run vs2005 c++ project in later version of visual studio - c++

I have a C++/CLI project that was created in VS2005. I'm hoping to run this in VS2010 (or 2012) as that is my main IDE and I need to modify some things in the C++/CLI project as well and its irritating to have to switch back and forth to vs2005 to recompile, copy etc.
The other important reason is my projects running in VS2010/2012 are in .NET4 so there is no option to move everything on to VS2005.
The project has dependencies on unmanaged third party libraries that themselves have dependencies on the debug versions of the c++ redistributable libraries (msvcr80.dll, msvcm80.dll, msvcp80.dll)
When I first ran the upgraded project I received 'specified module could not be found' -
It was then I noticed the cli project is being compiled against the later versions of msvc (msvcr90.dll)
cli assembly dependencies as per depends; vs2005 on left vs 2008 on right
Is there any way to make a later version of VS compile using the 2005 libraries?
update its not vital which one it compiles against (and may not be possible anyway) but is it possible to run and debug both side by side?
When I try to run the compiled project I get this error message:
I've tried copying the manifest file from the vs2005 project to the vs2010 project but this does not work (same error message). I also disabled the embedded manifest and replaced the generated .manifest file with the one from vs2005 and this does not work either.
update2 I've got past this error by specifying the msvcr libraries in the manifest:
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity type='win32' name='Microsoft.VC80.DebugCRT' version='8.0.50727.762' processorArchitecture='x86' publicKeyToken='1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b' />
</dependentAssembly>
however now when I run my application one of the third party libraries throws an AccessViolationException - Attempted to read or write protected memory when I try to use one of the methods. This code otherwise works fine in vs2005.

I have since discovered Daffodil for Visual Studio which does exactly what I need, namely compile against vc80 in visual studio 2010. After installation the Platform Toolset dropdown gets a few more options:
nb, you still need to have the relevant version of Visual Studio installed, eg if targeting vc80 you need vs2005.
nb2, Intellisense is broken in vs2010 for cli/c++ which is a major letdown after the amount of time researching getting the project to work on vs2010

From http://www.davidlenihan.com/2007/07/winsxs.html
"So how does an application know what version of a DLL it needs to load? That is where a "manifest" comes into play. A manifest is an XML file that contains information used to create the directory in C:\Windows\winsxs so that a particular DLL can be loaded."

Have you considered making a manifest for the application? I mean, the error message says that the problem is that the manifest is lacking, so perhaps it will be sufficient to create a manifest (either through the project settings) or adding a hand written one?
See: Problem loading RT without Manifest

Related

Missing .dll in different Visual Studio versions

I recently came up with an issue. I had a project created on visual studio 2015, using allegro5 library which executed on Debug and Release mode correctly.
When I changed visual studio versions though and started using 2019 version (In the mean time I had to format my PC and re-installed only VS19) and loaded the project, the execution had a missing msvc110d.dll error shown up.
I tried to find a way in order for my project to be "upgraded" and instead of looking into the old version of msvc to try and look up the newer version, but couldn't find anything.
So is there a way for me to change some settings in order for my project to expect newer versions of msvc, or do I have to create a new project and copy paste all the configurations and files/assets inside that new project?
Thank you all
P.S I know that the error can be resolved If I get the .dll file inside that directory, but that is bad practice for sure. Also could you give me a tip on how to setup a project correctly in order to prevent those kind of issues in the future?
I think you need to find the VS2015 redistributable on Google and install it on your machine. That should solve it.
Windows dynamic library files are installed under c:\windows\system32 directory. A 32 bit dll file in a 64 bit windows can be found under c:\windows\syswow64. When your VC++ developed application searches for the dll it first checks in the application folder and then the system folder. If it is not found in these locations, a "missing dll file" error will be shown.
Normally, installing the right VC++ redistributable does the trick. But at times the mismatch persist as the sdk you're using is not in conformity with the system dll. You shouldn't replace the existing dll in the system directory manually with a downloaded( download only from www.microsoft.com) one as other installed software may also failed in the process.
In such worse case scenario, you can however directly copy the downloaded dll files in your application folder itself and distribute along your software so that it runs on a remote host too. Normally these compatible dll files, for both debug and release versions, are also available in your VC++ sdk directory which can be copied for a perfect match.

Missing MFC71.DLL for new empty VC++ Console Project

I am trying to get an slightly older project running again. I used the code last summer just fine. Unfortunately I did not keep the VC++ project files, just the code. As such I created a new VC++ console project and selected the "empty project" option in the process. Upon adding the code and pointing the compiler and linker to the appropriate folder I compile successfully. From there I attempt to debug and receive the message
The program can't start because MFC71.DLL is missing from your
computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.
From what I see this DLL is in the Visual Studio .NET 2003 which as far as I can tell my project should have no dependency on. I am using a robotics simulation library called callisto which I suppose could depend on it. However that project seems to be gone so I can't confirm as much from the project website. How does one go about using MS development tools to determine as much? In the event that it does not, what other possible reasons would a new project depend on such an old DLL?
Note that if you are using that library in form of DLL (already compiled code that internally depends on redists of VS 2003), you can verify this by using the Dependency Walker (it is a simple .exe file that you can download here: http://www.dependencywalker.com/ and just drag-n-drop this DLL on it).
Also note that you don't need to install whole Visual Studio. Redistributable package for VS 2003 will do.
EDIT: "The Visual C++ 2003 runtime was not available as a seperate download" ~ check Where to download Microsoft Visual c++ 2003 redistributable

Can't Compile Solution in Debug Mode Because MSVCR100D.dll is Missing

I am running Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop on a 64 bit machine with windows 8.
I create a completely new Win32 Console Application (in C++) and accept the default options. I then build and run the solution in both debug and release modes and it works all find and dandy. Next I configure the include and library directories for the dynamic SFML library. I link to the debug and release .lib files and put the debug and release .dll files in the proper directories. I then add some simple code which uses the library, build and run the application in debug mode and I get this error: "The program can't start because MSVCR100D.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." If I build and run the application in release mode it works with no errors. (And yes I have the redistributables installed 32 and 64 bit.) Now from what I understand and according to this thread that .dll file is for debugging only and is not included in the redistributable package (which would explain why it doesn't work in debug mode). The answer says that developers have it installed with visual studio by default. This is obviously not the case as evidence from the error and I've reinstalled visual studio and restarted my computer twice now.
In conclusion, how do I simply compile my solution in debug mode without getting this error?
I'm afraid someone will mark this as a duplicate so here we go:
LINK - "...you appear to be linking to the debug version of the runtime, it is not normal to distribute apps linked against the debug version of the runtime."
Doesn't pertain to me because I'm not distributing this app, just trying to run it in debug mode.
LINK - "I compiled my program using Microsoft visual c++ 2010 Express Edition and tried to run it on another machine that did not have the same compiler."
This person get's the error when he runs what hes compiled on a different computer, not when actually compiling the application.
LINK - "If you get this error for your release build..."
I dont.
LINK - "You can compile your project in "Release"..."
My project is not ready to be released therefore I should compile my project in debug mode.
MSVCR100D.dll is the dll for Visual Studio 10, so somewhere something is depending on it (the SFML dlls?). Whatever you compile (in debug mode) with Visual Studio 2012 will require MSVCR110D.dll, which you should have available on your machine as part of the installation.
I suggest you build SFML yourself on your own version of Visual Studio, it's pretty easy. In fact, the binaries available on the site as part of the SFML 2.0 RC are rather old and you'll do yourself a huge favor by building from the latest sources, as a lot of fixes and improvement were applied in the meantime.
(Also, definitely use 2.0 instead of 1.6. The site is rather misleading, but on the SFML forums virtually everyone will recommend you use the last version)
This message generally states that the dll is referred to directly or indirectly in your application and is missing.
The 'D' at the end show us this is the Debug version of the file, this is DLL file is provided with the Visual Studio 2010 installation. So the MSVCR100D.dll would be provided with the installation of Visual Studio 2010.
Of course, you could be missing other versions 2008 (MSVCR90D) 2010 (MSVCR100D) 2012 (MSVCR110D) or the 2013 (MSVCR120D), each dll is provided according to the Visual Studio version.
There are a few ways to solve this:
Check to be sure that you're compiling all the components of your
project in Release mode. If this does not solve the issue continue
to the next steps.
You could solve this locally by installing Visual Studio 2010 on your
machine. This is not what I would recommend, but it would surely
overcome the issue
You could also download the file from this third party website and
copy it to your projects bin:
http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?msvcr100d
This option is the LEAST recommended option.
Run dependency Walker and see what file depends on the MSVCR100D.dll
and the try and fix that file in order to break your dependency. You can download depends here: http://www.dependencywalker.com/
Check to be sure that you're project is linking the correct version of
the CRT and any other libraries you may be using (e.g., MFC, ATL,
etc.)
Note: Installing the redistributables alone will NOT solve this problem, since the redistributables only contain the release version of the file MSVCR100.dll (notice no 'D')
MSVCR100D is part of the 2010 Visual Studio package - indicating that some components of your system are compiled with the older version of Visual Studio, so you will need to install the Visual Studio 2010 version - you can probably still develop with the 2012 version, just as long as [parts of] the 2010 is on the machine.
Or you need to recompile some components that your application depends on to use the 2012 (msvcr110d) libraries - if you have all the source code, that would be my preferrred method.

Compile (?) issue. Visual studio c++ 2008

There's an app that I use on an XP netbook for tuning a car. It was working just fine. Then I needed to make a simple modification (output to STDOUT instead of to file) so I got the source from the author.
My netbook doesn't have the space for a compiler. I have Visual Studio C++ 2008 on a Windows 7 desktop. I made the adjustments, compiled and tested on the desktop and it worked perfecty. So then I copied the executable to the netbook and it won't run
"This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem"
Original (precompiled) exe works fine. To rule out my changes, I compiled the source without the mods and it still didn't work. The executable works fine on the 7 machine as well as another Win Vista machine I tried.
So its obviously something with the XP machine and the way the executable is compiled. I really have no idea how this stuff works so I don't know what to try.
Couple of ideas:
As Keith said above this is DLL/manifest issue.
Get Visual Studio 2008 redistributable (for matching application platform) and install it on the netbook.
If this does not help: Use Dependency Walker to find out what other DLLs you are missing.
Its because a dependency / DLL compiled into your application doesn't exist on the platform you are running on.
Open windows event viewer and view the application log. There will be an entry for the error and the name of the DLL which is missing. Copy / Install that DLL on your target platform.
I would guess your vc runtime has changed with visual studio 2008 and you need to copy the latest version to your target platform. If you dont know where to get the dependency DLL, post the name here and we can see what we can do about it.
You can check your project settings and make sure to use a statically linked runtime instead of a DLL.
Project Settings, C/C++ -> Code Generation. Make sure you're using a runtime library that isn't a DLL. (So Multi-threaded Debug instead of Multi-threaded Debug DLL for example).

Visual C++/Studio: Application configuration incorrect?

My C(++) program, written and compiled using Visual C(++)/Visual Studio, runs fine on my own machine, but refuses to run on another machine. The error message I get is "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."
If you write a C++ program, it links dynamically to the C Runtime Library, or CRT for short. This library contains your printf, your malloc, your strtok, etcetera. The library is contained in the file called MSVCR80.DLL. This file is not by default installed on a Windows system, hence the application cannot run.
The solution? Either install the DLL on the target machine through VCREDIST.EXE (the Visual C++ Redistributable Package), or link to the CRT statically (plug the actual code for the used functions straight into your EXE).
Distributing and installing VCREDIST along with a simple application is a pain in the arse, so I went for the second option: static linking. It's really easy: go to your project's properties, unfold C/C++, click Code Generation, and set the Runtime Library to one of the non-DLL options. That's all there is to it.
The problem here is a missing DLL dependency, such as the CRT (C Runtime Library). A good tool for diagnosing this sort of problem is Dependency Walker (depends.exe), which you can find here:
http://www.dependencywalker.com/
You would run this program on the computer that generates the error message you posted, and use it to open the exe that's generating this error. Dependency Walker will quickly and graphically indicate any DLLs that are required but not available on the machine.
Chances are high that you miss the runtime libraries of Visual Studio (CRT amongst others), you can either get rid of those dependencies (link statically) or install the VC redist packages on the target computer.
Depending on the Visual C++ version you use, you have to install different packages :
Visual C++ 2005
Visual C++ 2005 SP1
Visual C++ 2008
Warning : those packages only contain release versions of the libraries, if you want to be able to distribute debug builds of your application you'll have to take care of the required DLL yourself.
It is much the simplest to link to the runtime statically.
c++ -> Code Generation -> Runtime Library and select "multi-threaded /MT"
However, this does make your executable a couple hundred KByte larger. This might be a problem if you are installing a large number of small programs, since each will be burdened by its very own copy of the runtime. The answer is to create an installer.
New project -> "setup and deployment" -> "setup project"
Load the output from your application projects ( defined using the DLL version of the runtime ) into the installer project and build it. The dependency on the runtime DLL will be noticed, included in the installer package, and neatly and unobtrusively installed in the correct place on the target machine.
The correct VC Redist package for you is part of your Visual Studio installation. For VC 8, you can find it here:
\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\BootStrapper\Packages\vcredist_x86
POSSIBLE SOLUTION........
EDIT: (removed most of my post)
Long story short, I was having similar problems, getting the "Application Configuration Incorrect" messages, etc etc.
Depends.exe was only finding ieshims.dll and wer.dll as possible issues, but this is not the problem.
I ended up using the Multithreaded (/mt) compile option.
What HAS worked though, as a workable solution, is making an installer with InstallShield.
I've selected several merge modules in installshield builder and this seems to have fixed my problem. The modules selected were:
VC++ 9.0 CRT, VC++ 9.0 DEBUG CRT, and the CRT WinSXS MSM merge module.
I'm pretty sure its the WinSXS merge module that has fixed it.
DEBUG CRT: I noticed somewhere that (no matter how hard I tried, and obviously failed thus far), my Release version still depended on the DEBUG CRT. If this is still the case, the InstallShield merge module has now placed the DEBUG CRT folder in my WinSXS folder :) Being somewhat of a novice with VC++ I assume that this would normally be used to distribute debug versions of your programs to other people. To test if this is what fixed my problem I removed the DEBUG CRT folder from the WinSXS folder and the application still worked. (Unless something is still running in the background etc etc - I'm not that into it)
Anyway, this has got things working for me on an XP SP3 fully updated machine, and also on a VMWare XP SP3 machine with the bare bones (.net 3.5 and VC++ 2008 RTM basically) - and also on a mate's XP machine where it previously wasn't working.
So give these things a try, you might have some luck.
First thing you must use
#define _BIND_TO_CURRENT_VCLIBS_VERSION 1
or add _BIND_TO_CURRENT_VCLIBS_VERSION=1 to the preprocessor directives.
The problem is related to binding and the manifest types, you can find more http://www.nuonsoft.com/blog/2008/10/29/binding-to-the-most-recent-visual-studio-libraries/
By doing this your application will run with a larger range of runtime libraries versions.
Often times this error is the result of attempting to run the debug version of an application that uses .NET. Since the .NET redistributable package doesn't include the debug versions of the dlls that are installed with Visual Studio, your application will often get this error when running it on any other machine that doesn't have Visual Studio installed. If you haven't already, try building a release version of your application and see if that works.
Note also - that if you change to static runtime, you will have to do the same for MFC if your app uses MFC. Those settings are in properties->Configuration/General
I ran into this problem and was able to fix it very simply.
Visual studio gives you the option (on by default) to build a manifest for each build.
The manifest was put in the release folder, but it was a different release folder than the exe.
Even when using the setup utilities it was not packaged.
You should look for a file names something like myprogram.exe.indermediate.manifest
If this is in the same folder as the exe (and you have all the dlls) it should run