Visual Studio 2013 error MS8020 Build tools v140 cannot be found

Question

I had previously been using VS2013 express without issue, but suddenly it began crashing whenever I tried edit the code while it ran existing code fine.

I tried uninstalling and switching over to VS2015, but it was crashing as well and wasn't compatible with some of my code. So I uninstalled VS2015 and reinstalled VS2013.

The new issue is whenever I try to build a solution it gives the error "MS8020".

The full error message is seen below

Error 1 error MSB8020: The build tools for v140 (Platform Toolset = 'v140') cannot be found. To build using the v140 build tools, please install v140 build tools. Alternatively, you may upgrade to the current Visual Studio tools by selecting the Project menu or right-click the solution, and then selecting "Upgrade Solution...". C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V120\Microsoft.Cpp.Platform.targets 64 5 Bevan

Answer 1

That's the platform toolset for VS2015. You uninstalled it, therefore it is no longer available.

To change your Platform Toolset:

1. Right click your project, go to Properties.
2. Under Configuration Properties, go to General.
3. Change your Platform Toolset to one of the available ones.