I extracted it into a desktop folder, it installed fine.

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 16 '14 at 19:19

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I couldn't find a solution, but I could find a workaround. I downloaded the offline installer (ISO) and ran that instead. It's not a solution, but it should work in this situation.

answered Apr 16 '14 at 19:19

einsteinsci

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the same. I have just downloaded offline version. – Vlad May 28 '19 at 13:53

score 5 · Answer 6 · edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:05

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I ran into this problem and the solution for me was to rename the file back to its original name. I had downloaded it as "vs2012sdk_full.exe" but the original name was "vssdk_full.exe". When I ran it as "vs2012sdk_full.exe" I got the compatibility mode error. Once I renamed it back to the original "vssdk_full.exe" it worked.

edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:05

shA.t

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answered Oct 22 '14 at 17:33

Jack A.

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I think your answer is just an example of most [upvoted answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/23114542/4519059) here ;). – shA.t Jul 30 '15 at 06:08
Trying to install the SDK for VS 2013 Pro, downloaded some file with a lengthy and long-winded filename. Renamed to "vssdk_full.exe," worked like a charm. – Kevin B Burns Dec 14 '17 at 14:52

score 4 · Answer 7 · edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:04

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Open The Run (Win+R) And type Services.msc.
Found Program Compatibility Assistant Service Then Disable Service and Stop it.
Open the Run (Win+R) And Type Gpedit.msc.
User configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Windows Components-->Application Compatibility
And check Enable button then restart system.

edited Jul 30 '15 at 06:04

shA.t

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answered Jun 23 '15 at 13:31

Mr.Dani

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BeachMiles · Answer 8 · 2020-01-24T19:46:51.167

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Run as administrator. And for my 2013 installer I renamed it to be vs_professional.exe

And it worked.

edited Jan 24 '20 at 19:46

answered Apr 01 '17 at 10:01

BeachMiles

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score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 22 '14 at 17:07

In a round about way I discovered the problem on my system. Check the properties of the installer. Mine was blocked because it was downloaded from another system. Click unblock. Voila! If you can't find the location of the installer, run it again. When it fails, leave it running. Open task manager, right click the installer, then open file location. This will take you to the folder containing your installer.

score 1 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 03 '14 at 06:49

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mount the ISO file and run the setup as a from the disk.

answered Nov 03 '14 at 06:49

Ballin

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score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Jan 29 '15 at 23:20

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I had the same issue, my solution was to run it in administrator mode and it seemed to work just fine.

answered Jan 29 '15 at 23:20

Despair

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score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 18 '15 at 20:24

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Run as Administrator worked for me.

answered Nov 18 '15 at 20:24

f0rza

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score 0 · Answer 13 · edited Oct 24 '16 at 04:44

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I had the same problem. I had run the installer from an ISO, reading from the DVD image.

The solution was to simply take the ISO and uncompress it as a .RAR into some folder, and everything worked.

edited Oct 24 '16 at 04:44

Fabio says Reinstate Monica

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answered Oct 23 '16 at 22:44

Sebastian Diaz

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Jan 25 '23 at 10:45

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Well, filename varies from versions to versions. Fix:

Right Click on file
Select Properties
Select "Details" tab
Rename that file to value of "Original Filename"

answered Jan 25 '23 at 10:45

Gray Programmerz

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score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Mar 16 '23 at 02:43

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In case you have mounted the iso, copy the all the files to a separate folder on Desktop and run it, worked for me.

answered Mar 16 '23 at 02:43

Abhay Gaur

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score -1 · Answer 16 · answered Sep 25 '15 at 08:36

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This is the solution:

Right Click on Visual Studio Setup Icon
Select Properties
Open Compatibility Tab
Check Run This Program In Compatibility Mode
Select Your Windows Version (ex:Windows 8)
Finally Click OK And Install Your Program Again

answered Sep 25 '15 at 08:36

mehdi amirsardari

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Visual Studio 2012 Install Fails: Program Compatibility Mode is on

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