Microsoft Windows SDK Blog : troubleshooting

Development with Windows SDK & DirectX SDK when Visual Studio 2008 is installed

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:08:00 GMT

In order to utilize DirectX SDK resources you should ensure that the DirectX SDK include, library, and executables directories are set correctly in Visual Studio 2008. The order in which Visual Studio 2008 looks for executable directories and library files is important. The Windows SDK directories should appear above the DirectX SDK directories.

The DirectX SDK includes some files that are also shipped in the Windows SDK. These files may also be installed with the Windows headers and libraries that are included in Visual Studio 2008. It's possible to get a mixture of different versions of DirectX files on your computer, depending on what versions of the Windows SDK, DirectX SDK, and Visual Studio you install.

The Windows SDK Configuration tool can be used set the Windows 7 SDK as the “current” SDK for MSBuild and VCBuild. This will update the Windows 7 SDK build environment and the Visual Studio 2008 build environment to use the Windows 7 SDK headers, libraries and tools. You can also use this tool to switch it back again. However, the configuration tool does not set the DirectX SDK paths. You will need to do this manually, following the instructions in this article.

If you have installed the DirectX SDK and wish to build an application in the Windows SDK command line build environment, or in the Visual Studio build environments, you will need to set the VC++ directory paths manually. If you wish to build with the Windows 7 headers and libraries, you should ensure that directory path for this content is found first, before the DirectX SDK content.

In the following example I have installed the November 2008 version of the Microsoft DirectX SDK on a computer with the Windows 7 SDK and Visual Studio 2008.

How to set the C++ Directories manually

1. Launch Visual Studio 2008.

2. Open the Tools menu and select Options…. The Options dialog box appears.

3. In the left pane of the Options dialog box, expand the Projects and Solutions node.

4. Under Project and Solutions, select VC++ Directories.

5. In the right pane, set the "Platform" drop-down list box to Win32® and the "Show directories for" drop-down list box to "Executable" files.

6. At the bottom of the list of executable file directories, create a new entry for the DirectX SDK: [drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK [version]\Utilities\bin\x86 (If there is already such an entry, move it to the bottom of the list.)

7. Set the "Show directories for" drop-down list box to "Include" files.

8. At the bottom of the list of directories, create a new entry for the DirectX SDK: [drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK [version]\Include (If there is already such an entry, move it to the bottom of the list.)

9. Set the "Show directories for" drop-down list box to "Library" files.

10. At the bottom of the list of directories, create a new entry for the DirectX SDK: [drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK [version]\LibX86 (If there is already such an entry, move it to the bottom of the list.)

11. If you are developing an application to run on AMD64, you should repeat these steps to set the AMD64 paths by setting the "Platform" drop-down list box to X64 and providing the appropriate paths.

12. Click OK.

Karin Meier-Magruder
Program Manager
Windows C++ Team

Send your thoughts to the Windows SDK Feedback alias. Tell us how you use the SDK and what we can do to improve your development experience.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Windows 7 SDK Setup: common installation issues and fixes

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:05:00 GMT

This post describes common installation problems with the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (released August 2009), and workarounds for each issue. The Windows SDK for Windows 7 is available for download in both ISO and Web Setup format. Web setup allows you to install a specific subset of the SDK you select without having to download the entire SDK. The DVD ISO setup allows you to download the entire SDK to install later.

Error:

During the installation of Windows SDK you receive an error similar to

An error occurred installing the Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 package. Error: A file that is required cannot be installed because the cabinet file.

Or

Cabinet file does not have correct format

Cause:

This error usually occurs when you have a bad download of SDK Components or corrupted files.

Solution:

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 fails, switch over to the ISO setup for the Windows SDK.

For Windows 7 SDK please refer to the download page here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=71DEB800-C591-4F97-A900-BEA146E4FAE1&displaylang=en

Error:

When using Web setup to install Windows SDK, you might receive an error similar to

"Unable to find the file SDKSetup.cab at the installation source. The most likely..."

Cause:

This error usually indicates a problem with underlying proxy issues or problems with network connection.

Solution:

Verify your network connection and try to install the SDK again. If the problem persists, download the ISO instead of using the Web Setup.

Error:

During the Windows SDK installation you encounter an error similar to

"A problem occurred while installing selected Windows SDK components.

Installation of the "Microsoft Windows SDK XXXXXX" product has reported the following error: Fatal error during

Installation."

Cause 1:

You are installing Windows SDK to a non fixed physical hard drive like a RAM/USB hard drive.

Solution:

Please change the install location of the Windows SDK during install options and install Windows SDK to a fixed physical hard drive.

Cause 2:

Network Connection is lost during installation when using web setup.

Solution:

Re try the Windows SDK installation and switch to ISO install if the problem persists.

Cause 3:

User cancelled the installation

Solution:

Reinstall Windows SDK either from Web Setup or ISO downloads.

