Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' ASP.NET MVC

Question

I went through many answers that answered before but I'm not lucky to find a solution of my problem. This Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' and many others I used.

****Here is the runtime error:****

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040)

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code. 

Exception Details: System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040)

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Assembly Load Trace: The following information can be helpful to determine why the assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' could not be loaded.

=== Pre-bind state information === LOG: DisplayName = System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35 (Fully-specified) LOG: Appbase = file:///C:/menupoly/abdulla/men1/MenuSnaps/ LOG: Initial PrivatePath = C:\menupoly\abdulla\men1\MenuSnaps\bin

Calling assembly : Microsoft.Web.Helpers, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35.

LOG: This bind starts in default load context. LOG: Using application configuration file: C:\menupoly\abdulla\men1\MenuSnaps\web.config LOG: Using host configuration file: C:\Users\user\Documents\IISExpress\config\aspnet.config LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config. LOG: Post-policy reference: System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35 LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/user/AppData/Local/Temp/Temporary ASP.NET Files/root/c0c49273/dff4168/System.Web.WebPages.Razor.DLL. LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/user/AppData/Local/Temp/Temporary ASP.NET Files/root/c0c49273/dff4168/System.Web.WebPages.Razor/System.Web.WebPages.Razor.DLL. LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/menupoly/abdulla/men1/MenuSnaps/bin/System.Web.WebPages.Razor.DLL. WRN: Comparing the assembly name resulted in the mismatch: Major Version ERR: Failed to complete setup of assembly (hr = 0x80131040). Probing terminated.

Stack Trace:

[FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040)] Microsoft.Web.Helpers.PreApplicationStartCode.Start() +0

[InvalidOperationException: The pre-application start initialization method Start on type Microsoft.Web.Helpers.PreApplicationStartCode threw an exception with the following error message: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040).] System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.InvokePreStartInitMethodsCore(ICollection1 methods, Func1 setHostingEnvironmentCultures) +613 System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.InvokePreStartInitMethods(ICollection`1 methods) +141 System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.CallPreStartInitMethods(String preStartInitListPath, Boolean& isRefAssemblyLoaded) +102 System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.ExecutePreAppStart() +157 System.Web.Hosting.HostingEnvironment.Initialize(ApplicationManager appManager, IApplicationHost appHost, IConfigMapPathFactory configMapPathFactory, HostingEnvironmentParameters hostingParameters, PolicyLevel policyLevel, Exception appDomainCreationException) +531

[HttpException (0x80004005): The pre-application start initialization method Start on type Microsoft.Web.Helpers.PreApplicationStartCode threw an exception with the following error message: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040).] System.Web.HttpRuntime.FirstRequestInit(HttpContext context) +9946024 System.Web.HttpRuntime.EnsureFirstRequestInit(HttpContext context) +90 System.Web.HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationPrivate(IIS7WorkerRequest wr, HttpContext context) +261

**This is the portion of my Web.Config**

<runtime>
    <assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="DotNetOpenAuth.Core" publicKeyToken="2780ccd10d57b246" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-4.1.0.0" newVersion="4.1.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="DotNetOpenAuth.AspNet" publicKeyToken="2780ccd10d57b246" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-4.1.0.0" newVersion="4.1.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="WebGrease" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-1.3.0.0" newVersion="1.3.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="Newtonsoft.Json" publicKeyToken="30ad4fe6b2a6aeed" culture="neutral" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-9.0.0.0" newVersion="9.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Helpers" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="WebMatrix.WebData" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages.Razor" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="WebMatrix.Data" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Mvc" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-4.0.0.0" newVersion="4.0.0.0" />
      </dependentAssembly>
    </assemblyBinding>

I verified the version of each on Reference are the same as on Web.Config. Please help me. Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

You have this binding redirection in web.config which mentions Razor 2.0 is being used instead of Razor 3.0, and you're trying to use Razor 3.0 assembly which not bound to anything:

<dependentAssembly>
    <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages.Razor" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral" />
    <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-2.0.0.0" newVersion="2.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>

The first thing you should do, change the binding redirection to use version 3.0 instead:

<dependentAssembly>
    <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages.Razor" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral" />
    <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>

Also ensure that these configuration lines exist in web.config inside Views folder:

<configSections>
    <sectionGroup name="system.web.webPages.razor" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.RazorWebSectionGroup, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35">
      <section name="host" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.HostSection, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" requirePermission="false" />
      <section name="pages" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.RazorPagesSection, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" requirePermission="false" />
    </sectionGroup>
</configSections>

If it still doesn't work & you're not sure that Razor package is properly installed, try reinstall the required packages with NuGet Gallery/Package Manager Console command (with -reinstall switch), then do given step above:

Update-Package –reinstall Microsoft.AspNet.WebPages

Update-Package -reinstall Microsoft.AspNet.Razor

NB - This assembly binding indicates that MVC 4 is being used:

<dependentAssembly>
    <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Mvc" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
    <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-4.0.0.0" newVersion="4.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>

I recommend to upgrade your MVC project to version 5.0.0 and update Razor bindings to version 3.0.0 as suggested in this reference:

How to Upgrade an ASP.NET MVC 4 and Web API Project to ASP.NET MVC 5 and Web API 2 (Microsoft Docs)

Similar issues:

Runtime error: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0