EXTREMELY Weird problem...

Okay so could someone please tell me what the **** IS GOING ON... Basically, I've made a SSH client in C++ using libssh2. The problem is, it only runs on machines with Visual C++ Express Edition installed... I'm not sure if other versions (such as Visual Studio) or earlier versions (such as 2005) would get it working or not.

I tried to get it working by installing the Visual C++ Redistributable library but that doesn't fix the problem... No matter which version of the redistributable library I install, the program won't run, unless I install Visual C++. I tried installing redistributable 2008, 2008 SP1, 2005, and so fourth.

The program is compiled in 2008...

So how is this possible? What is going on? This is extremely frustrating... Okay thank you lol.

Make sure that you did a release build of your application (as opposed to a debug build).

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Originally Posted by bithub

Make sure that you did a release build of your application (as opposed to a debug build).

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Yep, definitely release build.

Then use dependency walker to see what's not being found.

That I did, all the DLLs were there after I installed the redistributable library but it still wouldn't run...

Code::Blocks is a free IDE that will use the VC++ compiler, trying compiling through that. If that doesn't work, download MinGW GCC (also will run in Code::Blocks) and try compiling the program with it - you'll have to make a couple changes, but it shouldn't be a problem so long as your program isn't doing some special exception handling.

It doesn't even compile in CodeBlocks... I get all these unresolved external symbol errors. I get the exact same errors if I compile the project in VC++ with /MT instead of /MD... Could this be the cause of the problem (I'm using /MD instead of /MT because /MT doesn't work)?

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Originally Posted by Yarin

Code::Blocks is a free IDE that will use the VC++ compiler, trying compiling through that. If that doesn't work, download MinGW GCC (also will run in Code::Blocks) and try compiling the program with it - you'll have to make a couple changes, but it shouldn't be a problem so long as your program isn't doing some special exception handling.

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That doesn't answer the question of why it isn't working. I don't like the debugging approach of "start changing stuff until it works." It's important to understand what's going on.

What exactly happens when you try to run the program and it fails? Does it fail silently, pop some kind of dialog, what?

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Originally Posted by brewbuck

That doesn't answer the question of why it isn't working. I don't like the debugging approach of "start changing stuff until it works." It's important to understand what's going on.

What exactly happens when you try to run the program and it fails? Does it fail silently, pop some kind of dialog, what?

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Well, if I run it on XP and it fails it says something along the lines of "This program failed to run", and I get a different error message on 7 and Vista... I'll re-install XP on a virtual machine again and tell you exactly what it says, although the output wasn't very revealing lol, it was just something simple to let me know something is messed up.

Ok on XP Pro it says "The system cannot execute the specified program." (prints it to stdout in the command prompt).

Have you read through this already?

Yes I have bithub: Visual C++ files can be redistributed using either the provided Redistributable Merge Modules, or the Visual C++ Redistributable Package, I tried that :( In fact, I just reformatted the test machine, tried to run it, got that error. I then installed the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package, ran dependency walker, and it says the following DLL's are missing still:

MSVCP90.DLL
MSVCR90.DLL
IESHIMS.DLL
WER.DLL

I tried the 2008 version and the 2008 Service Pack 1 version. I don't quite understand how this may be possible as it was my understand that the intention of the redistributable package was to register those exact DLLs on my system?!

Edit: I just tried both methods at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...91(VS.80).aspx

Neither worked...

Okay uh I just read this in the Event Viewer under System...

Resolve Partial Assembly failed for Microsoft.VC90.DebugCRT. Reference error message: The referenced assembly is not installed on your system.

Now this leads me to believe that even know I have it on release mode it's compiling in debug mode or something? And since I'm supplying the non Debug CRT files, this is why it will not run? Why would it be looking for DebugCRT... I'm compiling in Release.

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Originally Posted by pobri19

So how is this possible? What is going on? This is extremely frustrating... Okay thank you lol.

