[SOLVED] No programs launching due to "side-by-side configuration is incorrect"

Bobnotarealname

Honorable
Dec 26, 2013
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10,510
My Asus fx504 laptop is about 3 months old. When I woke it up from sleep mode the other day, whenever I tried to open a program I was met with;

"The application has failed to start because its side by side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail."

This occurs with almost every single program on my computer with the exception of Chrome for some reason.
Some solutions I have tried already were:

  • ■ running /sfc scannow in cmd prompt which failed during the process.
    ■ I also tried check which specific c++ redistributable was missing under the advice of the internet by going into the windows error thing and check exactly the error for any given program that i was trying to open but it did not give the info needed.
    ■ I tried to install new c++ redistributables but when i download them and try and install them the same side by side configuration error appears when I try and open them.
    ■ I tried to uninstall old c++ redistributables but they all said "this program doesnt appear to exist, would you like to remove the program from the list" which if I agreed to did nothing and it stayed on the programs list.

Finally I tried to reset my entire PC because I was sick of the error but in the reset process, it failed and sent me back to windows. I tried this multiple times, as have I with all the other things mentioned.

Please someone send me in the right direction here, I'm running out of ideas.
 
Solution
What kind of storage is in your laptop - that is, HDD or SSD? It may be worth the time to run a test on the drive; seatools from seagate is made to be compatible with any make.

If a reset won't work you can format and do a clean re-install without a license key*. The Windows software itself can be gotten from here

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You'll need a flash drive of 8GB or more, and it sounds like you'll need another PC to create the installer

If you have any data on that laptop you want to keep, make sure it's backed up

* Windows 10 activation is stored online so that any previously active system automatically re-activates
What kind of storage is in your laptop - that is, HDD or SSD? It may be worth the time to run a test on the drive; seatools from seagate is made to be compatible with any make.

If a reset won't work you can format and do a clean re-install without a license key*. The Windows software itself can be gotten from here

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You'll need a flash drive of 8GB or more, and it sounds like you'll need another PC to create the installer

If you have any data on that laptop you want to keep, make sure it's backed up

* Windows 10 activation is stored online so that any previously active system automatically re-activates
 
Solution
Currently in the process of creating a boot USB. Im not happy that I have to clean install it, as I am not sure how the many drivers for the laptop that I will need to track down (for the trackpad/wifi etc), however this seems to be my last and only option.