OpenCV in VS10: Assertion Fail with imread() Function - c++

Question

I am using OpenCV 2.4.9 in Visual Studio 2010 and am trying to run simple source code provided on a tutorial website:
#include <opencv2/core/core.hpp>
#include <opencv2/highgui/highgui.hpp>
#include <iostream>
using namespace cv;
using namespace std;
int main( int argc, char** argv )
{
if( argc != 2)
{
cout <<" Usage: display_image ImageToLoadAndDisplay" << endl;
return -1;
}
Mat image;
image = imread(argv[1], CV_LOAD_IMAGE_COLOR); // Read the file
if(! image.data ) // Check for invalid input
{
cout << "Could not open or find the image" << std::endl ;
cout << argv[1] << std::endl;
return -1;
}
namedWindow( "Display window", WINDOW_AUTOSIZE );// Create a window for display.
imshow( "Display window", image ); // Show our image inside it.
waitKey(0); // Wait for a keystroke in the window
return 0;
}
However, when I try to run the executable (and comment out that if statement) I get: Assertion failed (size.width>0 && size.height>0) in cv::imshow ......(file path)
I have looked at just about every related thread I have found on here. The file path is not wrong, I have printed it out and even moved the executable and jpg to the same folder.
Furthermore, this sample code from another tutorial does the exact same thing flawlessly, so I doubt it's a project configuration error but not sure:
#include <opencv2/opencv.hpp>
using namespace cv;
int main()
{
IplImage *img = cvLoadImage("C:\\Users\\bomoon\\Documents\\Koala.jpg", 1);
cvNamedWindow("test");
cvShowImage("test", img);
cvWaitKey(0);
cvReleaseImage(&img);
cvDestroyWindow("test");
return 0;
}
Can anyone explain why the second program works but not the first, and how I can fix the first one?
P.S.: It's not that I need to find a workaround to accomplish something, I'm trying to run sample code to verify the installation works, but it apparently doesn't if one sample program runs but not the other.