After installing Visual Studio 2008 (or an earlier version) alongside Visual SourceSafe, you may find that the option to add a SourceSafe database simply does not appear, or that attempting to connect produces errors. This article explains why the SourceSafe plugin fails, how to fix it through registry and configuration changes, and why you should seriously consider migrating to a modern version control system.

How Visual Studio Discovers Source Control Plugins

Visual Studio uses the MSSCCI (Microsoft Source Code Control Interface) to communicate with source control providers. When you install a source control tool like Visual SourceSafe, it registers itself in the Windows registry so that Visual Studio can discover it at startup.

The discovery process works like this:

  1. Visual Studio reads HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SourceCodeControlProvider
  2. It looks at the ProviderRegKey string value, which points to another registry key
  3. That key contains the path to the MSSCCI provider DLL (typically SSSCC.DLL for SourceSafe)
  4. Visual Studio loads the DLL and exposes source control features in the IDE

If any step in this chain is broken, the source control integration silently fails.

Common Causes of SourceSafe Integration Failure

1. Installation Order Problems

The most frequent cause is installing components in the wrong order. The SourceSafe client and its Visual Studio plugin are separate components. If you install Visual Studio after SourceSafe, the plugin registration may be overwritten or skipped.

Correct installation order:

  1. Install Visual Studio
  2. Install Visual SourceSafe (full client, not just the runtime)
  3. During SourceSafe setup, ensure the Source Control Integration component is selected

2. Missing or Incorrect Registry Keys

Open regedit and verify the following keys exist:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SourceCodeControlProvider
    ProviderRegKey = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SourceSafe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SourceSafe
    SCCServerName = "Microsoft Visual SourceSafe"
    SCCServerPath = "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe\SSSCC.DLL"

On 64-bit systems, Visual Studio (which is a 32-bit application) reads from the Wow6432Node subtree:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SourceCodeControlProvider
    ProviderRegKey = "SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\SourceSafe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\SourceSafe
    SCCServerName = "Microsoft Visual SourceSafe"
    SCCServerPath = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe\SSSCC.DLL"

If these keys are missing, you can create them manually, but make sure the SCCServerPath points to the actual location of SSSCC.DLL on your system.

3. The SSAPI COM Component Is Not Registered

SourceSafe exposes its API through a COM object (SSAPI.DLL). If this DLL is not registered, Visual Studio cannot communicate with the SourceSafe database even if the MSSCCI provider loads correctly.

To re-register the SSAPI component:

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe"
regsvr32 SSAPI.DLL

You should see a success message. If you get an error, the DLL may be corrupted and you will need to repair or reinstall SourceSafe.

4. Multiple Source Control Providers Conflicting

If you have multiple MSSCCI providers installed (for example, SourceSafe and a Perforce or SVN plugin), Visual Studio may be configured to use a different one.

To switch providers in Visual Studio:

  1. Go to Tools > Options > Source Control
  2. Under Current source control plug-in, select Microsoft Visual SourceSafe
  3. Click OK and restart Visual Studio

5. The SourceSafe Database Path Is Inaccessible

Even when the plugin loads correctly, you may fail to add a database if:

  • The srcsafe.ini file is missing or corrupted in the SourceSafe database folder
  • The network path to the database is unreachable or requires different credentials
  • File permissions on the SourceSafe data directory do not allow the current user read/write access

Verify by opening the SourceSafe standalone client (ssexp.exe) and testing database connectivity there first.

Étape-by-Étape Dépannage

If the source control menu shows no SourceSafe option, follow these steps:

Étape 1: Verify the MSSCCI DLL exists.

dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe\SSSCC.DLL"

If the file does not exist, reinstall Visual SourceSafe with the IDE integration option.

Étape 2: Check the registry keys.

Open regedit and navigate to the paths listed above. On 64-bit Windows, check both the regular and Wow6432Node locations.

Étape 3: Re-register the COM components.

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe\SSAPI.DLL"
regsvr32 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual SourceSafe\SSSCC.DLL"

Étape 4: Reset the Visual Studio source control provider.

Delete and recreate the ProviderRegKey value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SourceCodeControlProvider to point to the SourceSafe registry path.

Étape 5: Check the Visual Studio ActivityLog.

Launch Visual Studio with logging enabled:

devenv.exe /Log

Then examine the log file at:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\ActivityLog.xml

Search for entries containing “SCC” or “SourceSafe” to find specific error messages about why the provider failed to load.

Why You Should Migrate Away from SourceSafe

Microsoft officially discontinued Visual SourceSafe after version 2005. It was not updated for Visual Studio 2012 or later, and the MSSCCI provider interface was removed entirely from Visual Studio 2017+. Beyond the lack of support, SourceSafe has well-documented technical limitations:

  • Database corruption: SourceSafe stores all version history in a flat-file database (data directory) that is prone to corruption, especially over network shares
  • No atomic commits: Changes to multiple files are not transactional, so interrupted operations can leave the database in an inconsistent state
  • Poor performance at scale: Projects with thousands of files or long histories become extremely slow
  • No branching model: SourceSafe supports sharing and pinning, but not true branching and merging workflows
  • Single point of failure: The database directory must be backed up manually; there is no built-in replication

Git is the standard choice for most teams today. Visual Studio 2013 and later include built-in Git support. For older Visual Studio versions, you can use Git extensions or the command line.

# Initialize a new Git repository from your SourceSafe working folder
cd C:\Projects\MyProject
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit migrated from SourceSafe"

Azure DevOps (formerly TFS/VSTS) provides centralized version control (TFVC) for teams that prefer a check-in/check-out model similar to SourceSafe, plus Git repositories for distributed workflows. It integrates deeply with all Visual Studio versions from 2010 onward.

Subversion (SVN) can serve as an intermediate step for teams accustomed to centralized version control. Tools like TortoiseSVN and AnkhSVN provide Visual Studio integration through the MSSCCI interface.

Migrating SourceSafe History to Git

To preserve your version history during migration, use the open-source vss2git tool:

  1. Download vss2git from its GitHub repository
  2. Point it to your SourceSafe database (srcsafe.ini)
  3. Configure author mappings (SourceSafe usernames to Git name/email pairs)
  4. Run the conversion
# Example vss2git usage
vss2git --ss-dir "\\server\vssdb" --output-dir "C:\GitMigration\MyProject"
cd C:\GitMigration\MyProject
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourorg/myproject.git
git push -u origin main

The tool replays each SourceSafe check-in as a Git commit, preserving timestamps and author information.

Résumé

The inability to add a SourceSafe database in Visual Studio almost always comes down to broken registry keys, missing COM registrations, or installation order issues. While the steps above can fix the immediate problem, SourceSafe is a discontinued product with significant reliability problems. If you are still relying on it, now is the time to plan a migration to Git or Azure DevOps.