The type or namespace name 'System' could not be found

Question

I have the following errors (and more) in all my views (*.cshtml) when opening my project in Visual Studio 2015 Professional.

Error CS0246 The type or namespace name 'System' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) Severity Code Description Project File Line

Error CS0518 Predefined type 'System.Object' is not defined or imported Severity Code Description Project File Line

Error CS0518 Predefined type 'System.String' is not defined or imported

I got these references:

<ItemGroup>
<Reference Include="Microsoft.CSharp" />
<Reference Include="Sitecore.Kernel, Version=7.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\Sitecore.Kernel.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="Sitecore.Mvc">
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\Sitecore.Mvc.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.DynamicData" />
<Reference Include="System.Web.Entity" />
<Reference Include="System.Web.ApplicationServices" />
<Reference Include="System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations" />
<Reference Include="System" />
<Reference Include="System.Data" />
<Reference Include="System.Core" />
<Reference Include="System.Data.DataSetExtensions" />
<Reference Include="System.Web.Extensions" />
<Reference Include="System.Web.Helpers, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.Helpers.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.Mvc, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.Mvc.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.Providers">
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.Providers.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.Razor, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.Razor.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.WebPages, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.WebPages.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.WebPages.Deployment, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.WebPages.Deployment.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
  <SpecificVersion>False</SpecificVersion>
  <HintPath>N:\XXX\System.Web.WebPages.Razor.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="System.Xml.Linq" />
<Reference Include="System.Drawing" />
<Reference Include="System.Web" />
<Reference Include="System.Xml" />
<Reference Include="System.Configuration" />
<Reference Include="System.Web.Services" />
<Reference Include="System.EnterpriseServices" />

I found some solutions saying that a mscorlib wasn't referenced.. but when I tried to add it it sayd that it's already there (even though I don't see it on the csproj file).

System.dll reference:

SOLUTION:

Managed the issue.. I had the build path set to a "c:...\bin" instead of "\bin". I believe this happened because I don't have any web.config in the root of the project, so VS didn't identify my project as a web project.

Canonize

nothing odd there. do you have a using clause for it n your views? if not you may not have to, i bet you can add it implicitly via the Views web.config...see this question #12548141 – Bensky

the issue is not only with the using clauses.. it's also when I try do to @Html, please see the updated question – Oid

what VS version do you use? what MVC version of your project? – Hatband

did you have this project in a previous version of visual studio? if so it may be a nuget package restore issue....#27896004 – Bensky

@hubsonbropa When I open the project in VS 2013 it works fine. This only happens in VS 2015 – Oid

Related post - Getting "type or namespace name could not be found" but everything seems ok? – Lohr

Yet another reason why VS can't find any of the System is because it can't install a framework or core dependency dll is because the nuget package sources have been deleted or corrupted. Make sure that at least https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json is added – Propellant

Answer 1

I attempted to re-create your issue and came up with a similar error when the solution was created in visual studio 2013 and then tried building it in in vs 2015.

I was able to get a successful build once I reinstalled NuGet Package Manager (and closed, then reopened VS 2015).

References / Credit

There are several SO questions relating to build issues via with earlier version of NPM for VS 2015 (i.e. I'm just passing along what I've tried and worked out). Recurring resolution is usually update / reinstall NPM or change execution policy in power shell. I tend to like the update + restart approach to avoid tinkering with the black boxes in windows. one source: https://mcmap.net/q/141777/-can-39-t-install-nuget-package-because-of-quot-failed-to-initialize-the-powershell-host-quot There may also be an issue of MSBuild Integrated solutions, in which case migrating away from the NuGet resources in the solution could do the trick.

Source: https://mcmap.net/q/99134/-how-do-i-enable-nuget-package-restore-in-visual-studio

Bensky

Answer 2

I had the same problem earlier when I tried to edit an open source project from the internet.

Solved it by just Cleaning the solution and rebuilding it.

Panther

This worked for one of my solutions that had this problem; but another required VS to be relaunched after cleaning. – Heterogeneity

How do you "clean" the solution? Right click > Clean – Slily

Solution Explorer -> Right click on your project -> Clean – Clastic

For me, restarting Visual Studio (after rebuilding the solution) solved the problem. – Intelsat

Instead of cleaning the solution, you should rebuild the solution. Clean only if rebuilding the solution didn't work. – Lefebvre

Answer 3

Cleaning solution worked for me.

I would also advise to close and relaunch Visual Studio once doing so.

