The newly released Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: BETA is available on the Microsoft Download Center in ISO format. RTM versions of Windows SDKs are typically provided in two install formats -- a Web Setup or an ISO install. Pre-release SDKs, such as the Windows SDK for...

A couple of developers have written asking why the Windows SDK components that were expected to install with Visual Studio 2008 were missing after Visual Studio installed.  The Windows SDK installs several version 6.0a components whenever Visual Studio is installed: Windows headers are installed...

Several of the DirectShow samples in the Windows SDK require strmbase.lib, and quite a few developers have asked me where to find this file. It does not install to the default location with other libraries (C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\lib). Other folks have figured out how to build strmbas...

This concise article on the Windows SDK Blog describes what you need to do to build Win32 applications using Visual C++ Express and the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 . A more detailed explanation including screenshots can be found here . With the Visual Studio 2008...

Did you know that you can search for APIs alphabetically in the Windows SDK Documentation? You can search the online SDK Documents on MSDN . This topic has the unlikely name of “Platform Information” in the SDK documents (don’t ask me why). Although it’s not particularly well-named, it’s a handy...

Jeff Moser has just posted an amazingly well-written, easy to digest article on working with COM that really gets into the nitty-gritty about why things work the way they do in COM. The code snippets and screenshots make this article very engaging. If you’re developing with Win32 APIs you should take...

Even the most obvious Visual Studio tricks and tips on Sara Ford’s "Did you know… " blog posts are useful reminders, and now that she’s including more Visual Studio 2008 tips I’m seeing some not-so-obvious hints and cool features. We need more “How-to” type tricks and tips for the for the Windows...

I’ve received a few emails from beginning developers asking what the difference is between Visual Studio and the Windows SDK. This is a popular question on the forums too, so I’ll address it here in my “SDK Basics Series.” Visual Studio and the Windows SDK are serve different purposes but they...

To build from the SDK command line: 1. Copy your application or sample to a working folder not under \Program Files. 2. Open the Windows SDK CMD shell (Start, All Programs, Windows SDK v6.1, SDK CMD Shell). 3. Navigate to directory where your sample/app can be found. 4. Build the sample...

When downloading the Windows SDK, files are written to a temp directory. If you’re having setup problems you may need to clear this temporary directory before reinstalling. By default, the temp directory is here: On Vista: C:\%user%\AppData\Local\Temp\SDKSetupLog.txt On XP: C:\Documents...

Looking for SDK components? By default, the Windows SDK is installed to your hard disk to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\[version number] in the subdirectories below. You can change the install location during SDK setup. Samples are installed by default to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs...

The Windows SDK installs both SDK-core components and “shared” applications created by other teams at Microsoft as separate MSI files (see below for more on MSIs). When you select to uninstall the SDK through Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features on Vista), most of the SDK will be uninstalled automatically...

It’s fun to change the look of Windows Media Player with the new batch of Skins released today or grab one from the Skins Factory , but why settle for someone else’s idea of cool when it’s so easy to make your own? Skins are just collections of art files, organized by a text file that tells WMP how to...

This workaround applies to: · The prerelease Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 (RC0) In order for VCBuild to run properly, vcprojectengine.dll needs to be registered. If vcprojectengine.dll is not registered, VCBuild.exe will fail with errors such as: On compile ...

This workaround applies to: · The prerelease Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 (RC0), September, 2007 · The prerelease Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 (IDS04), July, 2007 · The Windows SDK Update for Windows Vista (RTM), March, 2007 Some...

This workaround applies to: · The prerelease Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 (RC0), September, 2007 · The prerelease Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 (IDS04), July, 2007 In order to build the samples in the SDK build environment or in...

Having problems downloading and installing the Windows SDK? Here's some advice. Most common issues Running the Windows SDK web setup on some connections can sometimes have issues when downloading the files. We recommend that you clear the %temp%\sdksetup directory and retry your web setup. If that...

The Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 provides prerelease components designed to help you develop Windows applications using both native (Win32) and managed (.NET Framework) technologies, targeting the following Operating Systems. To use this SDK, you must also be building on...

The Windows SDK has replaced the PSDK. The PSDK is no more. Here are the details. What’s the Windows SDK? The Windows SDK provides support for development using both the Win32/64 and the .NET Framework programming models, for both 32- and 64-bit platforms. The Windows SDK is the name used for...

You’ve just downloaded your first Windows SDK and can’t wait to get started exploring the tools, samples and documents that you’ve heard about. But wait, how do you get to all those goodies? To access the different components in the SDK, click the Start button, then choose All Programs, Microsoft Windows...