Missing vc_runtimeminimum_x86.msi and installation won't work

I ran into this problem as well on a recent build of Win 10 + trying to install latest VS Community. When I entered this state, things appeared to be super broken. Here's the sequence of events that I took which finally worked:

1. In the installed, select to "download all packages and then install"
2. Attempt installation
3. See the popup
4. With the popup still up, go here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed and download the tool
5. Open the tool and then select "Uninstall" on the page it says "do you need help installing or uninstalling"
6. On the next page with the list, select Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 (whatever) and hit next to "Try Uninstall"
7. Repeat steps 5 - 6 until I didn't see any "Microsoft Visual C++ 2015" left in the list. Note that the popup is still showing.
8. Close the popup
9. Pause the install and Resume it.
10. I didn't see the pop up again and it appears to have installed correctly.

If you're coming here a year after the solution was marked without any resolution, try that and see if it works around the issue for you.

Here are some other things I tried which didn't work for me. If the above didn't work for you, maybe try some of the following which I collected through some searching:

• Going to C:\Program Data\Package Cache, searching for the msi package, giving the installer the literal path to what I found. Installer complains "wrong version"
• Using https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed after the install failed and then repairing (same error).
• Uninstalling VS 2015 packages after install failed and repairing (same error).
• Ignoring the error. When I did this, VS didn't have any templates installed and devenv /installvstemplates didn't solve this.

Go to Control Panel--Programs and Features, uninstall the Visual C++ 2015 Redistribute items.

After that, run the tool: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed. Re-run the VS 2017 installer as administrator, then click the icon besides 'Launch' and choose 'Repair' to repair the VS 2017.