diff --git a/GPL/nativeBuildProperties.gradle b/GPL/nativeBuildProperties.gradle
index 4d887dba10..5e9c33f4eb 100644
--- a/GPL/nativeBuildProperties.gradle
+++ b/GPL/nativeBuildProperties.gradle
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ task CheckToolChain {
 		if (isCurrentWindows()) {
 			// ensure that required MS Visual Studio is installed
 			if (!VISUAL_STUDIO_INSTALL_DIR) {
-				throw new GradleException("Visual Studio not found!");
+				throw new GradleException("Supported Windows native toolchain not found!");
 			}	
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/GPL/vsconfig.gradle b/GPL/vsconfig.gradle
index 4fe1edc223..797c89e390 100644
--- a/GPL/vsconfig.gradle
+++ b/GPL/vsconfig.gradle
@@ -32,7 +32,20 @@ def configureVisualStudio() {
 			println "  -> Visual Studio vswhere.exe not found!"
 			return
 		}
-		def vswhereOutput = "${vswherePath} -products * -latest -requires Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.VC.Tools.x86.x64 -format json".execute().text.trim()
+		def vswhereProcess = "${vswherePath} -products * -latest -requires Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.VC.Tools.x86.x64 -format json -utf8".execute()
+		def vswhereOutput = vswhereProcess.text.trim()
+		def vswhereExit = vswhereProcess.exitValue()
+		if (vswhereExit != 0) {
+			if (vswhereExit == 87) { // ERROR_INVALID_PARAMATER
+				println "  -> Visual Studio vswhere.exe was passed an unsupported argument!"
+			}
+			else {
+				println "  -> Visual Studio vswhere.exe returned an error code (${vswhereExit})!"
+			}
+			println "  -> Please confirm ${vswherePath} is version 2.5 or later."
+			println "  -> Please check README.md or InstallationGuide.html to verify you are using a supported version of Visual Studio." 
+			return
+		}
 		def vswhereJson = new groovy.json.JsonSlurper().parseText(vswhereOutput);
 		if (vswhereJson.isEmpty()) {
 			println "  -> Visual Studio not found!"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e4c7aa9836..a85fa2e273 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ To create the latest development build for your platform from this source reposi
 * [JDK 17 64-bit][jdk17]
 * [Gradle 7.3+][gradle]
 * make, gcc, and g++ (Linux/macOS-only)
-* [Microsoft Visual Studio][vs] or [Microsoft C++ Build Tools][vcbuildtools] with the following
-  components installed (Windows-only):
+* [Microsoft Visual Studio][vs] 2017+ or [Microsoft C++ Build Tools][vcbuildtools] with the
+  following components installed (Windows-only):
   - MSVC
   - Windows SDK
   - C++ ATL