Side-by-side configuration is incorrect

Constant Windows updates led to the fact that a number of programs may refuse to start on modern versions of operating systems. Not all developers keep their games and applications up to date, which may lead to errors when trying to launch them. Most of these errors can be solved by installing compatibility, but not all of them. In case at the application boot you see a message saying that the side-by-side configuration is incorrect, this can be fixed in a number of ways, which will be discussed below.

Table of contents:
1. What means “side-by-side configuration is incorrect”
2. “Side-by-side configuration is incorrect”: how to fix this
3. “Side-by side configuration is incorrect” error occurs because of Visual C++ 

What means “side-by-side configuration is incorrect”

When the “Side-by side configuration incorrect” error occurs, Windows independently will give user instructions on what has to be done to diagnose it. The error message box indicates that additional information about its causes can be found in the application event log. If the program does not have it, you can use the sxstrace.exe command, which allows you to determine which of the specific modules you use has its side-by-side configuration incorrect.

To diagnose the cause of the error using sxstrace.exe, you need to do the following:

1. Run the command line as administrator;
2. Execute the following command:

sxstrace trace /logfile:sxstrace.etl

3. Next, run the application that reports that the side-by-side configuration is incorrect. When an error message appears, click “OK” and return to the command line;
4. Run the following command at the command line:

sxstrace parse /logfile:sxstrace.etl /outfile:sxstrace.txt

After performing the above steps, it remains to open the created txt file using notepad or another text editor and examine the results.

“Side-by-side configuration is incorrect”: how to fix this

It is not at all necessary to carry out the diagnostics described above, but it often allows you to understand the cause of the error in question. To fix the problem and prevent the “Side-by-side configuration is incorrect” message from appearing when the program is starting, most often it is enough to eliminate the conflict between Windows and Visual C ++.

“Side-by side configuration is incorrect” error occurs because of Visual C++

When you are installing games and applications on your computer, most often, an additional software package will be installed along side with them. This package may contain such libraries as Visual C ++ 2008, Visual C ++ 2010 and so on. If they conflict with Windows, the “Side-by-side configuration is incorrect” message will appear on the screen of your PC. In this situation, you can correct the error as follows:

1. Go to the list of programs and components, to do this, right-click on the “Start” and select the appropriate item in the drop-down menu;
2. Sort the list of installed applications by name and remove all Microsoft Visual C ++ of different release years with x64 or x86 in their names;

3. Next, restart the computer;
4. After starting your computer, go to the official Microsoft website and download the Visual C ++ libraries corresponding to the bit count of your operating system. That is, for 64-bit Windows it will be x64, and for 32-bit it will be x86;
5. Install the downloaded libraries and restart your PC once again.

After this, the “Side-by-side configuration is incorrect” error should no longer be disturbing you.