Error: A newer version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable has been detected on the machine

Question

When I try to run the VS 2010 redistributable "vcredist_x86.exe", an error "A newer version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable has been detected on the machine" occurs and blocks me from installation.

I have actually installed VS 2010 pro on my computer. But I actually have no idea what an VS 2010 redistributable means and why the error occurred. Can anyone help to explain or solve the problem? Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

Redistributable packages are only required on machines that don't have VS2010 installed to provide the required runtimes. If you check the Microsoft download page for example:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=5555

The opening paragraph is:

The Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run applications developed with Visual C++ on a computer that does not have Visual C++ 2010 installed.

You should only need to install the redistributable on machines that you deploy your application to. The newer version is probably that Windows Update has updated to a later version than is currently downloadable in the standalone version, but in general it shouldn't pose you any problems.