Visual Studio 2010 debug not starting, F5 or click on “Play” not working, not doing anything. Waiting 2-3 minutes solves the issue

Question

I have a relatively simple C# (Framework 4) console application. When I click the \"Play\" icon or hit F5 (i.e. start the program in debug mode), the icon becomes gra

Answer 1

Its happened for me.The cause was because i had my project open in 2 times in 2 differents visual studio and one was waiting for me to answers a question in a message box. The message was about files file was modified outside source editor and was asking me if I wanted to load change. Hope it will help some people and sorry for my english.

Answer 2

I've seen this problem when my network connection is flakey and I've set the debugger to automatically download symbols from Microsoft's symbol server. It tries for a long time, then times out, then life proceeds. There should be clues in the Output window (where it normally lists all the modules being loaded and whether it got symbols for them).

Answer 3

This issue can also occur if you disable "Application Experience" service in Windows, as many system optimization sites suggest.

The service can be re-enabled using msconfig or services.msc, this completely solved the issue for me.

Answer 4

Check the Project Properties in the Compile tab, select the Advanced Compile Options.

If you are targeting the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile, you cannot reference an assembly that is not in the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

More information about the .Net Framework 4 Client Profile here

Answer 5

try this: open Task Manager, go to processes tab and look for process named after your app. if its there just kill the bastard and try to debug again. for me it worked like miracle

Answer 6

"Function Lock" ( Fn Lock) on some keyboards. This was completely unexpected, as I'd assumed I'd accidentally unset a key binding or something similar. Not so! - None of the function keys worked, then I noticed the tiny glimmering and baleful light of the Fn Lock key....