Are you a fan of Virtual Reality headsets like Oculus? This headset is developed by Meta Platforms, allowing users to interact with 3D virtual environments. It also has a special program known as Oculus Software that allows users to connect the headset to their PCs and manage the VR content and other settings. However, there have been reports that some Oculus users are facing issues like Oculus Software not installing on Windows. We have created a guide with the best possible troubleshooting steps to fix this issue.
There are many reasons why the Oculus software does not get installed on your Windows PC. Here are a few prominent ones.
Experts have recommended that, before you start troubleshooting, you try granting admin rights to the Installation file of the Oculus software. All you have to do is right-click the file and choose the Run As Administrator option from the context menu. This alone solves many permission-related installation failures.
If running the installer as an admin file does not resolve the issue, then we suggest that you delete the contents of the Oculus Installer download cache. The cache files are an approx of 5GB and may get corrupted. Deleting them means you will have to download the files again. Here is what you need to do.
1. Open the Run box by pressing Win + R.
2. Type the following command and click on the OK button.
%localappdata%\Oculus
3. Delete the OculusSetup folder.
4. Then run the installer again.
If you previously tried installing Oculus and it failed, old files may block installation. Follow these steps to remove all old files.
1. Press Win + R to launch the RUN box and type the following path.
C:\Program Files
2. Delete the Oculus folder.
3. Next, open the Run box again and type the following paths one by one.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Oculus
C:\Oculus
4. Click on the Enter key, and the required folder will open. Delete all folders and files related to Oculus.
5. Finally, type %temp% in the Run box to open the folder of the temporary files and delete all of them to gain space and remove conflicts.
Read Also : Fix Oculus Hardware Error With These 5 Ways!
Oculus PC software needs at least 15–20 GB of free space. Check via Settings → System → Storage. Free up space before you reattempt installation.
Oculus requires some Windows dependencies that must be installed prior to installing Oculus software.
DirectX or DirectX End-User Runtime
Visual C++ Redistributables.
.NET Framework.
| Enable .NET Framework 3.5 & 4.8 The Oculus installer requires .NET components. 1. Press Win + R, type optionalfeatures, and click on OK. .NET Framework 3.5 3. Restart your PC afterward. |
Some experts have suggested that the Antivirus app on your PC might not allow you to install Oculus software. In this case, they recommend temporarily disabling the antivirus software. If you have third-party antivirus software, then look for the instructions to disable it. We have provided the steps to turn off the default Windows Security app.
1. Press the Win key and type Windows Security.
2. Click on the relevant result under Best Match.
3. Next, click on Virus & Threat Protection.
4. Click on Manage Settings.
Oculus software won’t install on older or partially updated Windows versions.
1. Press Win + I to open the Settings.
2. Click on the Windows Update tab in the left panel.
3. Now, click on the Check for Updates button in the top-right corner.
4. After completing the updates, click 2 or 3 times more on the same button. This will ensure that if any updates remain, they will be completed.
5. Then click on Advanced Options in the right section.
6. On the new page, click on Optional Updates (Features, Drivers, etc).
7. Choose all the driver updates and click on the Download & Install button.
8. Wait for the process to complete and reboot your PC.
1. Oculus must be installed on a drive with NTFS format & Full read/write permissions.
2. Check your drive by making a Right-click → Properties → Security.
3. Ensure SYSTEM and Administrators have Full Control.
If the installer won’t start, try reinstalling using the command line by opening the Command Prompt in elevated mode.
1. Press Win + R to open the RUN box and type “Cmd”.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Command Prompt in admin mode.
3. Copy and paste the following command in the window and press the Enter key to execute it.
OculusSetup.exe /repair
5. This forces the installer to rebuild damaged components.
1. Right-click the downloaded OculusSetup.exe → Properties
2. If you see “Unblock” at the bottom, check it → Apply.
There are two ways to update the graphics drivers – Use the Device Manager & Use Advanced Driver Updater. We have explained both methods in detail.
1. Press Win + X to open the Power Menu.
3. Click on Display Adapters to view your graphics card.
4. Right-click on the Graphics card and select Update Drivers.
5. Click the “Search Automatically for drivers” option and follow the instructions onscreen.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions and reboot the PC.
Advanced Driver Updater is a third-party driver updater software that allows users to update drivers with a few mouse clicks. Here are the steps to use this app.
1. Download and install Advanced Driver Updater using the link below.
2. Launch the app and click the Start Scan Now button.
3. Wait for some time to get the list of outdated drivers.
4. Locate the Graphics driver and click the Update button next to it.
5. Once the driver update process is complete, reboot your PC.
Moving on, if the issue does not resolve, then you could try to disable the firewall temporarily and check. Remember to enable the firewall after the installation is complete.
1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Navigate to Privacy & Security > Windows Security > Firewall & network protection.
3. Click on all network profiles (Domain, Private, or Public) one by one.
4. Under Microsoft Defender Firewall, toggle the switch to Off.
Note : You can turn on the Firewall using the same steps described above.
Third-party apps like antivirus software, Razer software, or GPU tools can block installation. You need to clean boot Windows before installing the Oculus software.
1. Press Win + R to open the Run box and type “msconfig”.
2. Click on OK, and a new box will open.
3. Go to the Services tab.
4. Check Hide all Microsoft services
5. Click Disable all
6. Go to Startup → Open Task Manager
7. Disable all startup apps
8. Restart the PC and run the installer again.
The Oculus app installation depends on critical services. Here are the steps to check.
1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit the Enter key.
2. Ensure the following services are running & set to Automatic.
3. If any are stopped → Right-click → Start.
Some Experts have an opinion that if the system files are corrupted, then they can block the installation of software. Here is what you need to do.
1. Open Command Prompt as Admin.
2. Type the following commands, one by one, followed by the Enter key.
sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
3. Restart the PC and run OculusSetup again.
Read Also : How to Fix the Install Error 0x80070103 in Windows 11/10?
We hope that the above methods have helped you fix the “Oculus Software Not Installing On Windows” error. We want to hear all about your experience and how you fixed the issues in the comments section below.
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