Visual Studio 2012 Pre Clean Tool Download !!hot!! Upd: Microsoft

The Microsoft Visual Studio Developer Preview Pre-Clean Tool is a legacy utility designed to prepare a system for installing early preview builds of Visual Studio 2012 by removing remnants of prior preview installations. Tool Overview

Purpose: Removes pre-release components, SDKs, and dependencies that might conflict with new installations.

Function: Clears temporary files, registry keys, and caches associated with older preview builds to improve setup reliability.

Modern Replacement: For modern versions of Visual Studio (2017 and later), Microsoft recommends the InstallCleanup.exe tool for similar "last resort" cleanup tasks. Download and Official Status

Because Visual Studio 2012 is long past its primary lifecycle, official standalone links for the "Pre-Clean Tool" are rarely maintained as separate downloads on the main Microsoft site.

Official Downloads: Most Visual Studio 2012 components and updates (like Update 4 or KB2781514) are available via the Microsoft Download Center. microsoft visual studio 2012 pre clean tool download upd

Developer Subscription: Older versions and related tools can typically be accessed via My.VisualStudio.com with a free Dev Essentials subscription. Forceful Uninstallation for VS 2012

If you are trying to "clean" a corrupted Visual Studio 2012 installation rather than just preparing for a preview, you can use a command-line force uninstall: Open an Administrator Command Prompt.

Locate your installation media or the original setup executable (e.g., vs_professional.exe).

Run the following command:vs_professional.exe /uninstall /force.

For community-maintained alternatives that target the package cache and registry specifically for VS 2012, some users refer to the Visual Studio 2012+ Setup Cleanup Tool on GitHub. The Microsoft Visual Studio Developer Preview Pre-Clean Tool

Are you attempting to fix a failed installation or just trying to completely remove Visual Studio 2012 from your system? Visual Studio 2012+ Setup Cleanup Tool · GitHub

GitHub - teobugslayer/VisualStudioCleanup: Visual Studio 2012+ Setup Cleanup Tool · GitHub. Navigation Menu. Toggle navigation.

Key Functions:

Deletes temporary build artifacts (.obj, .pdb, .ilk, .tlog files)
Clears the Visual Studio cache (including Component Model Cache and MEF cache)
Removes stale package references that cause extension conflicts
Prepares the system for a clean reinstallation of VS2012
Resolves "missing reference" errors after project migrations

Important Note: This tool is not an uninstaller. It is a pre-clean utility—meaning you run it before attempting a repair, update, or fresh install of Visual Studio 2012.

Error 3: Tool crashes with "Unhandled Exception"

Cause: Missing VC++ redistributable runtime.
Solution: Install Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86 and x64) before running the Pre-Clean Tool.

1. The "VS2012 Update 5 Pre-Clean Script" (Open Source)

A PowerShell script hosted on GitHub Gist (search: VS2012PreClean.ps1) is the de facto standard. It stops all VS services, purges the cache, and resets the update metadata. Key Functions:

Download caution: Always review raw .ps1 files before execution. Do not run scripts from unverified pastebins.

3. Revo Uninstaller (Third-party)

Use the “Advanced Scan” mode to remove leftover files and registry entries after normal uninstall.

Downloading the Unofficial "Pre-Clean" Assets

Since Microsoft never released an official cleaner, the community stepped in. Here are the legitimate, safe-to-use resources:

Downloading the Visual Studio 2012 Uninstall Utility

While Microsoft has moved documentation around over the years, the official tool is the primary method for resolving these issues.

Important Note: Microsoft introduced the "Total Uninstaller" concept primarily with Visual Studio 2013 and later. However, for Visual Studio 2012, you essentially have two paths for a "pre-clean" operation.

Step-by-Step: Pre-Clean + Update Workflow

Follow this exact sequence to avoid reinstalling Windows:

| Step | Action | Tool/Script | |------|--------|--------------| | 1 | Uninstall all VS2012 extensions (especially Resharper, DevExpress). | VS Extension Manager | | 2 | Run the Pre-Clean script as Administrator. | VS2012PreClean.ps1 | | 3 | Manually delete %TEMP%\* and C:\Windows\Temp\* (skip in-use files). | File Explorer | | 4 | Restart Windows (clears locked file handles). | shutdown /r /t 0 | | 5 | Disable antivirus real-time protection. | Windows Security | | 6 | Launch VS2012.5.exe with /layout to download fresh bits. | Command line | | 7 | Run the actual update installer. | VS2012.5.exe |