Error:

During an attempt to install Windows SDK you receive an error similar to

A problem occurred while installing selected Windows SDK components.

Installation of the "Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7" product has reported the following error: Please refer to Samples\Setup\HTML\ConfigDetails.htm document for further information.

Cause:

This error usually occurs when you have a corrupted Document Explorer installation.

Solution:

Uninstall the document explorer and re try the Windows SDK Installation.

If uninstalling Document explorer fails with errors similar to “Unable to open key” please refer to the solution explained here to uninstall Document Explorer.

Error:

When installing using an ISO download you receive an error similar to

“Setup could not find the file WinSDK_amd64\WinSDK_amd64.msi at any of the specified source locations”.

Cause:

This problem usually occurs when you are installing from an ISO build for a different architecture.

Solution:

Windows SDK now have different ISO’s for different architectures. Please download the correct ISO based on your system platform and architecture type.

Error:

An attempt to install Windows SDK might fail with the following error

A problem occurred while installing selected Windows SDK components.
Unknown product: {E28FB85C-8E3E-4E12-B1E6-58A3AFC0AFB4}
Parameter name: productCode

Cause:

Document Explorer has shared component dependencies which break if you delete VS 2008 or Windows SDK files/registry entries manually. If these Files/Registry entries are deleted manually, Document Explorer installer will not be able to access its installer components.

Solution:

Uninstall Document Explorer and retry installing Windows SDK. If you are experiencing problems uninstalling Document explorer please refer to the blog post here http://ctrlf5.net/?p=184.

Error:

An attempt to uninstall earlier Versions of Windows SDK may fail and Windows SDK setup reports error similar to

“Unable to find required source files in any of the source locations”.

Cause:

Some earlier versions of Windows SDK like the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008, require source files to be able to uninstall the SDK. Windows SDK for Windows 7 does not require the source file to be able to uninstall.

Solution:

1.       Download installer cleanup utility from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

2.       Select All Windows SDK related packed with the version number you are trying to remove.

a.       Also select VCRedist and Document Explorer packages with the Windows SDK Version number. Do not select VcRedist/Document Explorer packages that have a different version number

b.      Also Select Windows SDK .Net Development tools (It has .Net version number, something like 3.5.XXXXX)

3.       Remove the selected packages

With this method, you will remove the installer cache, but the physical files remain on the disk. These will mostly get overwritten by the latest SDK but the behavior is not guaranteed.

Error:

When installing Windows SDK, you receive an error similar to

Unable to install Microsoft Visual C++ (error 1935)

Cause:

Usually this error occurs when files required by the installer are in use. Most probably the mscoree.dll is in use.

Solution:

Close all the application that are already in use and try the Windows SDK Installation again.

Finding Errors from the SDKSetup log:

On each install and uninstall session, SDKSetup creates a descriptive log in the System %temp% folder. (Usually it is C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp). When an error occurs during the Windows SDK installation or un-installation, a more descriptive error message is logged towards the end of the log file. The current log file is named similar to SDKSetup_7.0.7000 1800.log and changes based on the Windows SDK you are using. You can also search for “error” within the log to verify if there are another errors during the installation. Ignore messages similar to ‘ErrorDialog = ErrorDialog’ and “Error Status: 0”.

Nanda Lella
Software Development Engineer
Windows C++ & SDK Team

Send your thoughts to the Windows SDK Feedback alias. Tell us how you use the SDK and what we can do to improve your development experience.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Windows SDK Configuration Tool May Report an Error When OS Display Format is not English

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:33:00 GMT

This post describes a problem with the Windows SDK Configuration Tool, which is used to set the version of Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools you wish to build with in the Visual Studio or Windows SDK build environments.

Issue: When you launch the Windows SDK Configuration Tool on a system which has Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 and the display format of the operating system is not English, an error may be thrown: “Your system does not have Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 installed."

This error will occur when the OS is Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 is installed. This error can be reproduced in the Windows 7 SDK and the Windows Server 2008 SDK.

Cause: With some non-English operating system display formats, the Windows SDK Configuration Tool is unable to parse the version number of Visual Studio as written in the registry.

Solution: There are two workarounds to the problem:

(1) Use the command-line version of Windows SDK Configuration Tool to change to the version of the Windows SDK you wish to target. For example to target the Windows 7 SDK go to the Windows SDK prompt by Clicking All Programs -> Select Microsoft Windows SDK v7.0 -> Select CMD shell. At the Windows SDK command prompt, type “ WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v7.0 “ [without quotes]

(2) Change the OS Display Format to English (United States). Go to Control Panel and navigate to your Regional and Language Options. On the Formats tab ensure English (United States) is selected. You should now be able to use the Windows SDK Configuration Tool to target the appropriate build environment. Note: once you have changed the target you may return your OS Display Format to its original setting.

