error FS0193: when trying to start dotnet fsi in vscode

Question

I just installed vscode, .net sdk, and Ionide for f# as an extension in vscode. Whenever I try to launch dotnet fsi in the terminal I get the message:

"error FS0193: internal error: Operation did not complete successfully because the file contains a virus or potentially unwanted software. (0x800700E1)"

I have already tried reinstalling vscode, but it didn't work. It is for my first course in programming in university so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I assume you are running windows and that "the terminal" refers to the built-in terminal emulator of VsCode, running either cmd.exe or powershell.

The error your are experiencing is related to Windows Defender, probably blocking either VsCode's terminal emulator from accessing your disk or from starting dotnet fsi through VsCode.

You should be able to solve your problem by whitelisting VsCode, potentially also the dotnet binary and the fsi binary invoked by dotnet.