'InstallerProjectsPackage' package did not load correctly

Question

I'm using VS 2017 Professional and have created a setup project for locally deploying one of my C++ solutions. When I right-click on "Primary output from {project}" and select Properties I get the following error:

In ActivityLog.xml we get:

CreateInstance failed for package [InstallerProjectsPackage]Source: 'mscorlib' Description: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.15.0, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040) System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.15.0, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040) File name: 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.15.0, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.GetType(RuntimeAssembly assembly, String name, Boolean throwOnError, Boolean ignoreCase, ObjectHandleOnStack type)at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.GetType(String name, Boolean throwOnError, Boolean ignoreCase)at System.Activator.CreateInstance(String assemblyString, String typeName, Boolean ignoreCase, BindingFlags bindingAttr, Binder binder, Object[] args, CultureInfo culture, Object[] activationAttributes, Evidence securityInfo, StackCrawlMark& stackMark)at System.Activator.CreateInstance(String assemblyName, String typeName)at System.AppDomain.CreateInstance(String assemblyName, String typeName) WRN: Assembly binding logging is turned OFF. To enable assembly bind failure logging, set the registry value [HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Fusion!EnableLog] (DWORD) to 1. Note: There is some performance penalty associated with assembly bind failure logging. To turn this feature off, remove the registry value [HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Fusion!EnableLog].

After this, the Properties panel seems to display just fine. So I have two questions:

First: is this something I should worry about, or is it basically meaningless in this case?

Second: if yes, how do I fix it? I've already tried clearing the ComponentModelCache folder, executing >devenv /clearcache and devenv /updateconfiguration, performing a repair on VS 2017, deleting the .vs folder for the project, and adding what looks to be the affected dll (and a few that seem unrelated) to the GAC with gacutil. Is there anything else I might reasonably try?

And a side question: I accidentally clicked "Yes" to dismiss that dialog box last time it popped up. How do I undo that?

Answer 1

Hi @Chris Csernica

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Does the InstallerProjectsPackage you mentioned refer to this extension?
When you need to use this feature, there may be problems. If you don't need to use this function, there should be no problem.
You can try to reinstall this extension.

Sincerely,
Peng
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