Send your thoughts to the Windows SDK Feedback alias. Tell us how you use the SDK and what we can do to improve your development experience. The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Window SDK Team

Troubleshooting Windows 7 SDK Download/Install

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:51:00 GMT

This article applies to the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. Read these other posts to troubleshoot issues with the Windows SDK for Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 or to troubleshoot issues with the Windows SDK Update for Vista and .NET Framework 3.0.

The Windows 7 SDK is available for download in ISO or Web Setup format. Web setup allows you to select a specific subset of the SDK so you do not have to download the entire SDK. The ISO setup allows you to download the entire SDK to burn to disk or a virtual drive, and install later. This release provides three platform-specific ISOs. Choose the ISO that matches the CPU platform (x86, x64, or Itanium) that you are installing on. If you are having problems downloading the correct ISO from the Microsoft Download Center, use these direct links:

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 fails, switch over to the ISO setup for the Windows SDK.

Typical %temp%\sdksetup directory:

On Windows Vista or Windows 7: C:\%user%\AppData\Local\Temp\ SDKSetup_7.0.6918.0.log
On Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\%User%\Local Settings\ SDKSetup_7.0.6918.0.log

Get the Web Install of the Windows SDK for Windows 7 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c17ba869-9671-4330-a63e-1fd44e0e2505
Get the ISO Downloads of the Windows SDK for Windows 7 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=71deb800-c591-4f97-a900-bea146e4fae1

About ISO image files

Many products are posted as ISO image files. An ISO file is an exact representation of a CD or DVD, including the content and the logical format. ISO files end with an .ISO extension. The most common use of an image file is to write it to a blank CD-R or DVD-R. ISO image files can also be opened and their contents copied to a local folder, much like ZIP files. ISO files may also be virtually mounted and accessed as a device. These two methods of using ISO images are described below.

Copying the contents of ISO files to a drive

The contents of image files can be used as virtual discs using utilities such as ISObuster, Daemon Tools or Virtual CloneDrive for Windows. Using this method you can extract the files from an image file to a temporary folder on your hard drive, then run setup.

Writing ISO files to CD-R or DVD-R

Most CD-R/DVD-R writing software includes a feature to create a disc from an image file. Note: you must use the special "copy image to CD" or "burn image" functionality. See your software’s Help for detailed information. Common utilities for writing ISO file to recordable media such as DVD-R include Nero and Roxio. In Windows 7, you can burn and ISO by right-clicking the .iso file and selecting “Burn disc image”. After a CD/DVD-R has been written, you should verify that the file was successfully written. Many freeware programs are available for calculating the SDK SHA-1 hash value. Use an Internet search engine to search for “sha1 hash” to find a freeware program. Windows SDK for Windows 7 verification information:

File Name: GRMSDK_EN_DVD1.iso
Chip: X86
CRC#: 0xCA4FE79D
SHA1: 0x8695F5E6810D84153181695DA78850988A923F4E
================================================
File Name: GRMSDKX_EN_DVD1.iso
Chip: AMD64
CRC#: 0xB417A4F7
SHA1: 0x3393C98B8468CB3505557854922707510F8B65E1
================================================
File Name: GRMSDKIAI_EN_DVD1.iso
Chip: Itanium
CRC#: 0x5E0E4BEA
SHA1: 0xAE454215585A044EBE593E9F71FF1A4BC03D56A8

Other Resources

Windows SDK Online Release Notes http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/8/0/8808A472-6450-4723-9C87-977069714B27/ReleaseNotes_Win7RTMSDK.Htm

Windows SDK blog http://blogs.msdn.com/windowssdk

Windows SDK MSDN Developer Center http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb980924.aspx

Windows SDK Developer Forum http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/windowssdk/threads/

Installing Windows SDK for Server 2008 (v6.1) after VS2008 SP1 causes conflicts with Security Update (KB971092)

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:57:00 GMT

Issue: If you install the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, on top of Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack1, some CRT files will revert back to RTM version. (See this post for more information about this issue) This can cause conflicts when you install patches or updates such as the Security Update for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1: July 28, 2009 (KB971092), which may lead to compile errors similar to this:

· error C2039: '_Swap_adl' : is not a member of 'std' c:\program files\microsoft visual studio 9.0\vc\include\xutility 2764

· error C3861: '_Swap_adl': identifier not found c:\program files\microsoft visual studio 9.0\vc\include\xutility 2764

Cause: This problem occurs when you install the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 on top of a post-RTM Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack, Feature Pack, or QFE. Visual Studio 2008 and the Windows SDK share compiler and CRT packages. Because the Windows SDK v6.1 includes the RTM version of the CRT, installing the Windows SDK second causes any non-versioned CRT files to be reverted back to Visual Studio 2008 RTM version. When you install a service patch, the patch will assume that all the SP1 files are still present.

Workaround: Ensure that you are using the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 version of the CRT by installing the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 first, then re-installing Visual Studio 2008 SP1. Then you can apply the Security Update.

