Lots of users notice that there are so many Microsoft Visual C++ installed, which triggers some questions like “why do I have so many Microsoft Visual C++”, “can I uninstall Microsoft Visual C++”. Now, let’s explore the answers together with MiniTool.
Why are there so many Microsoft Visual C++ installed? Can I delete Microsoft Visual C++? The reason why many users raise these questions is they find that there is low hard drive space on their laptops. Here is a true example from the answers.microsoft.com forum:
I am running low on space on my laptop’s hard drive and I decided to uninstall some programs which I deemed unnecessary. While scrolling through the list of programs I came across a plethora of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributions ranging from the year 2005 all the way to 2015-2019. I would still like to uninstall if possible. However, I am a little hesitant to uninstall at the moment. So, will I face any repercussions if I chose to uninstall all of these redistributions?https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/can-i-uninstall-all-these-microsoft-visual-c/86216e8c-2cb1-4517-9d52-b1303eec4e05
Microsoft Visual C++ Eat Up Hard Drive Space?
Since there are too many Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages installed on the computer, a great many users are confused about whether these packages eat up their hard disk space. To free up disk space, they intend to uninstall some Microsoft Visual C++ packages. However, some of them are hesitant to do that.
Can I remove Microsoft Visual C++? Let’s leave this question aside firstly. Now, the more important thing is to solve the low disk space issue. If you don’t clear what is taking up your hard drive, MiniTool Partition Wizard is a good choice. It is a trusted partition manager that can analyze disk space, convert NTFS to FAT, migrate OS, and help fix various issues.
Of course, if you don’t want to delete any data or uninstall programs, you can try extending the full drive to fix the low space issue. Here MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you do that easily even when theExtend Volume option is grey with Windows tools like Disk Management.
Tip: To extend the C drive without boot issues, we highly recommend you use the bootable MiniTool Partition Wizard Edition.
Step 1.Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard to enter its main interface, and then select the full partition that you want to extend and click onExtend Partitionfrom the left action pane.
Step 2.Select the drive or unallocated space that you want to take free space from, and then drag the slider bar to occupy the free space or input the specific volume. Then click onOK to save the change.
Step 3.Click onApplyto execute the process.
What Is Microsoft Visual C++
Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) program that’s used for C, C++, and CLI programming languages. The MSVC package offers developers a single application in which they can edit, test, and debug their codes. In addition, it supports a variety of programming styles such as program design, data abstraction, object-oriented programming, and generic programming.
It was a standalone product from the very beginning, but now it is included as a part of Microsoft Visual Studio. So, the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package is required to run C++ applications that are developed using the Visual Studio software development environment.
Usually, the MSVC runtime library packages come in 2 cases. The first is that the Visual C++ package is bundled into the installation of certain applications like Python, and the other is that it relies on a standard distributable package of shared code.
The Visual C++ packages are made by Microsoft to test and update them with patches and security fixes for some common issues. That’s why sometimes you are required to install the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable version. Moreover, the Redistributable library can be used by multiple programs at the same time with a single installation.
Do I Need Microsoft Visual C++
Do I need Microsoft Visual C++? After reading the above definition of MSVC, you may still be confused about this question. Of course, the answer is yes. Since the MSVC package is required by many applications and games that are developed using the Microsoft Visual Studio runtime library.
That is to say, certain programs like Python, Word Cloud, and Logitech may not function properly once the MSVC package is removed or corrupted. For example, you may receive the “MicrosoftVisualC++14.0 is required” error when running Python, or the “Logitech SetPoint runtime error” when launching the SetPoint.exe file, or some other errors.
Why Do I Have So Many Microsoft Visual C++
A lot of people find that there are multiple Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages especially after installing a fresh version of Windows 10. Why? Some packages are installed along with Windows itself, while some specific versions are installed depending on the version of Windows you are using.
For example, a Windows 10 comes with 2005, 2012, 2013, and 2015-2019 versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. You will notice that a 64-bit OS gets both the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions of the Redistributable installed, while a 32-it OS can’t get those 64-bit versions installed. This is because a 64-bit Windows OS can run both 32-bit and 64-bit applications.
I’m using a computer with the Windows 10 64-bit OS. Here is the screenshot of the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable:
Some additional versions of the Visual C++ packages are installed on the system along with certain programs that require them. For example, if a program was developed using the Visual C++ 2003 (or Visual Studio 2003), you could see the Microsoft Visual C++ 2003 Redistributable installed on your computer along with the program.
Moreover, sometimes you may get a pop-up message saying that the Visual C++ Redistributable is being installed when you run a program. If you are a gamer and often install games through Steam, you will see this frequently. This is because the developers choose to install the latest package from Microsoft at the installation time.
Another special case is that you see multiple Microsoft Visual C++ versions with the same redistributable packages or some versions from the same year. For instance, you may see multiple Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. In this case, it may indicate that one of them is a service package, while others just have slightly different version numbers.
In a word, some Redistributable packages come along with Windows itself, and some others are installed along with applications. Besides, you will find both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of each Redistributable if you are running a 64-bit Windows OS.
Can I Uninstall Microsoft Visual C++
Can I uninstall Microsoft Visual C++? The answer is yes, but we don’t recommend you do that. If you just want to free up the disk, you can choose to extend the partition as we suggest in the first part or other effective ways. As you can see in the screenshot, these packages don’t accumulate too much space (each pack takes up about 10MB to 20MB). So, uninstalling the Visual C++ package can’t free up disk space a lot.
On the contrary, your applications may not function normally once you remove the packages. This is because it’s hard to know which application relies on each Redistributable. What’s worse, in some cases, it may cause issues with your Windows installation itself.
Of course, we find some suggestions around the internet saying that you can try deleting the older version of Redistributable packs like 2003, and then leaving the major release of the most recent years’ versions like 2012 and later. However, some users tested it and found it to be unreliable. It caused some programs would no longer run. So, there is no guarantee that it works for you.
Well, there are some situations where you can uninstall Microsoft Visual C++, and then you need to re-download it. You may need to uninstall it due to the following reasons:
- An issue occurs during the installation of certain programs that requires the Visual C++ packages.
- An error message indicates that the Redistributable package gets corrupted.
- A crash like an application or game crash.
Tips:
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Here’s how to uninstall the Visual C++ Redistributable package:
Step 1. Press Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box, and then type appwiz.cpl in it and hit Enter.
Step 2. In the Programs and Features window, scroll down the list of installed programs to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package, and then right-click it and select Uninstall.
Step 3. Click on Yes or Uninstall in the pop-up confirmation window and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the uninstallation.
Once uninstalled, you can re-download and install a fresh version of the Redistributable package. If you don’t know how to do that, you can refer to the “Download Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 for Windows (X64/X86)” post.
If you still encounter the issue after reinstalling the Visual C++ package, you can try scanning for corrupted system files, installing the latest Windows updates, or restoring your system to an earlier state where your system runs properly.
What’s Your Opinion
Can I uninstall Microsoft Visual C++? If you just want to free up disk space, we don’t recommend you uninstall the package. To fix the low space issue, you can extend the full partition or take some other measures like upgrading to a larger hard drive and running Disk Cleanup.
Have you any other opinions on the subject? If you have, write them down in the following comment area. Also, you can send us an email to[emailprotected]if you have any difficulties in using MiniTool Partition Wizard.
