Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 🔖 🔖

If you’ve ever glanced through your list of installed programs on Windows, you’ve likely seen Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (often listed as x86 and x64 ). You might have wondered: What is this? Do I need both? Can I delete it?

However, if you’re absolutely certain no installed software needs it (e.g., after uninstalling old games or legacy software), you can remove it via . microsoft visual c++ 2013

If you uninstall it, any application that depends on it will likely crash or fail to launch with an error like: The program can't start because MSVCP120.dll is missing from your computer. (Note: MSVCP120.dll is the key file for VC++ 2013 – the "120" refers to version 12.0.) If you’ve ever glanced through your list of

If something breaks later, you can always reinstall it from Microsoft’s official download page. Always download from Microsoft’s official website. Never use third-party “DLL download” sites. Can I delete it

If you’re a developer looking to support older systems or games, understanding the VC++ 2013 runtime is still useful—especially when debugging those classic “missing DLL” errors. Have a missing DLL error related to MSVCP120.dll or MSVCR120.dll? Let me know in the comments—I’ve debugged my fair share of runtime issues.

The page offers both vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe . If in doubt, install both. Mainstream support ended in 2018, and extended support ended in 2023. That means no new security updates. However, the runtime itself is stable and widely deployed—it doesn’t run as a background service, so the security risk is minimal for most users.