c++ - Visual Studio 2013: CL.exe exited with code -1073741515

Question

I have a fresh Windows 8.1 Pro x64 install with a fresh Visual Studio 2013 Pro. When trying to compile a project with Platform Toolset to Windows7.1SDK I'm getting

Error   1   error MSB6006: "CL.exe" exited with code -1073741515.   C:Program Files (x86)MSBuildMicrosoft.Cppv4.0PlatformsWin32Microsoft.Cpp.Win32.targets   57  5   MenuBrowser

I tried running the supplied "Windows SDK Configuration Tool" and besides getting an error about Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 not being installed I think it did its job.

I tried manually editing the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMicrosoft SDKsWindows

where I manually put CurrentInstallFolder as C:Program FilesMicrosoft SDKsWindowsv7.1 and CurrentVersion as 7.1.7600.0.30514. If I look at the project properties and click the different paths / variables in there -> more -> Macros, I can see that $(WindowsSdkDir) is correct.

Any idea as to what I should try? Never ran into this problem on the old development computer with Windows 7 and VS 2012.

L.E. as a note, if I try a new project with the v120 tools, it works, but I need the Windows7.1SDK tools.

Answer 1

When trying to compile a project with Platform Toolset to Windows7.1SDK...

That's not a valid selection in a "fresh" install for VS2013. Not very clear what you've been doing, it certainly isn't "fresh" anymore. Do treat Regedit.exe as a loaded weapon, the registry key set that configures VS has been getting pretty doggone convoluted as of late.

The compiler crashes with -1073741515 == 0xC0000135 == STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND. That's a pretty serious mishap of course, it should never occur when you target SDK 7.1 since that still uses the same compiler, only the SDK directory is changed. The compiler itself, as well as the DLLs it uses, are not part of the SDK and only are provided if the machine doesn't have VS installed. You can use SysInternals' Process Monitor to diagnose this, you'll see the CL.EXE process searching for a DLL and not finding it.

The correct way to target 7.1 is to use the v120_xp toolset selection. That builds programs that can still run on XP, it automatically also selects the 7.1A SDK that was installed on your machine. Do try to undo the changes you've made.