For developers, Visual C++ 2010 was the first version of Visual Studio to drop the Itanium (IA-64) compiler support, focusing strictly on the x64 architecture used by consumer CPUs (AMD64 and Intel 64). This allowed for better optimization and stability.
This is paradoxical because you are trying to install the x64 version, but a "newer" build exists. Between 2010 and 2015, Microsoft released several security updates and hotfixes for Visual C++ 2010 (e.g., KB2467173, KB2565063). The latest Service Pack 1 (SP1) version is build 10.0.40219.
Solution: Uninstall all instances of "Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable" from Control Panel > Programs and Features. Then download the latest SP1 version from Microsoft and install fresh. microsoft visual c 2010 x64
Released in April 2010, Visual C++ 2010 was bundled with Visual Studio 2010. While previous versions (notably 2005 and 2008) introduced x64 support, MSVC 2010 refined this support significantly. It introduced a new compiler backend optimization infrastructure, allowing for more efficient machine code generation tailored for the extended register sets of the x64 architecture.
Prior to 2010, developers often had to configure the IDE to use the 64-bit compiler, which sometimes felt like an afterthought. In VC++ 2010, the 64-bit compiler (cl.exe for x64) was fully integrated. It allowed developers to: For developers, Visual C++ 2010 was the first
To understand the redistributable, you must first understand the compiler. Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 (version 10.0) is a development tool that allows programmers to write applications in C++ using Microsoft’s proprietary libraries. When a developer finishes writing their program, they "compile" it into executable code (.exe or .dll files).
However, most C++ applications rely on standard runtime libraries (like the C Runtime Library or MFC). Instead of forcing every developer to bundle these libraries with their 20MB application (which would be inefficient), Microsoft created "Redistributable Packages." The x64 designation specifically indicates that this package is designed for 64-bit processors (x86-64 architecture). It contains dynamic link libraries (DLLs) such as: When a 64-bit application needs these files, it
When a 64-bit application needs these files, it looks for the 2010 x64 redistributable. If it’s missing, the application crashes.
Crucial Warning: Never download msvcp100.dll or msvcr100.dll from "DLL download sites." These files are often outdated, infected with malware, or mismatched. Always use Microsoft’s official channels.