Caution: Running “Repair” on the Windows SDK will cause the CRT files to go back to RTM state and should be avoided.

Karin Meier-Magruder
Program Manager
Windows SDK Team

Send your thoughts to the Windows SDK Feedback alias. Tell us how you use the SDK and what we can do to improve your development experience.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Installing Win 7 SDK (RC) and VS2008 RTM can disable VC++ configuration platform choices

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:47:00 GMT

If the Windows SDK for Windows 7 SDK (RC release) and Visual Studio 2008 RTM are installed on a machine running an x64 version of Windows, the following issue may occur. The Itanium and x64 listings are missing from the New Platform drop-down lists of the New Project Platform and New Solution Platform dialogs of the Visual Studio IDE. (This issue will be fixed in the RTM release of the Windows SDK for Windows 7.)

This issue will occur regardless of the order of installation – Windows 7 SDK (RC) and then Visual Studio 2008 RTM, or Visual Studio 2008 RTM and then the Windows 7 SDK (RC) unless Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is installed before the installation of the SDK.

The issue occurs because 64 bit versions of VCProjectAMD64Platform.dll and VCProjectIA64Platform.dll are installed instead of 32 bit versions. To prevent the issue install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 before installing the SDK.

To determine if your VC++ directories are missing, launch the VS IDE and go to tool->options->projects and solutions->VC++ Directories. If the entries in the drop down “Platform” box appear as "x86", "x64" and "Itanium", your directories are as expected and you do not have this issue. If the platform entries appear as "x86", with no entry for "x64" and "Itanium", you do have this issue and can use the workaround.

Workaround: If your Visual Studio installation has already been affected follow these steps to address this issue:

Open the Control Panel.
Select "Uninstall a program" from the Programs group.
Uninstall "Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2008 Standard Edition - enu - x64"
Uninstall "Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2008 Standard Edition - enu - x86"
Right-click on the main Visual Studio entry in the program list and select "Uninstall/Change"
When the Visual Studio setup dialog appears click the Next button and then click on the "Repair/Reinstall" option.
Install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 if it is not already installed on the machine.

Note: Running “Repair” on the Windows SDK will revert these fixes.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

How to get the WinSDK Configuration Tool to work

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:10:33 GMT

The Windows SDK Configuration Tool sets which version of Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools you want to build with in Visual Studio. The tool shipped with the Windows SDK for Server 2008, and bugs have since been discovered that affect different scenarios. Here’s how to get the tool working in your scenario. Instructions are different depending on which Visual Studio release and SKU you’re using. This post addresses the version of the SDK Configuration Tool that shipped in the Windows SDK for Server 2008.

Visual Studio 2008 Retail:

First, the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 patch breaks the tool. If you’ve installed the patch on VS 2008 Retail (non-Express versions), you need to first complete the workaround explained in this blog post. Read the blog post Integrating Windows SDK and VS with new SDK Configuration tool if you want background on the tool. Next, the GUI version of the tool looks like it works but it doesn’t really change the paths. This will affect you even if you haven’t installed the SP1 patch. You have to use the tool at the command line, following these steps.

To use the Visual Studio command line build environment:

1. Launch Visual Studio 2008 command prompt.

2. CD to the directory where the SDK Configuration Tool is located (by default, C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\Setup).

3. Run the SDK Configuration Tool, specifying which SDK version to make current: (Type: WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v6.1)

4. You can now build at the command line using version v6.1 of the SDK, which is the Windows SDK for Server 2008. You can switch back to v6.0a to use the SDK components that shipped in Visual Studio 2008.

5. If you’d like to build in the Visual Studio IDE, while still in the Visual Studio command window, type: devenv /useenv

6. The SDK version you have set as “current” will remain the current SDK for the current Visual Studio session.

To use the Visual Studio IDE:

Follow the instructions above to launch the tool from the command line build environment then switch to the IDE, or use workaround # 2 in this blog post to update HKEY_CURRENT_USER to point to the version of the SDK that you wish to build with. This workaround ‘permanently’ sets the SDK version you have set as “current.” It will remain the current SDK until it is changed again through the registry. (Running Repair on Visual Studio or the Windows SDK can change this value in the registry.)

Visual Studio 2008 Express:

Read the blog post Using Visual C++ 2008 Express with the Windows SDK if you need background. The only bug on Express is that the GUI version of the tool doesn’t work. (The Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Patch does not affect Express versions.) You have to use the command line version of the tool to set the ‘current SDK’, but then you can use VS 2008 Express in the IDE or command line mode.

1. Launch the Windows SDK Command Window (Start, All Programs, Microsoft Windows SDK v6.1, Command Window)

2. CD to \Program Files\Microsoft\Windows\v6.1\Setup>

3. Type: WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v6.1

This command will set the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 (v 6.1) as the “current” SDK for Visual Studio to use. Use ‘-version:v6.1’ for the Windows Server 2008 SDK content. Use ‘-version:v6.0A’ for the Visual Studio 2008 content.

