Alex closed Visual Studio (for now) and opened a fresh Command Prompt. But cl still didn't work. Why?
Alex found the secret: . On the Microsoft site, under the "Download" dropdown, there was a link: "Older versions." Clicking it revealed Visual Studio 2019 still available. But not just one download—many. visual studio c++ 2019 download
The computer didn’t speak C++. Not yet. Alex closed Visual Studio (for now) and opened
The estimated size: about 4 GB. Much smaller than 8 GB. under the "Download" dropdown
Visual Studio 2019 Community opened, asking for a Microsoft account. Alex created a free one (no payment required). After signing in, the IDE appeared—complex, but Alex would learn it later.