Myiasis

clean solution, restart visual studio and build solution... this worked, Thanks – Kalmick

You need to leave your XAML and CS windows open when you close VS. – Diella

Agree, just restarted VS (A.K.A. "IT Weapon of Choice") worked for me too. – Dana

This worked for me as well. But I would like to understand why this works. Surely as developers, we cant turn it off and on again each time, without understanding what is happening. Is there any official source or explanation for this phenomenon? – Sheley

Answer 4

Follow these steps :

1. right click on Solution > Restore NuGet packages
2. right click on Solution > Clean Solution
3. right click on Solution > Build Solution
4. Close Visual Studio and re-open.
5. Rebuild solution. If these steps don't initially resolve your issue try repeating the steps a second time.

Thats All.

Balderas

I needed to run step 4 before step 3. – Temptation

I recommend adding this to your post: "5. Rebuild solution. If these steps don't initially resolve your issue try repeating the steps a second time." – Trapezoid

I second this post. Sometimes cleaning the solution is not enough and rebuilding the solution will repair the references. – Spumescent

Turns out I also had the wrong framework version installed. This led me to noticing that, so thanks! – Azimuth

This did not help, but another answer did: https://mcmap.net/q/188044/-the-type-or-namespace-name-39-system-39-could-not-be-found – Cyclist

Answer 5

Unload project -> Reload project normally fixes this weird, Nuget related, error to me.

Struck

This also worked for me. Cleaning/Exit/reload/Rebuild did not – Stilla

Answer 6

If cleaning the solution didn't work and for anybody who see's this question and tried moving a project or renaming.

Open Package manager console and type "dotnet restore".

Daredeviltry

Answer 7

right click you project name then open the properties windows. downgrade your Target framework version, build Solution then upgrade your Target framework version to the latest, build Solution .

Elainaelaine

The issue for me seemed to be that the framework was already downgraded (4.5) compared to my other projects (4.5.1). Upgrading the framework to 4.5.1 & closing VS, re-opening & then building worked. Upvoted since this was the only one that mentioned the framework. Thanks! – Aga

Answer 8

I got the same error on a project I had cloned from git. What solved my issue was toggling the target framework. You can do this by going to Project > Properties > change the target framework, and change it back to what it was.

Tours

This worked for me in Visual Studio 2019 when the other solutions didn't. Thanks! – Ghetto

Answer 9

Open Project References, I had lots of yellow warning triangles on the various packages. Click Add Reference, just doing that seems to get VS to refresh it references, and the yellow triangles disappeared and the errors from the code also.

You might have to do this in a few projects if your solution reference to other projects

Collimate

Answer 10

For the folks that like me got here because they're trying to host aspnet.core mvc in a console application: The ONLY way I was able to solve this was by converting the .csproj to the new format and add the Sdk property to the Project tag on the very first line.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Razor">

Brehm

Answer 11

I had to delete the bin and obj folders from each folder in order to resolve this.

South

Answer 12

For me it only happened in one project and I tried everything I found online and nothing seemed to help. I was ready to delete and recreate the project when after messing through the projects properties changing the .NET framework target from 4.7.2 to 4.8 fixed the issue. I changed it back to 4.7.2 later and the error is gone.

Hopefully this helps other users as well.

Longing

Answer 13

This fixed it for me:

1. Right Click on Project => unload Project
2. In the .proj file that should open, delete (or comment out) the error conditions eg. Reload Project

Bolte

Answer 14

i had to upgrade from visual studio 2017 to 2019. no other proposed solution here helped me, i installed and configured, rebooted every one here plus many other options from ms site.

my root cause was probably due to the fact the git repository developer used 2019 and i tried to clone the original git repo into ma 2017.

Eelpout

It probably resolved your issue because VS 2019 has more built-in mechanisms for automatically resolving issues. – Trapezoid

Answer 15

You can check the framework on which system was created and developed, and then changes the framework of your current solution to the old framework. You can do this by right click on the solution and then choose properties. In Application section you can change the framework.

Beside

Answer 16

Check the Target framework. changed target framework from .NET framework 4.6.1 to .NET framework 4.6 has worked for me.

Treasatreason

Answer 17

I've tried all answers above. For me works only removal and adding the reference again described in the following steps:

1. Open 'References' under the project.
2. Right click on 'System' reference.
3. Click on 'Remove'.
4. Right click on 'References'.
5. Click 'Add Reference...'.
6. From right menu choose an 'Assemblies',
7. In a search field type 'System'.
8. Choose 'System' from the list.
9. Click 'Add' button.
10. IMPORTANT: Restart the Visual Studio.