Visual Studio 2005 Retail:

On VS 2005, the tool works by overwriting your VCProjectEngine.dll.config file and a bug causes it to do so without warning, so back this file up first if you have custom settings you want to keep. Read the blog post Integrating Windows SDK and VS with new SDK Configuration tool for background on the tool. The tool works well in either GUI or command line version with VS 2005, with the exception of one scenario. The configuration tool requires that VS 2005 C++ has been run at least once. Intermittently, users will get an error that “VS 2005 must be run at least once…” even though VS2005 has already been run. This seems to affect some users that have installed VS 2005 as Administrator but are running as Limited User. You can probably get it working by running VS as an Admin.

Visual Studio 2005 Express:

The tool is not supported on Visual Studio 2005 Express. Upgrade to Visual Studio 2008 Express or set your header, library and tool paths manually.

Karin Meier
Program Manager, Windows SDK Team

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Bug Notification: VS2008 SP1 Breaks WinSDK Configuration Tool

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:27:43 GMT

Issue:
Installing Visual Studio 2008 SP1 breaks the Windows SDK Configuration tool in the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5. This tool is used to set the version of Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools you wish to build with in Visual Studio. After installing VS 2008 SP1, the Configuration tool will crash with an unhandled exception on an X86 computer. The tool’s UI will be displayed with a blank dialog box on an X64 computer. This issue does not affect VS 2008 Express SKUs.

Cause:
The Configuration tool depends on a registry key value that is overwritten with invalid content by the Service Pack patch. After the SP1 patch is installed, the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0a subkey ProductVersion is set to “v6.0A”. The tool expects this value to be a build number with the format 6.xxx.xxx.xxx. On an X64 computer, an additional registry key is overwritten with the invalid value: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A@ProductVersion.

Workaround:
Repair Visual Studio 2008 to reset the ProductVersion value.

1. Open the Control Panel and select Products and Features (Add/Remove Programs on pre-Vista operating systems)
2. Select Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and click on Uninstall/Change. The Visual Studio 2008 setup wizard will launch.
3. When prompted, choose to Repair/Reinstall Visual Studio 2008. (This will not remove the Service Pack.)

Alternatively, advanced users can update the registry key(s) manually to set a ProductVersion value of “6.0.6001.17011”. Review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before editing the registry.

On an X86 computer:
· HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0a@ProductVersion = 6.0.6001.17011

On an X64 computer:
· HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0a@ProductVersion = 6.0.6001.17011
· HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A@ProductVersion = 6.0.6001.17011

Note: An additional workaround is necessary to use the SDK Configuration in GUI mode on VS 2008. Refer to the Windows SDK Blog post, WinSDK bug notification: SDK Config Tool appears to work but fails.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

WinSDK bug notification: SDK Config Tool appears to work but fails

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:20:00 GMT

This article applies to the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, when used with Visual Studio 2008 (all versions). This post describes a problem with the GUI version of the Windows SDK Configuration Tool, which is used to set the version of Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools you wish to build with in Visual Studio. This article applies only to Visual Studio 2008, and does not apply to those using the Windows SDK with Visual Studio 2005. This article does not apply to the command line version of the Windows SDK Configuration Tool.

Issue: The Windows SDK Configuration Tool (GUI mode) appears to update Visual Studio 2008 header, library and executable directories, but directories are not updated. Users may not be aware of this because the SDK Configuration Tool returns a message saying that directories have been successfully updated. The user may then build applications using an unexpected set of headers, libraries and tools.

Scenario: A user has Visual Studio 2008 (any SKU) installed on her computer, and also has the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 installed. The user knows she can use the Windows SDK Configuration Tool to tell Visual Studio 2008 which version of the Windows SDK to use: the Windows SDK components that ship in Visual Studio 2008, or the Windows SDK components installed with the standalone Windows SDK for Server 2008.

The user runs the Windows SDK Configuration Tool and changes the “current” SDK. The tool returns a message saying the “Windows SDK Configuration Tool successfully set version X as the current version for Visual Studio 2008.” In fact, the “current version” of the SDK has not been reset.

The cause: After installing the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 (any SKU), you’ll have two sets of SDK resources installed by default to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\:

· \v6.0A contains the SDK resources installed by Visual Studio 2008

· \v6.1 contains the SDK resources installed by the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008

When a Windows SDK (including the Windows SDK embedded in Visual Studio 2008) is installed, it writes the “currentInstallFolder" value in both of the following keys:

· HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\

· HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\

Visual Studio 2008 looks to these keys to determine the “current” SDK. Visual Studio 2008 IDE first checks the HKCU key, and if that key is missing, it will look next in HKLM. However, the Windows SDK Configuration Tool only updates the HKLM key:

· HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\

Two workarounds are available. Start the Windows SDK Configuration Tool in command line mode, or Update HKEY_CURRENT_USER in the registry to point to the version of the SDK that you wish to build with.

