Recently, one of my virtual machines started behaving strangely. I had SSMS 17.1 installed on the machine and it was working fine. I don’t remember what I installed, but I started facing an SSMS error. As soon as I click on SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), it gives me below pop-up.
I cannot find one or more components. Please reinstall the application.
As mentioned in the message, I already tried reinstalling the SSMS but the error didn’t go away. I searched on the internet and found one solution which worked for me.
SOLUTION/WORKAROUND – SSMS Error
The steps which worked for me were to repair Visual studio shell. It seems SSMS is dependent on the visual studio shell. As I mentioned earlier, My SSMS version was 17.1 and looks like it is based on a visual studio 2015 shell.
- Open the control panel and go to “Program and Featured”
- Search for the shell, as shown in the below image.
- In my case, it was Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated). If the same error happens with lower versions of SSMS like SQL Server 2014 then I think it might be some different shell.
- Choose “Change” and selected the option to “Repair”
- After the repair, I restarted the machine and then I was able to launch SSMS.
The repair worked for me. If it doesn’t work for you then you may want to uninstall and then install it again It is a free download from Microsoft site.
Have you found a solution other than above? Please share it with others via command.
Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.
22 Comments. Leave new
Thank you.;.. very timely post. I recently experienced the same issue on one of our VMs!
Did the step I discovered help you?
Hi,
Great post, today i have this problem.
Regards.
Hopefully you were able to fix it by using the blog.
thanks man, worked well
thanks @atesdanis
Thanks Dave you’re the best, I messed up my SSMS after installing SSDT for VS2015. It worked without having to restart
I have two windows 2016 VMS ,on one server there was no issue with SSMS but another server has similar error.
I have repaired visual studio 2015 (isolated) uninstalled SSMS 17.X and reinstalled 16.X but still has the same error.
if you find any other solutions please help me.
Many thanks. It works great.
This worked for me!! You saved me a lot of headache
Thank you to! …worked for me as well …thought I would have to rebuild my laptop
Thank you! I had this exact problem, and your solution solved it for me. Last night Window 10 did an update of my system without telling me (I hate that) and in the morning, I could no longer run SSMS. I use it every day. Your solution got me back in business.
Thank you!
Thank s…worked for me as well …thought I would have to rebuild my laptop
Thanks very much. I had this problem and these steps resolved it. I think the problem occurred because I tried to remove Visual Studio 2015 from my machine. The removal failed, however it looks like it may have partly removed some components that SSMS depends on.
Worked! Thank you!
Thank you! You’re a lifesaver
Yes this solution Worked for me
thanks its working
I get the same problem today. In my case, it was Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated). Though it does not allow me to repair or change.
I followed this steps.
first uninstall Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated). Then reinstall it from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/isolated-shell/ the same version
Restart the computer
Able to open SSMS
thanks that worked for me , i really appreciate your effort and i am following you since i was junior .
Unfortunately, this did not work for me. I have been trying to resolve this over a month. I have uninstalled Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated) numerous times. Tried to repair it and reinstalled it. Nothing works. Since I already installed SQL Server 2017, do I need to uninstall it and reinstall it, or do the applications work independently? Does Visual C++ 2017 need to be installed? I have never had such a hard time to get an application to work. Thank you for your assistance.
Worked Well…