Visual C++ 2010: LNK1104, LNK1181 - .obj Files Will Not Auto-Generate

Question

I've recently downloaded 'Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express' edition on my 'Windows Vista Home Premium' machine. I'm a Java programmer trying to make the switch to C++, and this is quite discouraging:

1. I open Visual C++
2. "File -> New -> Project..."
3. select "Win32 Application", default, default, default, etc... "Finish"
4. Right-click solution (or project) -> "Build"

5. The output window displays,

   ------ Build started: Project: Engine, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
   LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'Debug\Engine.obj'
   ========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========
   

I also receive a "LNK1181" error sometimes. The problem is that the compiler can't find these objects, but if I'm not mistaken, the compiler is supposed to auto-generate these .obj files during the compile. I've checked the 'Debug' folder for 'Engine.obj' - it's an empty folder. So, why isn't Visual C++ creating these .obj files? Can someone objectively tell me why Visual C++ will not generate these .obj files please?

As a side note, I have an inkling that this may have to do with my system type (x32 vs x64). I'm pretty sure I'm running 'Windows Vista Home Premium (x32)' on an x64 based piece of hardware. I've had problems with Microsoft Silverlight (Microsoft, of course!) serving me the wrong .exe because the website used my hardware credentials to determine what version was right for my computer. x64 would not install on my machine, but when I go to 'System Info', under 'System Type' it says "x64-based PC". The x32 version later installed just fine. Perhaps there is a compatibility issue with the version of Visual C++ that I was served?

Update: I've tried installing the x64 version of Visual Studio 2010 - Nothing. Same issue.

Engine.cpp:

    // Engine.cpp : Defines the entry point for the application.
    //

    #include "stdafx.h"
    #include "Engine.h"

    #define MAX_LOADSTRING 100

    // Global Variables:
    HINSTANCE hInst;                                // current instance
    TCHAR szTitle[MAX_LOADSTRING];                  // The title bar text
    TCHAR szWindowClass[MAX_LOADSTRING];            // the main window class name

    // Forward declarations of functions included in this code module:
    ATOM                MyRegisterClass(HINSTANCE hInstance);
    BOOL                InitInstance(HINSTANCE, int);
    LRESULT CALLBACK    WndProc(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM);
    INT_PTR CALLBACK    About(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM);

    int APIENTRY _tWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance,
                 HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                 LPTSTR    lpCmdLine,
                 int       nCmdShow)
    {
        UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(hPrevInstance);
        UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(lpCmdLine);

// TODO: Place code here.
MSG msg;
HACCEL hAccelTable;

// Initialize global strings
LoadString(hInstance, IDS_APP_TITLE, szTitle, MAX_LOADSTRING);
LoadString(hInstance, IDC_ENGINE, szWindowClass, MAX_LOADSTRING);
MyRegisterClass(hInstance);

// Perform application initialization:
if (!InitInstance (hInstance, nCmdShow))
{
    return FALSE;
}

hAccelTable = LoadAccelerators(hInstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDC_ENGINE));

// Main message loop:
while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0))
{
    if (!TranslateAccelerator(msg.hwnd, hAccelTable, &msg))
    {
        TranslateMessage(&msg);
        DispatchMessage(&msg);
    }
}

return (int) msg.wParam;
}



    //
    //  FUNCTION: MyRegisterClass()
    //
    //  PURPOSE: Registers the window class.
    //
    //  COMMENTS:
    //
    //    This function and its usage are only necessary if you want this code
    //    to be compatible with Win32 systems prior to the 'RegisterClassEx'
    //    function that was added to Windows 95. It is important to call this function
    //    so that the application will get 'well formed' small icons associated
    //    with it.
    //
    ATOM MyRegisterClass(HINSTANCE hInstance)
    {
WNDCLASSEX wcex;

wcex.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);

wcex.style          = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;
wcex.lpfnWndProc    = WndProc;
wcex.cbClsExtra     = 0;
wcex.cbWndExtra     = 0;
wcex.hInstance      = hInstance;
wcex.hIcon          = LoadIcon(hInstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ENGINE));
wcex.hCursor        = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
wcex.hbrBackground  = (HBRUSH)(COLOR_WINDOW+1);
wcex.lpszMenuName   = MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDC_ENGINE);
wcex.lpszClassName  = szWindowClass;
wcex.hIconSm        = LoadIcon(wcex.hInstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_SMALL));