Workaround option 1 (recommended): Start the Windows SDK Configuration Tool in command line mode:

1. Launch Visual Studio 2008 command prompt

2. CD to the directory where the SDK Configuration Tool is located (by default, C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\Setup).

3. Run the SDK Configuration Tool, specifying which SDK version to make current: (Type: WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v6.1)

4. You can now build at the command line using version v6.1 of the SDK

5. If you’d like to build in the Visual Studio IDE, while still in the Visual Studio command window, type: devenv /useenv

6. The SDK version you have set as “current” will remain the current SDK for the current Visual Studio session.

Workaround option 2: Update HKEY_CURRENT_USER to point to the version of the SDK that you wish to build with:

(Modifying the registry is only recommended for advanced users, but if you have sufficient experience, you can update the HKEY_CURRENT_USER to point to a different version of the SDK. Anyone considering this should review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.

This workaround is to update the "CurrentInstallFolder" value in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\ and set it to the SDK you wish for Visual Studio 2008 to use. (Installation directories shown here are default installation paths. If you chose to install the SDK to a non-default location your path will be different.)

· HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\@CurrentInstallFolder = C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\ to build with the Windows SDK content included in VS2008;

· HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\@CurrentInstallFolder = C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\ to build with the Windows SDK content included in the Windows SDK for Server 2008.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Installing Win SDK for Svr 2008 after VS 2008 breaks VS command line build environment

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:36:00 GMT

Issue: After installing the Windows SDK for Server 2008, you are no longer able to build at the VS2008 command line. You receive an error that csc, vbc, and/or msbuild commands are not recognized. You are able to build without problems in the VS IDE.

Cause: The VC++ compilers that install with the Windows SDK overwrite vcvars32.bat improperly.

Workaround: Repair the VS2008 command line build environment by editing c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat manually.

Close all instances of Visual Studio:

1. Use Notepad to edit the file %\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat. Change the top few lines where the variables are set.

Change these lines:

@SET VSINSTALLDIR=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0
@SET VCINSTALLDIR=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC
@SET FrameworkDir=Framework32
@SET FrameworkVersion=v2.0.50727

@if "%VSINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VSINSTALLDIR
@if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VCINSTALLDIR

to the following, in order to set the correct path to the frameworkdir:

@SET VSINSTALLDIR=c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0
@SET VCINSTALLDIR=c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC
@SET FrameworkDir=c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework
@SET FrameworkVersion=v2.0.50727
@SET Framework35Version=v3.5

@if "%VSINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VSINSTALLDIR
@if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VCINSTALLDIR

Open the VS command line build environment and verify that you can build successfully.

Please email us directly if you need additional help.

Karin Meier

Windows SDK Program Manager

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Workaround: SDK build env fails on X86 XP with VS2005

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:30:00 GMT

This article applies to the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5. Problem: If your usage scenario matches the one listed below, you will be unable to build in the Windows SDK command line build environment. If you type cl.exe in the SDK command window and press Enter, you will see this error:

This application has failed to start because mspdb80.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

Computer setup required to repro issue:

1. Windows XP on x86 machine (which has version 5.1.2600.2180 of REG.exe)

2. Visual Studio 2005 installed, but Visual Studio 2008 is NOT installed

Cause: When the SDK build environment window is launched, the SDK file SetEnv.cmd launches Reg.exe. Reg.exe generates standard output when a valid KeyPath is specified and also generates error output when invalid Value is specified. In this scenario, the KeyPath is valid but the value doesn’t exist:

Command:

REG QUERY "%VSRegKeyPath%" /v 9.0

Output:

! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\SxS\VC7

Error: The system was unable to find the specified registry key or value

The second call to REG in setenv.cmd is grabbing the output from the call above and setting VSRoot=VERSION 3.0, which breaks the Windows SDK build environment. (Other versions of REG.EXE will immediately throw an error when an invalid KeyPath/Value combination is specified.)

Workaround: follow these instructions to manually edit SetEnv.cmd to remove the second call to REG:

Open up SetEnv.cmd in Notepad or another editor.
For this line:

FOR /F "tokens=2* delims= " %%A IN ('REG QUERY "%VSRegKeyPath%" /v 9.0') DO SET VSRoot=%%B

Either comment out using the REM command (like this):

REM FOR /F "tokens=2* delims= " %%A IN ('REG QUERY "%VSRegKeyPath%" /v 9.0') DO SET VSRoot=%%B

OR delete the line completely.

Save SetEnv.cmd.
Restart the Windows SDK command prompt.

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community||

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Integrating Windows SDK and VS with new SDK Configuration tool

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:29:00 GMT

This article describes the use of the Windows SDK Configuration tool, which is included in the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 and works with Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, including Visual Studio 2008 Express SKUs.

A serious bug has been discovered with the Windows SDK Configuration Tool. This bug is not apparent as the tool appears to work correctly. Please read the blog post WinSDK bug notification: SDK Config Tool appears to work but fails, to learn more about the issue and find workaround steps.

What is the Windows SDK Configuration tool for?

The Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, released in February, 2008, includes a new tool to help you develop more easily with Visual Studio. You can use this tool to set which version of Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools you want to build with in Visual Studio.

The Visual Studio 2008 editions are seamlessly integrated with the Windows SDK. VS2008 editions include the same Vista RTM headers and libraries that shipped in the Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit Update for Windows Vista released in March, 2007. (The SDK tools in VS2008 are more recent.) You can use these integrated Windows Vista headers and libraries right out of the box with Visual Studio 2008. If you want to use the content in another Windows SDK, the SDK Configuration Tool will allow you to do just that, by setting which SDK is the ‘current’ SDK to build with.

Updating the Windows SDK Content in Visual C++2008

You can build Win32 applications right out of the box with the Vista RTM SDK components that are embedded in Visual Studio 2008. It’s also easy to switch to the more recent components that ship with the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 by installing this SDK on your computer. If you install the SDK after you installed VS, you are ready to develop with the headers, libraries and tools in the SDK for Windows Server 2008. If you installed the Windows Server 2008 SDK before you install Visual Studio, you will need to use the SDK Configuration Tool to set the directories.

Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools

After installing the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 (any SKU), you’ll have two sets of SDK resources installed by default to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\:

· \v6.0A contains the SDK resources installed by Visual Studio 2008

· \v6.1 contains the SDK resources installed by the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008

Visual Studio 2008 will point to v6.0A headers, libraries and tools, which installed with VS by default. Use the SDK Configuration Tool to update the Visual C++ directories to point to the v6.1 headers, libraries and tools that shipped with the Windows SDK for Server 2008.

How does the SDK Configuration Tool work?

The tool works by altering the Visual Studio 2008 directories through a registry key setting. (The tool works differently with Visual Studio 2005. This will be covered in a future post.)

· On an X86 computer: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows

· On an X64 or IA64 computer: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows

The settings “CurrentVersion” and "CurrentInstallFolder" refer to the version and location of the registered Windows SDK headers, libraries and tools. These settings get updated during Windows SDK installation or when the Windows SDK Configuration Tool is used to choose which Windows SDK content users want to use with Visual Studio 2008.

SubKey	Window SDK Version
V6.0	Windows SDK for Windows Vista and Windows SDK for Windows Vista Update
V6.0A	Windows SDK Visual Studio Components
V6.1	Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008

Visual Studio 2008 looks at this key to determine how to set the following directories:

· Visual Studio Library Directory sets the paths to use when searching for library files while building a VC++ project. It corresponds to environment variable LIB.

· The Visual Studio Include Directory sets the paths to use when searching for include files while building a VC++ project. It corresponds to environment variable INCLUDE.

· The Visual Studio Executables Directory sets the path to use when searching for executable files while building a VC++ project. It corresponds to environment variable PATH.

The VC++ 2008 Library, Include and Tool path are set upon install to the Windows SDK content that ships embedded with Visual Studio 2008. If you want to change these paths you can do so manually through Visual Studio, or use the SDK Configuration Tool to set these directories.

The SDK Configuration Tool has a GUI interface that works with the Visual Studio Retail (non-Express) SKUs, and a command line interface that works with either the VS Retail or Express SKUs. (See Using Visual C++ 2008 Express with the Windows SDK for more information on working with Visual Studio Express.)

How to use the SDK Configuration Tool in GUI mode

To launch the SDK Configuration Tool GUI interface, go to Start, All Programs, Microsoft Windows SDK v6.1, Visual Studio Registration, Windows SDK Configuration Tool.

Use the drop box to pick which version of SDK content you want to integrate with Visual Studio, and click Make Current.

How to use the SDK Configuration Tool at the command line

The SDK Configuration Tool can be used with either the GUI or command line interfaces with Visual Studio 2005 Retail or Visual Studio 2008. The tool can only be used at the command line for Visual Studio 2008 Express SKUs. (See Using Visual C++ 2008 Express with the Windows SDK.)

1. Launch the Windows SDK Command Window (Start, All Programs, Microsoft Windows SDK v6.1, Command Window)

2. CD to \Program Files\Microsoft\Windows\v6.1\Setup>

3. Type: WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v6.1

This will set the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 (v 6.1) as the “current” SDK for Visual Studio to use for headers, libraries and tools.

How to validate that Visual Studio Directories were successfully updated

Open the Visual Studio command window and check the PATH to see if the v6.1 directory has been added:

1. Start, All Programs, Visual C++ Express Edition 9.0, Visual Studio Tools, Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt

2. At the prompt, type: PATH

How to Switch back to the SDK content that shipped ‘in the box’ with Visual Studio 2008

To restore the default directories, use the SDK Configuration Tool at the command line to make the v6.0A directories ‘current.’

