If you built your application in Microsoft Visual Studio using the C/C++ language, you must ensure that the Microsoft C and C++ (MSVC) runtime libraries are installed on a target computer. Otherwise, the app may fail to run displaying one of the following errors:
"The program can't start because VCRUNTIME140.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix the problem."
"The code execution cannot proceed because Msvcp140.dll was not found"
In Actual Installer, you can easily specify the Visual C++ Redistributable as a prerequisite for your app. The setup will check whether the Visual C++ Runtime components are installed on the user's computer. If they are missing, the setup will install it before installing your application.
On the General \ Prerequisites page, select Visual C++ Redistributable and its minimum version that the user must have installed. For example, if you use Visual Studio 2026, then select 2026.
Then, specify the link to install the Visual C++ Redistributable package. You can use the following:
NOTE: To perform a silent installation of the Visual C++ Redistributable, use:
<SetupTempDir>\vc_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
It is also possible to download the redistributable package instead of including it in the installation package (to reduce the output setup size). This can be done using the Downloader. To make it, click ... and specify the Downloader.exe file which is located in the Actual Installer folder (by default "C:\Program Files (x86)\Actual Installer\Downloader.exe"). Then specify the following in the link field:
<SetupTempDir>\Downloader.exe /S "DIRECT-LINK-TO-REDIST-PACKAGE-EXE" /L /W
For example, use the following to download and install the latest supported redistributable package V14 (x64):
<SetupTempDir>\Downloader.exe /S "https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe" /L /W
NOTE: To perform a silent installation, use:
<SetupTempDir>\Downloader.exe /S "https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe" /L /W /X /install /quiet /norestart
NOTE: The architecture (x64 or x86) of the redistributable package must match your app architecture. You can set the architecture for your app on the General \ Requirements page. If your app is 64-bit (x64), then select "64-bit only". If 32-bit (x86), select "32 & 64 bit" (as 64-bit Windows supports 32-bit apps).
The setup program searches for the following registry keys (that must contain the Version value). The architecture of the Visual C++ Redistributable must match the architecture of your application.
64-bit (x64) Redistributable on 64-bit Windows:32-bit (x86) Redistributable on 64-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\VC\Runtimes\X86
32-bit (x86) Redistributable on 32-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\VC\Runtimes\X86
Note: Read more about the registry key Wow6432Node.
In addition to checking the registry, it is recommended to verify whether the libraries (DLL files) actually exist on the user's computer. In some cases, (for example, when using an incorrectly configured installer), the Runtime DLLs may be deleted during uninstallation process of another application.
To ensure that the C++ runtime libraries are present, select the Check Libraries option and specify all C++ Runtime DLLs that your app uses.
The following files are specified by default:
vcruntime140.dll, msvcp140.dll, mfc140.dll, mfc140u.dll
A 64-bit setup program searches the files in "C:\Windows\System32". A 32-bit setup program - in "C:\Windows\SysWOW64".
To determine which DLLs to redistribute, please refer to this article:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/determining-which-dlls-to-redistribute
If you need to check specific parameters for the Visual C++ Redistributable, then use the Additional Prerequisites section.
For example: to check if Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (X64) version 14.50 or later is installed, add the following:
Name: Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2026 (V14) Link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist Platform: Any Condition: 17. Registry Value greater or equal Object: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\VC\Runtimes\X64\Version Value: 14.50 // You can add multiple conditions
List of version numbers of Visual C++ Redistributable
2013 >= 12.0 2015 >= 14.0 2017 >= 14.1 2019 >= 14.2 2022 >= 14.3 2026 >= 14.5
If you have any questions, please contact us.