return RegisterClassEx(&wcex);
    }

    //
    //   FUNCTION: InitInstance(HINSTANCE, int)
    //
    //   PURPOSE: Saves instance handle and creates main window
    //
    //   COMMENTS:
    //
    //        In this function, we save the instance handle in a global variable and
    //        create and display the main program window.
    //
    BOOL InitInstance(HINSTANCE hInstance, int nCmdShow)
    {
       HWND hWnd;

       hInst = hInstance; // Store instance handle in our global variable

       hWnd = CreateWindow(szWindowClass, szTitle, WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW,
          CW_USEDEFAULT, 0, CW_USEDEFAULT, 0, NULL, NULL, hInstance, NULL);

       if (!hWnd)
       {
          return FALSE;
       }

       ShowWindow(hWnd, nCmdShow);
       UpdateWindow(hWnd);

       return TRUE;
    }

    //
    //  FUNCTION: WndProc(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM)
    //
    //  PURPOSE:  Processes messages for the main window.
    //
    //  WM_COMMAND  - process the application menu
    //  WM_PAINT    - Paint the main window
    //  WM_DESTROY  - post a quit message and return
    //
    //
    LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
    {
int wmId, wmEvent;
PAINTSTRUCT ps;
HDC hdc;

switch (message)
{
case WM_COMMAND:
    wmId    = LOWORD(wParam);
    wmEvent = HIWORD(wParam);
    // Parse the menu selections:
    switch (wmId)
    {
    case IDM_ABOUT:
        DialogBox(hInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_ABOUTBOX), hWnd, About);
        break;
    case IDM_EXIT:
        DestroyWindow(hWnd);
        break;
    default:
        return DefWindowProc(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);
    }
    break;
case WM_PAINT:
    hdc = BeginPaint(hWnd, &ps);
    // TODO: Add any drawing code here...
    EndPaint(hWnd, &ps);
    break;
case WM_DESTROY:
    PostQuitMessage(0);
    break;
default:
    return DefWindowProc(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);
}
return 0;
    }

    // Message handler for about box.
    INT_PTR CALLBACK About(HWND hDlg, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
    {
UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(lParam);
switch (message)
{
case WM_INITDIALOG:
    return (INT_PTR)TRUE;

case WM_COMMAND:
    if (LOWORD(wParam) == IDOK || LOWORD(wParam) == IDCANCEL)
    {
        EndDialog(hDlg, LOWORD(wParam));
        return (INT_PTR)TRUE;
    }
    break;
}
return (INT_PTR)FALSE;
    }

Engine.log:

    LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'Debug\Engine.obj'

Answer 1

Go to the following path

project -> properties -> c/c++ -> Generate preprocessed file

just set it as NO

Answer 2

Tried exactly the same on Windows 7 x64 with Visual C++ 2010. Seems ok.

This is what Visual C++ generated for Engine.cpp:

// Engine.cpp : Defines the entry point for the console application.
//

#include "stdafx.h"


int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
    return 0;
}

Here is the build output:

1>------ Build started: Project: Engine, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
1>Build started 11/11/2012 2:18:10 PM.
1>PrepareForBuild:
1>  Creating directory "c:\users\administrator\documents\visual studio 2010\Projects\Engine\Debug\".
1>InitializeBuildStatus:
1>  Creating "Debug\Engine.unsuccessfulbuild" because "AlwaysCreate" was specified.
1>ClCompile:
1>  stdafx.cpp
1>  Engine.cpp
1>LinkEmbedManifest:
1>  Engine.vcxproj -> c:\users\administrator\documents\visual studio 2010\Projects\Engine\Debug\Engine.exe
1>FinalizeBuildStatus:
1>  Deleting file "Debug\Engine.unsuccessfulbuild".
1>  Touching "Debug\Engine.lastbuildstate".
1>
1>Build succeeded.
1>
1>Time Elapsed 00:00:02.97
========== Build: 1 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========