C# Debug - cannot start debugging because the debug target is missing

Question

I am fairly new to C#..

I am using Visual Studio 12, the source I am using was last edited in VS 12.. But my problem is that it's throwing me this error:

First of all, my computer username isn't Martin, it is Administratoring - The creator of this project is Martin.. So that's where I guess it's coming from, but I don't know how to fix this.

I have tried editing in Project > Properties > Build > Output Path - And it still doesn't work. I am not too familiar with C#, and I've spent some time searching up for a solution but can't find it anywhere.. Probably because I don't know what I should be searching up (I've tried searching keywords and quotes from the error, but still nothing)

Answer 1

Try these:

1. Make sure that output path of project is correct (Project > Properties > Build > Output path)

2. Go in menu to Build > Configuration Manager, and check if your main/entry project has checked Build. If not, check it.

Answer 2

For those with this kind of problem - another solution: Pay attention also to Warnings when you build solution. For example, I had referenced a dll built with higher version of .NET (4.5.2) than my main project (4.5) After I referenced a dll built with 4.0 build process was successful.

Answer 3

Please try with the steps below:

1. Right click on the Visual Studio Project - Properties - Debug - (Start Action section) - select "Start project" radio button.
2. Right click on the Visual Studio Project - Properties - Debug - (Enable Debuggers section) - mark "Enable the Visual Studio hosting process"
3. Save changes Ctrl + Shift + S) and run the project again.

P.S. I experienced the same problem when I was playing with the options to redirect the console input / output to text file and have selected the option Properties - Debug - (Start Action section) - Start external program. When I moved the Solution to another location on my computer the problem occurred because it was searching for an absolute path to the executable file. Restoring the Visual Studio Project default settings (see above) fixed the problem. For your reference I am using Visual Studio 2013 Professional.