Download and Installation Issues (Windows)

Windows: Troubleshooting Download and Installation

Having trouble downloading or installing Hedy on Windows? This guide covers the most common issues and how to fix them. Before anything else, confirm your PC meets Hedy’s system requirements (Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or Windows 11).

”Isn’t commonly downloaded” warning in Edge

Microsoft Edge may show a warning that says “HedySetup.exe isn’t commonly downloaded. Make sure you trust the file before you open it.” This is normal for newer applications and does not mean the file is unsafe.

To proceed:

1. Open the Downloads panel in Edge (click the download icon in the toolbar)

2. Click the three-dot menu (···) next to the blocked download

3. Select Keep

4. A second warning will appear. Click Show more, then click Keep anyway

5. Open your Downloads folder and double-click HedySetup.exe to start the installer

Windows SmartScreen warning

When you run the installer, Windows SmartScreen may show a warning that says “Windows protected your PC” because the app is not yet widely recognized.

To proceed:

1. Click More info on the SmartScreen warning

2. Verify the publisher shows Hedy AI LLC

3. Click Run anyway to start the installation

Setup asks to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime

Partway through installation you may see “Installing Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime…”, followed by a Windows prompt asking for administrator permission. This is expected, and it is safe to accept.

Hedy transcribes on your PC rather than in the cloud. The speech engine that does that work is built with Microsoft’s C++ compiler and needs the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime to load. That runtime is a standard Microsoft component, not something specific to Hedy, and many Windows apps rely on it. Setup carries its own copy and only runs it when the version already on your PC is missing or older than the one Hedy needs, so most people never see the prompt at all.

If you decline the permission prompt, the rest of the installation still finishes and Hedy will open, but it will not be able to start a session. To fix that, either run the installer again and accept the prompt, or install the runtime yourself: open Microsoft’s latest supported Visual C++ downloads page, download the X64 installer from the “Latest supported redistributable version” table (not X86, and not anything in the “Unsupported legacy versions” section further down), run it, accept the administrator prompt, then restart Hedy.

Antivirus blocking the download or installer

Some antivirus programs (McAfee, Norton, Windows Defender, etc.) may incorrectly flag or quarantine the Hedy installer. This is a false positive that can happen with newer applications.

Check if your antivirus blocked Hedy:

1. Open your antivirus program

2. Look for Quarantined items or Blocked downloads

3. If you find Hedy there, restore it from quarantine

4. Add Hedy to your antivirus exclusions list to prevent future blocking

If you’re using McAfee:

1. Open McAfee and go to Device > Antivirus

2. Check Quarantined items and restore Hedy if found

3. Go to Device > Real-time Scanning and add hedy.exe to Excluded files

For detailed quarantine and exclusion steps for McAfee and other programs, see antivirus blocking the Hedy install.

Download redirected to File Explorer

If clicking the download link opens File Explorer instead of downloading Hedy, your browser or antivirus may be intercepting the download. Try these steps:

1. Use the direct download link: go to windows.hedy.bot in your browser

2. Right-click the download button and choose Save link as…

3. Save the file to your Downloads folder

4. If it still redirects, try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge)

Hedy installs and opens, but sessions won’t start

If Hedy runs fine until you try to start a session, and then shows “Session Start Failed” with “Unable to start recording. Please try again.”, the on-device speech engine often failed to load. Check these two causes first, in this order:

1. The Visual C++ Runtime is missing or out of date. Run the installer again and accept the permission prompt if it appears, or download the X64 installer from the “Latest supported redistributable version” table on Microsoft’s latest supported Visual C++ downloads page and run it. Restart Hedy afterwards.

2. Your antivirus quarantined one of Hedy’s files after installation. The installer can finish cleanly and the antivirus can remove a file minutes later. See antivirus blocking the Hedy install for how to check quarantine and add an exclusion.

If installation succeeds but Hedy shows a “Storage issue” message when it starts, that’s a separate problem with its own fix: see the “Storage issue” error on startup guide.

Still having trouble? Contact us at support@hedy.bot with a screenshot of the error or warning you’re seeing, and we’ll help you get Hedy installed.