A newer version of this application is already installed

S-078853

This error appears when updating, modifying, or installing an older version of SOLIDWORKS® after installing SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP2 software. The issue occurs because of a change in the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) version 7.1, introduced in the SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP2 software.

Earlier versions of the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager installer do not recognize the new VBA 7.1 components. Therefore, the installer starts a new installation of the older version of the program. The new VBA 7.1 installation then blocks the software installation.

You cannot correct this issue by using earlier versions of the installation manager. If you encounter this issue, perform the following steps:

1.    Uninstall the new version of VBA 7.1.
2.    Perform the installation steps that lead to the error. The installation should now succeed.
3.    Perform a repair of the recent SOLIDWORKS installation (SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP2 or later) to reinstall the updated VBA 7.1 components.

If required, a utility is available to assist with uninstalling VBA 7.1. To obtain this utility, access the Customer Portal and search for the Knowledge Base solution S-078838.

When this error occurs, the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager log file typically shows the following entries:

‘{Time}    Info    Step    90    0    "{0: Installing} MSI: {1: {Location of installation files}\SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP05\PreReqs\VBA\vba71.msi}; command-line: {2: }
(ID {3: Microsoft_VBA}, lang {4: }, pcode {5: {90120064-0070-0000-0000-4000000FF1CE}}, mode {6: 7}, upg = {7: }, f{8: 0}, costKB {9: 0})"’

‘{Time}    Error    Status    149    0    "Product:CAM ErrorCode:0 Message:A newer version of this application is already installed. Installation stopped."’



S-078838
1.    Uninstall the new version of VBA 7.1. You can use the attached script to simplify the process.
    a.    Download the attached file ‘S-078838_uninstall_vba.txt’.
    b.  Rename the file to ‘S-078838_uninstall_vba.bat’.
    c.    Right-click the ‘S-078838_uninstall_vba.bat’ file and then click ‘Run as administrator’.
2.    Perform the installation steps that lead to the error.
3.    Perform a repair of the recent SOLIDWORKS installation (SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP2 or later) to reinstall the updated VBA 7.1 components.

Author

Jan Egil Bæver