Side-by-Side Configuration Error

Windows Live Messenger refuses to start:

Even the installer refuses to run:


Additionally,

Fingerprint reader fails.

Happened suddenly. Maybe some Vista update screwed something.

Some other users also posted on the forums very recently, means that it has to be some recent change, but there was no good answer.

• bigblueball
• technet says to reinstall (*gasp*)
• msghelp
• here
  

What happened man???!!!

Sony Vaio SZ483
Windows Vista Business

Update July 4, 2008

After doing some research on the Internet, and on MSDN, I did one two System Restores to get my system back into a working state using the earliest Restore Point remaining on the system.

Immediately, I reviewed the Application Event Logs, and sure enough, there were loads of messages from the SideBySide component to the tune of

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files\Sony\VAIO Media 6.0\Vc.exe".Error in manifest or policy file "C:\Program Files\Sony\VAIO Media 6.0\Microsoft.VC80.CRT.MANIFEST" on line 11. Component identity found in manifest does not match the identity of the component requested. Reference is Microsoft.VC80.CRT,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",version="8.0.50727.762". Definition is Microsoft.VC80.CRT,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",version="8.0.50608.0". Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Mail\wlmail.exe". Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.CRT,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",version="8.0.50608.0" could not be found. Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

Probably the C-Runtime redistributables have been updated/replaced by some application I installed. Maybe it is one of the new fangled XML editors. Darn!

Moral of the story - if something goes wrong, fix it early. If I had waited a few more days, no restore point would work for me, except the fresh system restore (*gasp* I've to backup and restore all my documents and photos).

The more I look into this, the more it seems like a share-library version issue.

Is it related to the Visual C++ redistributables package? The .NET Framework? Can anyone tell me?