What is up with Microsoft Visual C++?

[CaptA380]

Why does the program and feature section show so many Visual C++? Starting from C++ 2005 - 2015. Do I even need them all? Here's a screenshot.
Can I uninstall the older ones? 

[minibois]

2 minutes ago, CaptA380 said:

Why does the program and feature section show so many Visual C++? 

This is a supporting piece of software for a lot of other programs (including games).

2 minutes ago, CaptA380 said:

Do I even need them all? Can I uninstall the older ones? 

Some programs will rely on you having any of these installed, so I wouldn't just go uninstalling one or the other without knowing for sure it might be needed.

This is why the only way to properly clean Windows - in my opinion - is by reinstalling it, because you never know what is relying on stuff like this.

[Nayr438]

You can uninstall them and it wont affect Windows, however any applications that depend on those runtime libraries will stop working until whichever one it needs is reinstalled.

These are MSVC++ runtime libraries, there are varying versions depending on when the application was made and what toolkit and library set was selected. Many applications ship and install these by default to insure you have all the necessary libraries to run the application.

For current and future compatibility reasons, I would just leave them installed.

[CaptA380]

1 hour ago, minibois said:

This is a supporting piece of software for a lot of other programs (including games).

Some programs will rely on you having any of these installed, so I wouldn't just go uninstalling one or the other without knowing for sure it might be needed.

This is why the only way to properly clean Windows - in my opinion - is by reinstalling it, because you never know what is relying on stuff like this.

Oh thank you!!

22 minutes ago, Nayr438 said:

You can uninstall them and it wont affect Windows, however any applications that depend on those runtime libraries will stop working until whichever one it needs is reinstalled.

These are MSVC++ runtime libraries, there are varying versions depending on when the application was made and what toolkit and library set was selected. Many applications ship and install these by default to insure you have all the necessary libraries to run the application.

For current and future compatibility reasons, I would just leave them installed.

Yeah, I would probably keep them as it doesn't cause any issues yet. Thank you!!

1 hour ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

There is no need to uninstall any of them. Some software installs it on its own during the setup so that it can work properly.

If I remember correctly, Terraria installs Microsoft XNA Framework for example.

The different versions are needed by different software and also when this software is running in a specified mode (like x86 or x64).

You can always keep them up to date by going to the following website and installing/repairing them all: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/pl/vs/older-downloads/

Windows Update should also update those components if you have the option to "deliver optional updates" checked.

Yup, I understood, thank you!!!