C++ program not running on windows systems without VS installed "VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found" - c++

Question

When I compile a simple program:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void main() {
cout << "Hello world!";
}
And tun the compiled .exe on another system without visual studio installed I receive the following error:
The Code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix the problem.
When I compile with cl.exe I receive no errors,
does anyone know a workaround to this without installing VCRUNTIME140.dll on the systems. (I've tested on multiple windows systems including a windows virtual machine)

Answer 1

I've encountered this problem before and there's a simple solution to it,
The missing .dll are a issue of static linking not missing packages (in most cases),
becuase visual studio 2019 comes pre-installed with what you need.
To fix:
go to your project properties (in project tab)
Select C/C++
Change the value of runtime library to "Multi-threaded debug (/MTd)"
This will cause the compiler to embed the runtime into the app.
The executable will be significantly bigger, but it will run without any need of runtime dlls.

Answer 2

Get the "Visual Studio 20xx VC++ Redistributable package" for your version of Visual Studio. Then run on the target machine to install.
Bottom of this page: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
Or bottom of this page for older versions of Visual Studio: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/

Answer 3

I've had the same problem, mainly because originally when compiling something with C++ and turning it into an exe file, it's still gonna be an exe file that depends on libraries from C++.
But according to asd plourgy, who had a good idea to change the value of the runtime library, I wanted to share with whoever seeks knowledge how I solved it:
Go to your Visual Studio Code and follow these steps:
Click on Project
Properties
Scroll out C/C++
All Options
runtime library
Change value to: "Multithreaded-DLL (/MD)".
And that should do the trick. Afterwards, you have to obviously
save
debug
create new(exe)
open cmd and run the exe to make sure it works.
My System is: Windows 10
Here are a few pictures to make the steps easier, it's in german though:
step1:
step2:
step3:
step4:
step5: