Visual C++ application won't run on windows 7 - c++

I am using Visual Studio Community 2015 and I wrote some simple Win32 demo application which should download file from internet and execute two HTTP GET requests.
I am using functions like InternetOpenA, InternetConnectA, HttpOpenRequestA, URLDownloadToFile, etc.
Only thing that I have changed in settings is Platform Toolset to Visual Studio 2013 (v120) and my targetver.h file looks like this:
#pragma once
// Including SDKDDKVer.h defines the highest available Windows platform.
// If you wish to build your application for a previous Windows platform, include WinSDKVer.h and
// set the _WIN32_WINNT macro to the platform you wish to support before including SDKDDKVer.h.
#include <WinSDKVer.h>
#define WINVER 0x0600
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0600
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
However, it runs on my Windows 10 computer, but it does not run on windows 7. It says: Missing MSVCR120.dll file. I can install appropriate C++ Redistributables but that is not solution that I need.
Is there any other options I need to include when I compile so I can avoid this error?

To avoid your application needing a separate runtime DLL, in the project settings, look under:
C/C++ > Code Generation > Runtime Library
and choose multi-threaded, rather than multi-threaded DLL.
You do not need to change the platform toolset.

In my project, that I compile with VS 2017 and want to run all the way down to Vista, I do the same as you, but without the first #include <WinSDKVer.h>. I just set the _WIN32_WINNT macro to 0x0600 and so far it's working fine.
I target the Windows 8.1 SDK, and use MFC, if that helps.
I've used dependency walker in the past to diagnose dll dependencies. Hopefully it's something silly like the 32-bit or 64-bit runtimes being missing.
As keith recommended in his answer, you can also try static linking the vc runtime (/MT[d] under C++/Code generation/Runtime Library) so that it doesn't need to load the runtime as a dll. Note that this is not the recommended option, since the VC runtime cannot be patched by Windows Update if it's burned into your executible.

Related

Microsoft Visual C++ Target O/S

I am working on a .NET application that is using C++ libraries. One library is a C++/CLR library that uses another C++ library. The application that uses these libraries is required to operate at least on Windows 7. The system is compiled using Visual Studio 2019, and is using the latest SDK. From what I've read, using the latest SDK is possible if targeting at minimum Windows 7.
When I launch the application on Windows 7, I get the following error:
A procedure imported by 'XXX.Net.dll' could not be loaded.
Running on Windows 10 causes no problems.
XXX.Net.dll is the C++/CLR library which uses the C++ library.
I read that setting the WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT macros would explicitly target the version that is wanted. I've added these definitions based on what Microsoft indicated:
to modify the macros, in a header file (for example, in targetver.h
So, within my C++ library, I added the following macro declaration to targetver.h:
#define WINVER 0x0601
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0601
From what I understand, this should allow the library to operate properly on Windows 7. Can someone tell me why this would not work?
Note: we are using Ninject for packing all binaries into the main binary. And this error occurs in the line:
new StandardKernel(new Bindings().
OK -- I had decided to test the library failing directly -- and found that the library was accessing an SDK operation not available on Windows 7 - which was causing the library to fail.

Targeting the Windows 7 OS with Visual Studio 2017 gives a ucrtbased.dll missing error

I have a client that is running a Windows 7 machine and I want to him build an .exe that he can run on his computer. However, since I am running Windows 10, I am building everything in Visual Studio 2017. The program I am making is a Winforms CLR C++ program. I put in the Windows 7 WINVER define in one of the C++ files:
#define WINVER 0x0601
The compile the project with the following properties:
I send him an .exe file but when he opens it up, it gives him a an error saying that he is missing the ucrtbased.dll. I verified that he has the correct .NET framework installed on his computer:
What could be the cause of this?
Build and send him a release copy. He will still need the appropriate windows libraries.
ucrtbase (Universal C Runtime) is the replacement for the msvc* runtime dlls.
To get the correct runtime, see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48234
and also possibly https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2999226/update-for-universal-c-runtime-in-windows
if you have problems.

Windows SDK Version setting in Visual Studio 2017

I have a c++ project that compiles well under Visual Studio 2013.
Today I installed Visual Studio 2017 Professional Edition, then there's a new setting in project settings > General called "Windows SDK Version", by default is 10.0.16299.0. Since I'm compiling windows desktop programs for targeting Windows 7 systems, I changed it to 8.1, is this correct?
Generally speaking, a Windows SDK supports its "main" version and also the previous ones, but you need to specify what Windows version your program will need. In fact, you're better off doing so or else you can inadvertently use features not available in the version you want to support.
Given an SDK, you indicate which older Windows version to target by defining the WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT macros somewhere in your project files or in the C/C++ Preprocessor project settings in Visual Studio.
For example, the following definitions target Windows 7:
#define WINVER 0x0601
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0601
For more information, see Using the Windows Headers and Modifying WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT
Indeed I raised this issue because my freshly installed Visual Studio could not build the VM because SDK 16299 is now indeed the default. It's mentioned here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows_SDK.
.
Also MS does not make finding older SDK's very easy. You have to click through to another page all the way on the end of this page:
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk
Even though I googled on "Microsoft Windows SDK 15063".
.
So all-in-all it's now a small chore for newbies to get up and running on the VM. To start, I think it should be made as easy as possible. (Complexity will come soon after that :)).
.
PS I'm not sure about Windows 7 compatibility. But the current VM SDK is also listed as being for Windows 10.

How do I compile for Windows XP with Visual Studio 2012?

Ok, so I'm using Visual Studio 2012 in Windows 7 x64 for programming and compiling. My application works fine there, but when I try to execute it from a Windows XP SP3 Virtual Machine, I get "xxxx.exe is not a valid win32 application" right away.
The application is being compiled with static linking, that is, with /MT. I have set _WIN32_WINNT to 0x0501 in targetver.exe; the configuration manager is set to Win32 and the target machine in the Linker advanced options is set to MACHINEX86.
My targetver.h looks like this:
#include <winsdkver.h>
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
#define WINVER 0x0501
#define NTDDI_VERSION 0x0501
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
I also tried compiling with /MD and installing .NET Framework, but that didn't help either.
I'm clueless, and I could really use some help as I need to have it working for Windows XP.
VC++ 2012 RTM did not support Windows XP – that support came later in 2012 in Visual Studio 2012 Update 1.
The CTP of Windows XP targeting with VC++ 2012 could be installed, but you would have to link the CRT statically in order to deploy. See this blog article for more information.
Visual Studio 2012 Update 1 added official support for running applications built with VC++ 2012 on Windows XP as well as the ability to link the CRT dynamically.
Download link
Blog article containing additional information
Two things should be done:
Configuration Properties → General page, change Platform Toolset to: Visual Studio 2012 - Windows XP (v110_xp);
Menu Linker → System. Change Subsystem to: Console/Windows.
A detailed explanation is here: http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/linking-applications-using-visual-studio-2012-to-run-on-windows-xp
When you generate the EXE file, the version for 32-bit will be in the project folder bin\x86\Release.

Explorer thumbnails (winXP)

I have a file format I need to be able to show in explorer thumbnails. Since the target system is windows XP, the Vista PreviewHandler API will not be suitable. Ill be using c++.
How would I do it?
You'll need to register a shell extension for your file type. The extension contains code that extracts/generates the thumbnail by implementing the IExtractImage interface.
See: IExtractImage Interface on MSDN
https://github.com/reliak/moonpdf/tree/master/ext/sumatra/src/previewer is perfect example.
To build both x86 and x64 versions of DLL I use VS 2010 with SP1 along with Win7 x64 SDK (for <thumbcache.h>) installed on Windows 7 x64. Builded DLLs works fine on Win7 and Win10 of either bitness.
Also don't forget /MD linker flag to avoid necessity to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) on WinXP.
Next lines may be added to "targetver.h" to avoid import and using of new functions from newer versions of Windows system DLLs (say, there is no RegDeleteTreeW in WinXP's advapi.dll):
#define WINVER 0x0501
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
#include <winsdkver.h>
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
Additionally it has implementation of previewer for some file formats, but related interfaces can be completely omitted in your implementation.