Thun

Answer 18

Try to

1. Clean Solution
2. Rebuild Solution

Fayum

Answer 19

This happened to my project because base folder had html encoded characters because of git clone, ex: instead of "PROJECT NAME" it was "PROJECT%20NAME" on Windows.

Changing it manually to "PROJECT NAME" and re-opening the .sln fixed it for me.

Forest

Answer 20

Be sure to have your package source set correctly. If you are with an organization, you may need to figure out how to set up RSA with your repositories in order to access custom package libraries.

Haematothermal

Answer 21

1. Just Rebuild/Clean Solution
2. Close the project window and reopen Solution Explorer .

Mutation

Answer 22

I encountered this message while trying to extract part of a solution to set it up as a stand-alone solution.

I found that all the <HintPath> references in my .csproj files were now pointing to the wrong place. In my case they were originally:

<Reference Include="System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives, Version=4.0.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
      <HintPath>..\..\packages\System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives.4.0.1\lib\net46\System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives.dll</HintPath> 
</Reference>

And to make the compile problems go away, they just needed to be fixed up as:

<Reference Include="System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives, Version=4.0.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a, processorArchitecture=MSIL">
      <HintPath>..\packages\System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives.4.0.1\lib\net46\System.IO.FileSystem.Primitives.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>

Slily

Answer 23

In case this helps someone, in my case, the previous owner of the project had failed to ignore the packages directory in source control, but had ignored the build paths, so while the packages were incomplete.

To fix, I had to

1. Build the solution to see what package was missing.
2. Delete the packages from the hard drive.
3. Run update-package -reinstall -ignoredependencies from the NuGet console.

Rodney

Answer 24

my problem was caused because several projects were used and compiled by 2 separate vs2019 solutions. once i merged the solutions and deleted the obj & bin folders and recompiled - the problem was solved

Flowing

Answer 25

Interesting thing I came to know, about nuget references in Visual studio For nuget references, we can add As through reference or by package.config file.

In Visual Studio 2017 - the alphabetic order or nuget reference is taken care by VS automatically.

But In Visual Studio 2019. if you nuget references are not in alphabatic order than VS doen't loading the file in Reference folder.

So in order to try to fix. --Remove all the All references from .csproj/vbproj or package.config.

-- save in notepad. Try to add those through Nuget Package Manager.

-- Try with 1 first time. and once installed.

-- Right click on Solutions -> Restore all nuget packages.

-- You will see now it loads one nuget reference.

-- Now do this one by one.

-- if you 100% sure that your order of references are in alphabetic order. Just paste them all in .csproj/vbproj or package.config.

-- Restore all nuget on solutions.

You will see all the symbols will be loaded. -- one more thing Refresh you Reference folder by a top icon in solutions explorer.

Happy referencing.

Connett

Answer 26

I got the same issue when a few img files included in the project where deleted in file system. But not removed from asp.net project (due to git stash\checkout). And build was ok after files were manually exluded from project. This is related to legacy ASP.NET 4.6 Web project and VS 2019.

Jamesjamesian

Answer 27

In my case, incoming changes had conflicted with a stash I had. The result was that the web.config had invalid characters. Fixing the merge conflict resolved this issue for me.

Frenzied

Answer 28

In our case, one of our developers had created a folder named "System" within a referenced project (eg. "Foobar.General"), leading to a namespace of "Foobar.General.System" for the classes under it.

This meant that any class with a "using Foobar.General;" statement could no longer reference the primary .NET "System" namespace, because they were looking for items within our own "System" namespace instead.

It is possible to resolve the issue by globally qualifying every affected "using". However, we thought that approach would lead to confusion and an ongoing need to explain this special handling to future team members.

Instead we renamed our "System" folder to "Utilities" and changed our namespaces accordingly. Problem solved!

Kahle

Answer 29

Normally, this can be solved by following package manager command and refreshing all the packages.

update-package -r -project <project name>

Metrorrhagia

Answer 30

Using VS Professional 2019, I was trying to run a downloaded solution from a Udemy class on selenium automation testing, and most of the projects had errors in the project references sections. I tried cleaning, rebuilding, closing VS. Then, in VS, when I right clicked on the solution in Solution Explorer and chose Manage Nuget Packages for Solution, there were 2 available updates: for MSTest.TestAdapter and MSTest.TestFramework, and when I installed those, the error messages on the references for all the projects went away, for the references to those, as well as for the references to System and System.Core.

Tentage