Trouble downloading Visual C++

Question

I am trying to download Adobe Acrobat. I got an error message that a necessary file was missing. Adobe support told me that this was a problem with Visual C++ and advised me to install both the 64 bit and 32 bit versions. When I try to download those, I get a message that Setup Failed with the attached message. Can you help?Screenshot Visual C++.png

Answer 1

Hi Carol Cronin,

How is your issue going? Has it been resolved yet? If it has, please consider accepting the answer as it helps others sharing the same problem benefit too. Thank you :)

VP

Answer 2

Hi Carol Cronin,

The error code 0x80070666 you are encountering specifically means that another version of the product is already installed, blocking a duplicate or older installation. Looking closely at your screenshot, the installer window is explicitly titled for the Arm64 architecture. Unless your device uses an ARM-based processor like a Qualcomm Snapdragon, this is the wrong installer for your system. Standard Intel and AMD computers require the x64 and x86 architectures, which is exactly why your setup is failing and Adobe Acrobat cannot find the missing files it needs.

To fix the missing file issue Adobe reported, you should attempt to repair your existing Visual C++ installations. You can easily do this by pressing the Windows key, typing appwiz.cpl, and hitting Enter to open the legacy Programs and Features control panel. Scroll through your installed software to find the existing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages, right-click the ones labeled x64 and x86, select Change, and then click the Repair button. This triggers Windows to automatically replace any missing or corrupted dynamic link libraries that Adobe Acrobat is trying to access.

If the repair process does not resolve the problem, return to that same control panel and completely uninstall the existing Visual C++ 2015-2022 packages. Restart your computer to clear out any locked files or lingering registry keys. Once rebooted, navigate to the official Microsoft Learn website to download the latest supported Visual C++ redistributables. You must ensure you only download the files specifically labeled for the x64 and x86 architectures, entirely ignoring the Arm64 link. Installing these correct packages will establish a clean baseline for your operating system and supply Adobe Acrobat with the exact framework it requires.

Hope this answer brought you some useful information. If it did, please hit “accept answer”. Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VP

Answer 3

Follow these steps to resolve the Visual C++ Redistributable setup failure and get Adobe Acrobat working:

1. Make sure the latest Visual C++ Redistributable is used
   • Confirm that the installers being used are the latest supported Visual C++ Redistributables for Visual Studio 2015–2022, both x64 and x86, as described in the "Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable latest supported downloads" article.
2. Run the VC++ installers as administrator
   • Right‑click each VC Redist installer (x64 and x86) and select Run as administrator.
   • Retry the installation.
3. Temporarily disable antivirus and security software
   • Turn off Windows Defender real‑time protection and any third‑party endpoint protection temporarily.
   • Run the VC Redist installers again.
   • Re‑enable all protection software immediately after the installation attempt.
4. Check for common installer error causes
   • If the error code is 5 (Access denied), it is typically a permissions issue. Running as administrator and disabling antivirus/group policies/firewalls as above is the recommended fix.
   • If the error code is 32 (File is locked), close all running applications, then retry. If it still fails, restart the PC and try again.
   • If the error code is 1620 or hash‑mismatch errors (0x80091007 / 0x80070654), the installer package may be corrupted. Download fresh copies of the latest VC Redist installers and retry.
5. Ensure the installer path is valid
   • If the VC++ installer is being run from a folder whose path contains double‑byte characters (for example, some Chinese or Japanese characters), move the installer to a simple path such as C:\Temp or the Desktop and run it from there. The SFX cabbing technology used by the VC++ Redistributable does not support double‑byte characters in the path.
6. Collect logs if it still fails
   • Download and run the Microsoft Visual Studio and .NET Log Collection Tool (Collect.exe) as described in the troubleshooting guide.
   • After it finishes, extract %TEMP%/vscollect.zip and look in the Temp folder for files named dd_vcredist_<arch>_yyyyMMddHHmmss.log.
   • Search those logs for Error, Failed, or System Error and note the specific error code (for example, 1603, 5, 32, 1620). Use the "Common problems" section of the troubleshooting article to match the error and apply the corresponding fix.
7. If none of the above resolves it
   • Use the "Report a Problem" flow described in the troubleshooting article to submit a Visual C++ Redistributable installation issue, including:
     • The exact VC Redist versions (x64 and x86) being installed.
     • Whether this is a fresh install or an upgrade.
     • The collected VC Redist log files from vscollect.zip.

Once the VC++ Redistributables install successfully, retry installing or running Adobe Acrobat. If Acrobat still reports missing runtime files after VC++ is correctly installed, follow Adobe’s guidance or repair/reinstall Acrobat, since at that point the issue is likely with the Acrobat installation itself rather than VC++.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Visual C++ Redistributable installation problems
• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable latest supported downloads
• Error when you install VC Runtime: The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect