Visual Studio 2013 > New project > unspecified err

Question

Can anybody shed any light on the above error? I've tried with both Express and Ultimate editions of VS 2013.

I'm running 64-bit Windows 7.

Solutions to similar problems I've found tend to be targetting x86 rather than AnyCPU from the Solution explorer. However, I can't even build the solution to explore it.

The new project I'm trying to build is c# ASP.net MVC.

Answer 1

I'm running on Win 8.1 Pro (64 bits) with Visual Studio Express for web 2013

The were two problems in my machine, namely :

• the applicationhost.config file in C:\Users(insert your user log in name)\Documents\IISExpress\config was not well formed. It seems this problem occurs because the .NET configuration system reads the applicationHost.config file without locking it. If the IIS configuration file is being written to while it is being read by the Windows Activation Service (WAS), that file may be corrupted. Anyhow, I binged around and downloaded a pristine copy of it.

• After fixing the above problem, I subsequently encountered the same error message (unspecified error - exception from hresult: 0x80004005 (e_fail) ). I then tried to create an MVC web project via another way. I created a blank solution and added an MVC web project to it and this time the IDE spewed out a different message. The pop-up window dumped a cryptic line like so, "IIS could not read C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Config\web.config - error". I proceeded to uninstall IIS 8.0 and re-installed the application. And voila, I can now create MVC web apps again! :)

Answer 2

I got the same Unspecified error when creating a new Web Application with MVC. I then tried to install the NuGet Package Manager for VS 2013 and got a little bit more detail on what was happening:

11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -     Supported Products : 
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.Pro
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.IntegratedShell
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.VWDExpress
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.VPDExpress
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.VSWinExpress
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -         Microsoft.VisualStudio.VSWinDesktopExpress
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -             Version : [12.0]
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM - 
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM -     References      : 
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM - 
11/13/2013 9:16:17 PM - Searching for applicable products...
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Failed to initialize settings for Isolated Shell C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\ssms.exe: The network path was not found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070035)
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2012
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio Premium 2012 
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Shell (Integrated)
11/13/2013 9:16:23 PM - Found installed product - Microsoft Visual Studio Premium 2013
11/13/2013 9:16:24 PM - System.IO.FileNotFoundException: The network path was not found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070035)
   at System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ThrowExceptionForHRInternal(Int32 errorCode, IntPtr errorInfo)
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Settings.ExternalSettingsManager.GetScopePaths(String applicationPath, String suffixOrName, String vsVersion, Boolean isLogged, Boolean isForIsolatedApplication)
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Settings.ExternalSettingsManager.CreateForApplication(String applicationPath)
   at VSIXInstaller.App.GetExtensionManager(SupportedVSSKU sku)
   at VSIXInstaller.App.GetExtensionManagerForApplicableSKU(SupportedVSSKU supportedSKU, IInstallableExtension installableExtension, List`1 applicableSKUs)
   at VSIXInstaller.App.InitializeInstall()
   at System.Threading.Tasks.Task.InnerInvoke()
   at System.Threading.Tasks.Task.Execute()

I tried uninstalling VS 2010 (since I don't use it anymore) with no luck. I then connected to my work VPN and then when opening VS2013 I got a message stating it was looking for my settings file in an odd place:

C:\Users\Zach\\\SomeNetworkServer\something\something

I updated the path for settings under Tools > Options > Import and Export Settings (which was actually the same odd path) and both NuGet and VS2013 now seem to be working correctly.

I have no idea where it got that path but I definitely saw different behavior when I was on my work's VPN vs not.

Answer 3

Have you tried to manually install NuGet for VS 2013?

I had a similar issue, until I found that the VS 2013 setup - for some reason - did not install the NuGet package manager. After I installed it manually everything worked fine.

Answer 4

I am facing exactly same Problem and this trick worked for mine. i go to file

C:\Users\user\Documents\IISExpress\config\applicationhost.config

where i found one of tag is missing "<" like this

application path="/" applicationPool="Clr4IntegratedAppPool"> 

i just put "<" in front of Application like this

<application path="/" applicationPool="Clr4IntegratedAppPool"> 

It looks very silly but believe me both VS13 and VS13 express working perfectly.

Answer 5

windows 7 x64, VS 2013 update 4.

repair IIS Express fix my issue http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34679

Answer 6

I had the same error. I solved the error by running Visual Studio 2013 at "run as administrator" mode as when you use web application projects IIS Express is involved.