Error - Please restart the computer and run setup again

Applies to: Visual Studio 2015

Symptoms

When you try to install Microsoft Visual Studio 2015, you receive the following error message:

The computer needs to be restarted before setup can continue. Please restart the computer and run setup again.

Resolution

In most cases, you can fix this problem by restarting the computer. However, you might experience this error again after a restart. This can occur if a program or Windows update installation has to make additional changes that also require that the computer be restarted. If you see this error occur after you restart your computer, try restarting it again.

If you restart the computer more than three times but continue to experience this error, try to reinstall any programs or Windows updates that you installed recently. This might enable a failed installation to finish successfully.