Error: The Microsoft Visual Studio Remote Debugging Monitor (MSVSMON.EXE) does not appear to be running on the remote computer.

Applies to: Visual Studio Visual Studio for Mac

This error message means that Visual Studio could not find the correct instance of the Visual Studio Remote Debugging Monitor on the remote computer. The Visual Studio Remote Debugging Monitor must be installed for remote debugging to work. For information about downloading and setting up the remote debugger, see Remote Debugging.

I got this message while I was debugging in Visual Studio 2010 or earlier

If the version of Visual Studio that you are using is Visual Studio 2010 or earlier, you might also receive this error if file and printer sharing is not enabled. To find out more about this issue, please refer to the Visual Studio 2010 version of this documentation: Error: The Microsoft Visual Studio Remote Debugging Monitor (MSVSMON.EXE) does not appear to be running on the remote computer. - Visual Studio 2010

I got this message while I was debugging locally

If you are getting this message while you are debugging locally with Visual Studio 2017 or earlier, your anti-virus software or a third-party firewall may be to blame. Visual Studio 2019 and earlier are 32-bit applications. 32-bit versions of Visual Studio use the 64-bit version of the remote debugger to debug 64-bit applications. With Visual Studio 2017 and earlier, the two processes communicate using the local network within the local computer. No traffic leaves the computer, but it is possible that third party security software may block the communication.

The following sections list some other reasons why you might have gotten this message, and what you can do to fix the issue.

The remote machine is not reachable

Try to ping the remote machine. If it doesn't reply to the ping, the remote tools won't be able to connect either. Try rebooting the remote machine and otherwise making sure that it is correctly configured on the network.

The version of the remote debugger doesn't match the version of Visual Studio

The version of Visual Studio that you are running locally needs to match the version of the remote debugging monitor that is running on the remote machine. To fix this, download and install the matching version of the remote debugging monitor. Go to the Download Center to find the right version of the remote debugger.

The local and remote machines have different authentication modes

The local and remote machines need to use the same authentication mode. To fix this, make sure that both machines are using the same authentication mode. For more information about authentication modes, see Windows Authentication Overview.

The remote debugger is running under a different user account

You can solve this in one of the following ways:

• You can stop the remote debugger and restart it with the account you are using on the local computer.

• You can start the remote debugger from the command line with the /allow <username> parameter: msvsmon /allow <username@computer>

• You can add the user to the remote debugger's permissions (in the remote debugger window, Tools > Permissions).

• If you can't use the methods in the preceding steps, you can allow any user to do remote debugging. In the remote debugger window, go to the Tools > Options dialog. When you select No Authentication, you can then check Allow any user to debug. However, you should use this option only if you have no choice, or if you are on a private network.

The firewall on the remote machine doesn't allow incoming connections to the remote debugger

The firewall on the Visual Studio machine and the firewall on the remote machine must be configured to allow communication between Visual Studio and the remote debugger. For information about the ports the remote debugger is using, see Remote Debugger Port Assignments. For information about configuring the Windows firewall, see Configure the Windows Firewall for Remote Debugging.

Anti-virus software is blocking the connections

Windows anti-virus software allows remote debugger connections, but some third-party anti-virus software may block them. Check the documentation for your anti-virus software to find out how to allow these connections.

Network security policy is blocking communication between the remote machine and Visual Studio

Review your network security to make sure that it is not blocking communication. For more information about Windows network security policy, see Security policy settings.

The network is too busy to support remote debugging

You may need to do remote debugging at a different time, or reschedule work on the network for a different time.

More help

To get more remote debugger help, including command-line switches, click Help > Usage in the remote debugger window. If you don't have it open you can see the web page by copying the following line to a File Explorer window. (You need to replace <Visual Studio installation directory> with the location of your Visual Studio installation.)

res://<Visual Studio installation directory>\Common7\IDE\Remote%20Debugger\x64\msvsmon.exe/help.htm

See also

• Remote Debugging Errors and Troubleshooting