SharePoint Subscription Edition v. 23H1 Offline Prerequisite Installation

Microsoft has simplified installing SharePoint On-Prem in Server Subscription Edition (SE), which is a great improvement. In March 2023, the SE version 23H1 was released after being recompiled with the Visual C++ 2022 compiler, so the Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2015-2022 has become a prerequisite for installing SE since then.

Recently I had to install the version 23H1 offline, so I pre-downloaded the Visual C++ Redistributable and the latest CU for slipstreaming. That process exposed a bit of SharePoint pain. Two things:

1. (minor) The Redistributable file name is the same between the old and new packages. Both packages have the file name VC_redist.x64.exe, which makes it easy to download or stash the wrong version by accident:

  • New (post-23H1): Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64), https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=2224881
  • Old (pre-23H1): Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015-2019, https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=2130438
  • Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/install/software-requirements-for-sharepoint-servers-for-sharepoint-server-subscription-edition

2. (major) Even after placing the "2015-2022" version, the SharePoint PrerequisiteInstaller UI shows the old "2015-2019" package as being installed:

SharePoint prerequisite installation progress showing wrong version of Visual C++ Redistributable


PowerShell used, snippet:

$arguments = "/unattended /DotNet48:$installRoot\Files\Prereqs\ndp48-web.exe /MSVCRT142:$installRoot\Files\Prereqs\VC_redist.x64.exe"
Write-Host "Starting SharePoint prerequisite installation..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
$process = Start-Process -FilePath "D:\SpseInstallMedia\PrerequisiteInstaller.exe" -ArgumentList $arguments -Wait -PassThru

Although the offline prereq installer displays incorrect information, Programs and Features shows the correct version after installation:

Programs and Features showing correct version of Visual C++ Redistributable after installation

If you’re preparing offline SE version 23H1 installs, double-check which VC_redist.x64.exe you’ve downloaded and don’t be confused by the message on the prerequisite installation GUI. With SharePoint 2016 and 2019 reaching end of life on July 14, 2026, hopefully these issues won’t affect farm administrators migrating to SE as much as they affected me. 

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