Visual Studio crash on typing in VB.NET source code editor

Question

I'm facing a strange instant crash of Visual Studio when I type something in the VB.NET source code editor.

C++ or C# source files still can be edited successfully. Also, some keys still work in the VB editor, for example tab, return or even copy and paste text via CTRL+C and CTRL+V.

This problem literally came over the weekend as editing files in VB.NET projects worked well on Friday but failed right away on Monday. I haven't modified any settings or updated anything.

I had a look at similar questions regarding this issue but none of them were able to solve my issue.

The crash happens no matter what I try:

• disable extensions one by one
• start VS in safe mode
• start VS with logging enabled (absolutely nothing in the log)
• reboot the computer
• load settings from a colleague's installation
• load default settings
• create new empty VB project
• use the Repair option of the VS installer

Environment information:

• Windows 10 Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042.985)
• Visual Studio Professional 2013 Version 12.0.21005.1 REL
• Visual Studio Professional 2017 Version 15.9.36

Other installed software that might be relevant as it integrates into Visual Studio:

• IncrediBuild Version 9.5.0 (Build 3385)
• DevExpress 16.2
• DevExpress 20.1
• ReSharper 2020.2.4

I doubt that an extension is the reason for the crash as the crash still occurs when extensions are disabled or VS is run in safemode. Right before one crash (in safemode) the following message was displayed:

Please wait for an editor command to finish...

Additionally, breakpoints can't be set anywhere in the (VB) code.

Anybody knows how to fix this issue without doing a complete reinstall of Visual Studio?

Answer 1

The cause of the crash in my case was the Text Editor configuration.

There was an entry in Tools → Options... → File Extension for vb files. The editor was set to "Microsoft Visual C#". If this entry is removed and Visual Studio is restarted, editing worked again.

Answer 2

You can try doing a "Repair" in the Visual Studio installer.

You can try attaching another instance of Visual Studio as a debugger for the instance that is crashing and configuring it to break on exceptions. This might help narrow down the issue.

You could also try using the "Report a problem" feature of VS, and recording the crash. This will attach diagnostic logs and submit them to Microsoft. You are using quite an old version though.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/how-to-report-a-problem-with-visual-studio?view=vs-2017

Is upgrading to a newer version of VS an option?