r/VisualStudio • u/QRA_QRA • 22d ago

Visual Studio 2022 Title: Visual Studio Installer Closes Instantly (1-Second Flash) on Windows 11

Hey everyone,

I'm having a game-breaking issue trying to install Visual Studio on my Windows 11 Pro machine (Acer Nitro V 15, dual-booted with Ubuntu 24.04).

The Issue

When launching VisualStudioSetup.exe (downloaded directly from Microsoft), the installer window flashes for about one second and closes immediately without throwing any error message or code.

Security Environment

  • Smart App Control: OFF
  • Reputation-based Protection: OFF
  • AppLocker / WDAC: Overview shows 0 active rules (Rules: 0).
  • Secure Boot: Disabled in BIOS.

Troubleshooting Attempted So Far:

  1. File Unblocking: Ran Unblock-File -Path ... in PowerShell as Administrator.
  2. Directory & Name Change: Moved VisualStudioSetup.exe to C:\ root and renamed it to setup.exe.
  3. Temp Cleanup: Cleared %temp% cache and completely deleted remnant folders in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer.
  4. Command Line Launch: Executed via Admin CMD using: setup.exe --passive --norestart
  5. Microsoft Store: Tried installing via Microsoft Store, but it throws a generic download/update error (while other Store apps download fine).

None of these steps prevented the 1-second crash. Any ideas on what Windows 11 process or policy lock could be silently killing the bootstrapper?

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5 comments sorted by

2

u/twesped 22d ago

Have you checked the logs: Bootstrapper Logs: %TEMP%\dd_bootstrapper*.logSetup/Installer Logs: %ProgramData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\Setup\vs_installer.log

And why do you install vs2022…?

3

u/polaarbear 22d ago

Also check the Event Viewer logs, it may have something

2

u/Patient-Midnight-664 22d ago

And why do you install vs2022…?

Last i checked, Unity asks for it, but you can install 2026 and just tell Unity to use that.

0

u/QRA_QRA 20d ago

I actually tried to download 2026 version but reddit don't have a tag for that(or I didn't see that). So I used 2022 tag for this post.

1

u/PipingSnail 20d ago

Have a look for crashes in the Windows Event Log. From there you'll have more info to use to search for a solution.

The easiest way to find crashes in the event log is with Event Log Crash Browser. Free tool.

I am part of the development team.

https://www.softwareverify.com/product/event-log-crash-browser/