Error "Another setup is already running. Please wait for it to finish before trying again"

Applies to: Visual Studio 2015

Symptom

After attempting to install Visual Studio more than once, subsequent installation attempts result in the following error:

Another setup is already running. Please wait for it to finish before trying again.

Resolution

Only one instance of a Visual Studio installation can run at a time. Make sure that there's only one instance open. If you receive this error, even when there's only one instance of Visual Studio open, restart your machine to end the processes that can cause this issue. If restarting your machine doesn't resolve the problem, follow these steps:

  1. Open Task Manager.
  2. Select Details.
  3. Look for the process msiexec.exe.
  4. Select them and choose End Task if there's more than one.