Project won't open - Project unavilable problem

Question

_{Friday, August 14, 2015 12:51 PM}

 Hello every one,

I have a problem, after upgrading to Windows 10 and install VS2015, i am trying to open a project that i was working on (in VS2013) and nothing is loaded, the output window doesn't show any errors, and in the solution explorer it's (unavailable).

how can i fix that?

thanks a lot,

Or

All replies (1)

_{Friday, August 14, 2015 3:09 PM ✅Answered}

In Visual Studio 2015, you can open a project that was created in Visual Studio 2013 or Visual Studio 2012, change it, and then reopen it in Visual Studio 2015; your changes persist and the project behaves the same as it does in the earlier version.

The following link- Porting, Migrating, and Upgrading Visual Studio Projects has the list which describes support in Visual Studio 2015 for projects that were created in Visual Studio 2013 or Visual Studio 2012 or Visual Studio 2010 SP1. You can use this list to help determine whether you can open a project as-is in Visual Studio 2015, Visual Studio 2013, Visual Studio 2012, or Visual Studio 2010 SP1, or whether you have to modify it to ensure compatibility.

Following are few things you can try:

The Project Does Not Run Because Files Are Not Found

A project file contains hard-coded file paths that Visual Studio uses to run the project when you press F5. These paths may include the location of devenv.exe and other required files. In an upgraded version of Visual Studio, the paths of these files may have been changed.

To resolve incorrect file paths

1. Open your project file in a text editor.
2. Scan for file paths that may be incorrect, especially those that contain a Visual Studio version number.
3. Modify incorrect file paths so that they point to the new targets.

The Project Does Not Build Because References Are Not Valid

When you upgrade Visual Studio, you might also be upgrading the .NET Framework version. If your project contains references that are discontinued in the newer .NET Framework version, they may not resolve correctly. This is especially likely for references that include version numbers, for example,Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop.8.0.

If your code has many invalid references, the easiest solution may be to use the multi-targeting feature of Visual Studio to target an earlier version of the .NET Framework.

To resolve incorrect references

1. Open your project file in a text editor.
2. Open the project properties.
3. Select the correct Target Framework value. Alternatively, you can modify the value of the<TargetFrameworkVersion> element directly in the project file.

If you want your project to run in the upgraded .NET Framework version, you must update the references for the project, and also update any Imports or Using statements that call the references. If your project loads in the IDE, you can update the references by using Solution Explorer or the Reference Manager dialog box.

Refer: How to: Troubleshoot Unsuccessful Visual Studio Project Upgrades

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