Visual Studio Crashes on Startup with "The application has encountered an error" Message

Visual Studio crashing on startup with the message The application has encountered an error is a rare but serious issue that can be caused by several factors, such as corrupted installation files, misconfigured settings, or conflicts with other software installed on the system.

To resolve this issue, the first step is to try launching Visual Studio in safe mode.

You can do this by opening the Command Prompt and typing devenv /safe to start Visual Studio without loading any extensions or custom settings.

If Visual Studio opens successfully in safe mode, it indicates that the problem is likely caused by an extension or setting.

From there, disable or remove recently installed extensions and reset settings to their default state.

If Visual Studio does not open in safe mode, the next step is to repair the installation.

Open the Visual Studio Installer, select your installed version of Visual Studio, and click Repair to fix any corrupted or missing files.

After the repair process is complete, try restarting Visual Studio.

If the issue persists, check for any recently installed software or updates that could be conflicting with Visual Studio.

In some cases, third-party antivirus or security software can interfere with the Visual Studio startup process.

Try temporarily disabling antivirus software to see if that resolves the issue.

Additionally, make sure that your system meets the minimum hardware and software requirements for the version of Visual Studio you are using.

Sometimes, running Visual Studio as an administrator can resolve permission-related issues that may be causing the crash.

To do this, right-click the Visual Studio shortcut and select Run as administrator. Another potential cause of the issue could be a corrupted Visual Studio settings file.

You can reset the settings by opening the command prompt and running the devenv /resetsettings command, which will restore the default settings for Visual Studio.

If none of these solutions work, consider performing a clean reinstall of Visual Studio.

Uninstall Visual Studio using the Visual Studio Installer, then delete any remaining Visual Studio-related files and folders from your system (such as %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio and %AppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio).

Afterward, reinstall Visual Studio from the installer.

Lastly, if the issue continues, check the Event Viewer for any error logs related to Visual Studio.

These logs may provide more detailed information about the cause of the crash and can help you pinpoint the root cause.