Could not load file or assembly 'WebDriver, Version=2.53.1.0 when using coded UI Testing

Question

Since today I get the following new Error message:

System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'WebDriver, Version=2.53.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=1c2bd1631853048f' or one of its dependencies. A strongly-named assembly is required. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131044) ---> System.IO.FileLoadException: A strongly-named assembly is required. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131044)

Everything worked fine until yesterday and now I lost 6 out of my 7 test VMs to this error.

I read every documentation I could find and tried to compare the non working VMs with the the non working version and could not find a difference.

Suspicious is the Version=2.53.1.0 as the current WebDriver DLL is 4.4.0. Where could the reference to this potential old DLL come from?

Is there a debug or logging option I could activate? A way to see which DLLs are loaded?

Needless to say that with only 1 out of 7 Testmachines we will not be able to meet the deadline.

Answer 1

Got it. It's the other way around. I must not use a new version. I must use an old 2.53 version.

The update must have slipped in because I can't remember updating them consciously.

For those who have similar problems: Extract the content of selenium-dotnet-strongnamed-2.53.1.zip into C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\VSTT\Cross Browser Selenium Components\

Adjust destination directory if you have an unusual Windows installation.