Install Visual Studio 2013 on Windows 7

Question

I would like to install Visual Studio 2013 on Windows 7 64-bit.

For some reason, the installer says "Setup Blocked" with an error "This version of Visual Studio requires a computer with a newer version of Windows".

This error is not exactly descriptive of what's wrong. The least I could do was verify that I have the following installed :

1. Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) with Service Pack 1
2. Internet Explorer 10
   • Version: 10.0.9200.16750
   • Update Versions: 10.0.12 (KB2898785)
3. All Windows Updates that were available for installing on 11th of Dec. 2013.

Executed the installer with the /log winexp.log argument and got the following : winexp.log.

Any ideas of what else could be the problem ?

Thanks.

Edit : by looking at this question there was a crack that allowed installing Windows Phone's SDK on Windows 7 - does anyone know a similar solution for VS 2013 ?

Answer 1

The minimum requirements are based on the Express edition you're attempting to install:

Express for Web (Web sites and HTML5 applications) - Windows 7 SP1 (With IE 10) Express for Windows (Windows 8 Apps) - Windows 8.1 Express for Windows Desktop (Windows Programs) - Windows 7 SP1 (With IE 10) Express for Windows Phone (Windows Phone Apps) - Windows 8 

It sounds like you're trying to install the "Express 2013 for Windows" edition, which is for developing Windows 8 "Modern UI" apps, or the Windows Phone edition.

The similarly named version that is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 is "Express 2013 for Windows Desktop"

Source

Answer 2

Visual Studio Express for Windows needs Windows 8.1. Having a look at the requirements page you might want to try the Web or Windows Desktop version which are able to run under Windows 7.