Keep getting Microsoft visual studio is busy. We'll automatically report this delay. VS 2019 gets stuck on Excel connection manager

Hi,

From your ActivityLog.xml and the behavior you described, this comes down to the ACE (Access Database Engine) driver or a corrupted VS/SSDT cache. Below is a more structured list of things to try, in roughly the order I’d recommend.

1. Install or Repair the Microsoft Access Database Engine

The Excel Connection Manager uses the ACE OLE DB provider, which comes from the Microsoft Access Database Engine redistributable. If that driver is missing, the designer can hang when you open or edit an Excel connection.

1. Download the redistributable: Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable
2. IMPORTANT: Install the bitness that matches your SSIS/Visual Studio environment, not necessarily your OS:
   • If you’re using 32-bit SSIS runtime in VS, install the 32-bit (x86) engine.
   • If you’re using 64-bit SSIS and running VS/SSDT in 64‑bit, install 64-bit (x64).

If it’s already installed, run the installer again and choose Repair.

2. Clear the Visual Studio / SSIS Component Cache

A corrupted cache can also cause the designer to hang when loading specific components like the Excel Connection Manager.

1. Close all instances of Visual Studio.
2. Delete (or rename) these folders if they exist (paths may vary slightly by version/edition):
   • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\16.0_*
   • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio Services\6.0
   • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\SQL Server Data Tools
   • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Team Foundation
   • %TEMP%\VisualStudio*
3. Reopen Visual Studio – it will rebuild these caches.

3. Repair or Reinstall the SSIS Extension

If the SQL Server Integration Services Projects extension is broken, the Excel Connection Manager UI can fail to load and hang VS.

1. In Visual Studio: Tools → Extensions and Updates… (or Extensions → Manage Extensions).
2. Find “SQL Server Integration Services Projects”.
3. Click Uninstall (or Disable + restart, then Uninstall if required).
4. Restart Visual Studio when prompted.
5. Reinstall the SSIS extension:
   • Either via Visual Studio Installer (modify your VS installation → add SSIS/SSDT),
   • Or download from the Visual Studio Marketplace: “SQL Server Integration Services Projects”.
6. Restart Visual Studio and test the Excel Connection Manager again.

4. Reset Visual Studio Settings

If the issue is related to VS environment settings, a reset can help.

1. Open Developer Command Prompt for VS 2019.
2. Run:

   
      devenv /resetsettings
   
   

3. After it completes, start Visual Studio and test again.

5. Run Visual Studio in Safe Mode

This checks whether a third‑party extension is causing the hang.

1. Close all instances of VS.
2. From Developer Command Prompt, run:

   
      devenv /safemode
   
   

3. Open your SSIS project and try to edit the Excel Connection Manager.
   • If it works in Safe Mode, a third‑party extension is likely the cause.
   • Disable or uninstall recently added extensions one by one until the problem disappears.

6. Update Visual Studio 2019

The ActivityLog.xml shows you’re on 16.0.36631.11, but there have been multiple updates to VS 2019 and to the SSIS extension. You can check for them here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releases/2019/release-notes

1. In Visual Studio: Help → Check for Updates.
2. Install any pending updates to:
   • Visual Studio 2019 itself.
   • The SQL Server Integration Services Projects extension.

After updating, restart and retest.

Hope this helps.