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Under project properties->Configurations Properties->C++->Code Generation-> Runtime Library set it to Multithreaded or Debug Multithreaded. Do not use the DLL version of the runtime unless your customer has the runtime installed, which 99.99% don't.

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Originally Posted by abachler

Under project properties->Configurations Properties->C++->Code Generation-> Runtime Library set it to Multithreaded or Debug Multithreaded. Do not use the DLL version of the runtime unless your customer has the runtime installed, which 99.99% don't.

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He said that he couldn't do that (although I'm not sure of the cause).

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Originally Posted by pobri19

I get the exact same errors if I compile the project in VC++ with /MT instead of /MD

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Originally Posted by bithub

He said that he couldn't do that (although I'm not sure of the cause).

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no, he set the /mt and /md switches directly from what i gathered (otherwise why even mention the switches) rather than through the IDE, which can cause problems. He needs to set them specifically through the IDE in VS2008Express

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Originally Posted by abachler

no, he set the /mt and /md switches directly from what i gathered (otherwise why even mention the switches) rather than through the IDE, which can cause problems. He needs to set them specifically through the IDE in VS2008Express

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Ah, I see. I didn't realize there was a difference.

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Originally Posted by bithub

Ah, I see. I didn't realize there was a difference.

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There shouldn't be, but there is. Apparently sometimes the IDE doesn't expect switches to override certain behaviors, so it just blindly adds any 'special' switches to the end of the ones it generates from the project settings. the compiler must go by the first one it finds, and ignore conflicting switches.

Nope, I set them through the IDE. Here's a screen shot of the errors I get when I compile with the /MT switch set in the IDE like you described:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/765/errorsi.jpg

I mentioned them because I couldn't compile with /MT and I was wondering if that was possibly a cause of the problem >< And judging by what you're saying, it is.

Those errors are because you are linking to both the static multi-threaded CRT, and the dynamic multi-threaded debug DLL. You can only link to one runtime library.

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Originally Posted by bithub

Those errors are because you are linking to both the static multi-threaded CRT, and the dynamic multi-threaded debug DLL. You can only link to one runtime library.

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Uh, forgive my ignorance but where am I linking to the dynamic MT debug DLL? :P I cannot see it any where.

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Originally Posted by pobri19

Uh, forgive my ignorance but where am I linking to the dynamic MT debug DLL? :P I cannot see it any where.

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See where it says "MSVCRTD.lib" in the file column? MSVCRTD.lib is the static linkage which will link to MSVCRTD.dll during runtime.

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Originally Posted by bithub

See where it says "MSVCRTD.lib" in the file column? MSVCRTD.lib is the static linkage which will link to MSVCRTD.dll during runtime.

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Yeah I see that, but what I'm saying is I'm not explicitly linking to MSVCRTD.dll or MSVCRTD.lib in my linker/compile options anywhere (unless it did that by default, in that case I cannot see where). Is there some type of compiler report I can generate to show you the settings ahah.... Are you trying to say I shouldn't be using /MT? Or is there some other option I should change. I'm sorry, I'm not good with compiler settings and optimization >< Thanks.

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Originally Posted by pobri19

Yeah I see that, but what I'm saying is I'm not explicitly linking to MSVCRTD.dll or MSVCRTD.lib in my linker/compile options anywhere (unless it did that by default, in that case I cannot see where). Is there some type of compiler report I can generate to show you the settings ahah.... Are you trying to say I shouldn't be using /MT? Or is there some other option I should change. I'm sorry, I'm not good with compiler settings and optimization >< Thanks.

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every application links with the runtime by default. You don't have to explicitly link it. You have to explicitly remove the linkage, or in this case change it to the static library, rather than the DLL. Don't use command line switched explicitly unless you are very sure of exactly how they effect things and require them for some feature that cant be done through the IDE. In this case, as I stated, you can set the runtime linkage type in the project settings. You need to -

1. Remove your manual entry of /MT or /MD
2. right click on the project name in the solution browser (the window on the left by default), not the solution name, then select Properties
3. go to Configuration Properties
4. go to C++
5. Code Generation
6. on the Runtime Library attribute, click and select Multi-threaded or Debug Multithreaded depending on whether this is the release or debug build respectively
7. DO NOT select any of the settings that have the letters DLL in them.

now clean the project and rebuild.

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Originally Posted by abachler

every application links with the runtime by default. You don't have to explicitly link it. You have to explicitly remove the linkage, or in this case change it to the static library, rather than the DLL. Don't use command line switched explicitly unless you are very sure of exactly how they effect things and require them for some feature that cant be done through the IDE. In this case, as I stated, you can set the runtime linkage type in the project settings. You need to -

1. Remove your manual entry of /MT or /MD
2. right click on the project name in the solution browser (the window on the left by default), not the solution name, then select Properties
3. go to Configuration Properties
4. go to C++
5. Code Generation
6. on the Runtime Library attribute, click and select Multi-threaded or Debug Multithreaded depending on whether this is the release or debug build respectively
7. DO NOT select any of the settings that have the letters DLL in them.

now clean the project and rebuild.

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That's EXACTLY what I did, now it doesn't compile and I get the errors in the above linked screen shot. I never manually had /MT or /MD by the way, it was set as /MD in the Runtime Library setting, but then soon as I change it to /MT like you suggest (I'm not using MTd because it's a Release version - but that one errors too in case you're interested) I get all those errors. And yeah I cleaned the project too, had no effect.

Edit: Here's a screen shot...

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1821/hee.jpg

from the screenshot i can tell that you are linking other libraries, that is why you are getting the errors that such and such symbol is already defined.

Go under Linker->Input and remove the offending libraries from the additional dependencies box.

Yeah I am, but if I remove those my program won't compile because I'm using them. I have:

shlwapi.lib
ws2_32.lib
C:\libssh2-0.18\win32\libssh2.lib

shlwapi is required for some header and functions, ws2_32 for socket stuff and libssh2.lib for libssh2.

I have a compiled libssh2.dll, can I use that and dynamically link to it and place it in my programs folder?

No, you are still trying to link both the MT and the MT Debug libraries, as you will notice form the screenshot. Post a screenshot of the Linker->Command Line page. Time like this I realyl wish the moderator would enable us to attach zip and rar files (hint hint) ;).

Here you go mate: http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9710/hehezn.jpg

I figured you'd want higher resolution otherwise I would have uploaded to board ;)

you are linking the debug version of ssh2, try linking the release version instead.

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Originally Posted by abachler

you are linking the debug version of ssh2, try linking the release version instead.

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Hehe I knew you'd say that lol, nah I actually cut+paste that in there because I had it in a different folder earlier and I was being lazy. Just ignore that :p

Also, I'd recompile libssh2 as maybe that is the very root cause of the entire problem, but... For some reason it won't recompile and I completely forget how I did it. Gah why do compilers have to be so painful >< If you want I can show you the output of that :/ But I'm just trying to compile what I'm given in the libssh2 compressed folder, it comes with a Visual C++ project file etc. It comes with a makefile too but that won't work with nmake (I think I need to use linux 'make' or something for them). I remember it was originally a pain to get compiled (I had to follow some weird guide and I have no idea where it is anymore, I searched for it earlier). Thanks :(

Well we can't help you if you aren't providing complete updated information.

But honestly, if you are having this many problems with IDE settings, you might want to work with simpler applications first until you get the feel for the IDE.

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Originally Posted by abachler

Well we can't help you if you aren't providing complete updated information.

But honestly, if you are having this many problems with IDE settings, you might want to work with simpler applications first until you get the feel for the IDE.

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I had no difficulty in the coding of the application :P Just all this compatibility nonsense.