.net – Unit test project cannot find assembly under test (or dependencies)

compiler-errorsnetunit testingvisual studiovisual studio 2010

When I try to run my Unit Test project, I get the following error:

Could not load file or assembly 'ASSEMBLY_NAME, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies.

The system cannot find the file specified.

The assembly under test is located in the same solution and every project target .NET 4.0 framework.
It worked for a while, but today I got this error again.
I can't figure out what is wrong, because the error message doesn't tell me enough. (like; WHICH file could not be found..)

I've tried to add a new Test project, but also that one worked for a while before it gave me this same error message.

Is there anybody who can point me in the right direction?

Edit: In the diagnostic build log, the following error appears:

C:\Program Files\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\TeamTest\
Microsoft.TeamTest.targets(14,5): 
error : Could not load file or assembly 'ASSEMBLY_NAME, Version=1.0.0.0, 
Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. 
The system cannot find the file specified.

Done executing task "BuildShadowTask" -- FAILED. (TaskId:671)

Done building target "ResolveTestReferences" in 
      project "ASSEMBLY_NAME.Tests.vbproj" -- FAILED.: (TargetId:985)

Best Answer

Check Build->Configuration Manager... menu. All projects should have the same platform and column Build checked.

Also you can take a look into output of the build (Output window), it usually states more clearly which file could not be found.

Related Solutions

C# – The located assembly’s manifest definition does not match the assembly reference

The .NET Assembly loader:

is unable to find 1.2.0.203
but did find a 1.2.0.200

This assembly does not match what was requested and therefore you get this error.

In simple words, it can't find the assembly that was referenced. Make sure it can find the right assembly by putting it in the GAC or in the application path. Also see https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/junfeng/the-located-assemblys-manifest-definition-with-name-xxx-dll-does-not-match-the-assembly-reference.

C# – How to Load an Assembly to AppDomain with all references recursively

You need to invoke CreateInstanceAndUnwrap before your proxy object will execute in the foreign application domain.

 class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        AppDomainSetup domaininfo = new AppDomainSetup();
        domaininfo.ApplicationBase = System.Environment.CurrentDirectory;
        Evidence adevidence = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.Evidence;
        AppDomain domain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("MyDomain", adevidence, domaininfo);

        Type type = typeof(Proxy);
        var value = (Proxy)domain.CreateInstanceAndUnwrap(
            type.Assembly.FullName,
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        var assembly = value.GetAssembly(args[0]);
        // AppDomain.Unload(domain);
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public class Proxy : MarshalByRefObject
{
    public Assembly GetAssembly(string assemblyPath)
    {
        try
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Also, note that if you use LoadFrom you'll likely get a FileNotFound exception because the Assembly resolver will attempt to find the assembly you're loading in the GAC or the current application's bin folder. Use LoadFile to load an arbitrary assembly file instead--but note that if you do this you'll need to load any dependencies yourself.

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