Category: Tips for C#.net Customizations

Fix : Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory..The system cannot find the file specified.”:”Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory..

Hi Folks,

Recently I came across this problem with one my console applications while working with ADAL library. After debugging for a while, came to know that this DLL referenced had been updated and I strangely note that error popping up.

Then I came to know that there was an assembly binding defined with a different version from the DLL present in the bin folder. So I tried to understand a bit about assembly binding and what assembly binding redirect is all about.

Why are binding redirects needed at all?

Suppose you have application A that references library B, and also library C of version 1.1.2.5. Library B in turn also references library C, but of version 1.1.1.0. Now we have a conflict, because you cannot load different versions of the same assembly at runtime. To resolve this conflict you might use binding redirect, usually to the new version (but can be to the old too). You can do that by adding the following to app.config file of application A, under configuration>runtime>assemblyBinding section (see here for an example of full config file):

<dependentAssembly>
    <assemblyIdentity name="C"  
                      publicKeyToken="32ab4ba45e0a69a1"  
                      culture="en-us" />  
    <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.1.1.0" newVersion="1.1.2.5" />  
</dependentAssembly>

You can also specify a range of versions to map:

<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-1.1.1.0" newVersion="1.1.2.5" />

Now library B, which was compiled with reference to C of version 1.1.1.0 will use C of version 1.1.2.5 at runtime. Of course, you better ensure that library C is backwards compatible or this might lead to unexpected results.

You can redirect any versions of libraries, not just major ones.

If you want to know more about assembly binding, redirects. Please refer to below post.

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12215/Assemblies-locating-binding-and-deploying

Finally I was able to resolve this issue by commenting this section in App.config. The fix seem to be easy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

PMDY

 

Visual Studio Cache Cleanup – Tip to Step into your DLL Code

Hi Folks,

Have you ever had a situation where you had to debug a DLL code referred from your existing .Net Assembly…?

Possibly you might have added a reference…but still not able to step into your respective DLL even after adding project references and placing PDB in bin folder, then this tip of Visual Studio is for you…

First of all, here’s how to clear the Component Cache…

1. Close Visual Studio (ensure devenv.exe is not present in the Task Manager)
2. Delete the %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\ComponentModelCache directory
3. Restart Visual Studio.

You could also need to cleanup your user’s temp folder. It is usually located under  %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp.

Now try to debug and verify…possibly you need to try the user profile temp data clearing also.

If the above fails, you can go with approach…but be careful before proceeding…

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Team Foundation
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VSCommon

Then, open the Visual Studio IDE folder in command prompt and Run devenv /resetuserdata from the Visual Studio IDE folder.
Typical location for 64 bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE
Typical location for 32 bit: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE

Reference:

https://www.matteopozzani.com/visual-studio-cache-cleanup/

Hope this helps in troubleshooting..

Cheers,

PMDY