Solved SO MANY versions of Microsoft Visual C++

Do I need this many versions of this? If I uninstall these, and simply install the 64 bit version of 14.44.35112.1 will I have problems? Or, should these all be here, and I should just mind my own damn business?

Thanks, as always, for reading!

-R

Short answer: Only keep the last version within each VC++ family & arch.

- Latest 2008 x64 & x86
- Latest 2010 x64 & x86
- Latest 2015-2022 x64 & x86

Where it gets tricky is whether to keep 2012 & 2013. On paper, VC++ runtimes are backwards compatible but application devs are squirrelly people and sometimes an app isn't happy (runs correctly) without having the right VC++ family to run.

2008 & 2010 tend to cover a lot of legacy games and apps.
2015-2022 covers most modern apps.
2012 & 2013 may be called out by some apps.

Some of these versions may have been installed by a specific game or app, their installers sometimes ignore other VC++ versions you already have installed and add another set of files. Ultimately the runtimes are really small in disk size, so you can collect the different families of runtimes if you don't mind. But only keep the last one in each set.

Those C++ redistributable files are like little toolkits that different programs on your computer rely on to function properly. They contain shared libraries that many applications use, rather than each program including its own copy.

Different versions exist because different programs were built using different versions of Microsoft Visual C++. Instead of requiring every program to bundle its own set of libraries, Windows lets them share these redistributables. That way, if a game or an application was developed using, say, Visual C++ 2015, it needs the matching redistributable to work correctly.

They may seem cluttered, but they're actually keeping your apps running smoothly. Unless you’re facing errors related to a specific redistributable, it's best to leave them alone—removing one could break an application that depends on it.

@Zoloft

You should have two for each year of set of years. x86 and x64.

Here's a pic with the latest versions (far right of pic). You can uninstall the older version numbers...

I download and install the package of them from here: Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes All-in-One

Saves a lot of faffing around. If you 'Subscribe' to package updates at the site you get an email notification when the package has been updated. Again, saves faffing around.

BuddhaNature said:

I download and install the package of them from here: Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes All-in-One

Saves a lot of faffing around. If you 'Subscribe' to package updates at the site you get an email notification when the package has been updated. Again, saves faffing around.

Click to expand...

But that doesn't clean up the old versions, which is the current question.

Thank you all for the assistance! Very much appreciated, and marking solved!

Hold on a moment - before you start deleting these, you should back them up elsewhere in case you delete one you need.

Despite advice above which to keep, whilst that usually works, it is not a 100% guarantee.

In the end, these are tiny files, and why bother do anything?

cereberus said:

Hold on a moment - before you start deleting these, you should back them up elsewhere in case you delete one you need.

Despite advice above which to keep, whilst that usually works, it is not a 100% guarantee.

In the end, these are tiny files, and why bother do anything?

Click to expand...

very valid point!