1. Launch the Windows SDK Command Window (Start, All Programs, Microsoft Windows SDK v6.1, Command Window)

2. CD to \Program Files\Microsoft\Windows\v6.1\Setup>

3. Type: WindowsSdkVer.exe -version:v6.0A

Troubleshooting:

After Visual Studio Repair, environment variables are reset. If Visual Studio is Repaired (through Add/Remove Programs), the environment variables will point back to the default VS content. You will need to use the SDK Configuration tool if you want to point to the content in the Windows Server 2008 SDK.

After Windows SDK Repair, environment variables are reset. If the Windows SDK is ‘Repaired’ (through Add/Remove Programs), the environment variables will point to Windows SDK content. You will need to use the SDK Configuration tool if you want to point to the content that shipped with Visual Studio 2008.

Please send feedback on this tool.

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

Workaround: Installing Win SDK after VS2008 breaks XAML Intellisense

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:55:00 GMT

Several VS 2008 and Windows SDK users have reported that Intellisense stops working for XAML projects after installing the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5.

The Windows SDK Team and the Visual Studio 2008 team has been able to repro the issue and the cause has been identified. A Visual Studio registry value is being incorrectly reset after the Windows SDK is installed, causing this failure.

How to determine if you are experiencing this issue

1. Please review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.

2. Using regedit, look at the key:

· On X86 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

· On X64 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

3. If (Default) is empty you are experiencing this issue

We suggest two workarounds: repair Visual Studio 2008 or register TextMgrP.dll manually.

Repair Visual Studio 2008:

1. From the Start button, open the Control Panel

2. Click on Program and Settings (Add/Remove Programs on non-Vista machines)

3. Click to select Visual Studio 2008 and click Change (at the top of the window)

4. When the change dialog box launches, select Repair

Register TextMgrP.dll manually

On an X86 machine:

1. Open a Windows CMD window as an Administrator (On Vista: Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click on command prompt and choose to Run as Administrator)

2. Type: regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll”

On an X64 machine:

1. Open a Windows CMD window as an Administrator (On Vista: Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click on command prompt and choose to Run as Administrator)

2. Type: regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles(X86)%\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll”

Restart Visual Studio and Intellisense should be working correctly again.

Troubleshooting: Uninstall SDK components

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:51:00 GMT

This article applies to the Windows SDK for Windows Vista, the Windows SDK for Windows Vista Update, and the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 (a pre-release SDK at the time this post was written).

The Windows SDK installs both SDK-core components and “shared” components 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. However, a few components might need to be uninstalled separately in order to remove all SDK components.

· Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit -- the SDK core-component files

· Microsoft FxCop 1.35 -- .NET code analysis tool installs with the SDK and also with Visual Studio

· Microsoft Document Explorer -- document viewer tool installed by both Visual Studio and the SDK

· Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2008 Standard Edition – compiler package installed by the SDK and/or Visual Studio 2008

You may have installed some of these applications with another product besides the SDK, such as Visual Studio or SQL Server. Removing shared components will make those components unavailable for other applications that may use them, so think twice before uninstalling them. For example, Visual Studio has a dependency on Document Explorer (DExplore.exe), the document viewer used to display Help and other documents.

If you uninstall a component that other applications has a dependency upon, such as Document Explorer, it will not be available for that other application and you’ll receive an error message when you try to launch the app. But don’t worry. If you uninstall a component by mistake, you can easily run a Repair of the application that requires it: Control Panel, Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs on pre-Vista OSes), select the application that is not working correctly, click Repair at the top of the Programs and Features window.

What is an MSI file? MSI files are Microsoft Windows Installers. MSI files offer more flexibility when installing programs. For example, Windows installers allow you to repair your current installation instead of having to uninstall and reinstall a damaged program.

Announcing: The Windows SDK Developer Center

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:04:00 GMT

Today we launched the Windows SDK MSDN Developer Center. This site is intended as a one-stop place to provide information to help you determine which version of the Windows SDK is most appropriate for your use, and to get information on how you can maximize your experience with the Windows SDK.

Some other useful things you’ll find on the site:

Useful information for how you can use the SDK.
Links to appropriate Windows or Platform SDK downloads.
Links to useful downloads to content that is associated with the SDK such as Windows PowerShell and the Debugging Tools for Windows.
Links and views into community content.
Online Release Notes that are refreshed as new issues come up.
Link to the SDK’s Privacy Statement.
Links to related Developer Centers.
Links to support information.

We’re pretty darn excited to get this site live, but of course it’s only a first take on the project. We have a good amount of additional content we’re planning on adding to the site over the next few months, including a matrix to help determine which SDK release is the right one for you. Please help us by sending feedback on the site. You can add a comment below or use one of the mailto links on the site.