Installing VS2019 on Windows 7... in 2025!

I work from home. My dev box spec is:

• Processor: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700KF 3.60 GHz
• Installed RAM: 32.0 GB
• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• Version: 24H2
• OS build: 26100.3194

Given that spec, why is the title of this post “Installing VS2019 on Windows 7... in 2025!”?

Well, I do have a machine in the office, insofar as the machine is “mine,” given that I have yet to set foot in the office. Be that as it may, the boss said that the software I develop at home has to be compiled on the office machine.

Here's the rub, though, this is the spec of the office machine:

Yep, I can’t believe either. My office machine still runs Windows 7.

At home, I develop code using VS2022, even though I must downgrade to C#7 and target .NET 4.8 due to requirements limitations.

When the boss asked that the code be a single executable without external dependencies, I simply added Costura to the project, and I was done. Yay me!

However, when he said that the code needed to be compiled in the office machine... I tried.

And bumped on a limitation: Costura requires MSBuild 16, and the office machine had only MSBuild 15.

For those who don't know, MSBuild 15 comes with VS2017, while MSBuild 16 comes with VS2019.

Microsoft does allow you to download older versions of Visual Studio here, but you need to be a subscriber to MSDN—something I'm not at the moment.

Searching the web, I found this answer on StackOverflow, giving another option.

The answer's author provides a PowerShell script to install VS2019. However, that script includes the link to the installer: https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vs_community.exe.

I just pasted that link on the office machine's browser, downloaded the installer, and proceeded to the installation.

As I write this, the installation is still ongoing (for the last hour or so).