softwerkz.net

Lately, I wrote a BitTorrent application using Visual Studio 2008 (VS2008) express. When I tested it on different machines, I got an error message box (see below message).

I’m sure this problem had been an issue for most of us (programmers) who use VS2005 and VS2008. This issue is due to the missing manifest file which is required by Windows XP. This file contains metadata that describes side-by-side assemblies and side-by-side assembly dependencies.

There are two solutions to this problem.

The first solution is to make a static linking. However, this will make the executable file bigger.

1. Open up the project’s Properties
2. Change the Runtime Library property under C/C++ -> Code Generation property page from Multi-threaded DLL (/MD) to Multi-threaded (/MT).
3. Recompile the application.

The second solution is to copy the manifest and DLL files and place it in the folder where the executable file resides. This solution is pretty good for performing quick test.

1. Copy the DLL and manifest files from your Microsoft Visual Studio folder, for example
   …\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\redist\x86\…
   to the local folder.
2. You might want to check your application using DependencyWalker to know what DLLs are needed.

The third solution is to install the vcredist_<x86 or x64 or ia64>.exe depending on the operating system. This is the proper solution to ensure the dependencies are all installed.

1. Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package
   Package (x86) – {A49F249F-0C91-497F-86DF-B2585E8E76B7}
   Package (x64) – {6E8E85E8-CE4B-4FF5-91F7-04999C9FAE6A}
   Package (ia64) – {03ED71EA-F531-4927-AABD-1C31BCE8E187}
   
   
2. Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package
   Package (x86) – {7299052B-02A4-4627-81F2-1818DA5D550D}
   Package (x64) – {071C9B48-7C32-4621-A0AC-3F809523288F}
   Package (ia64) – {0F8FB34E-675E-42ED-850B-29D98C2ECE08}
   
   
3. Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 ATL Security Update Redistributable Package
   Package (x86) – {837B34E3-7C30-493C-8F6A-2B0F04E2912C}
   Package (x64) – {6CE5BAE9-D3CA-4B99-891A-1DC6C118A5FC}
   Package (ia64) – {85025851-A784-46D8-950D-05CB3CA43A13}
   
   
4. Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package
   Package (x86) – {FF66E9F6-83E7-3A3E-AF14-8DE9A809A6A4}
   Package (x64) – {350AA351-21FA-3270-8B7A-835434E766AD}
   Package (ia64) – {2B547B43-DB50-3139-9EBE-37D419E0F5FA}
   
   
5. Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package
   (x86) Package – {9A25302D-30C0-39D9-BD6F-21E6EC160475}
   (x64) Package – {8220EEFE-38CD-377E-8595-13398D740ACE}
   (ia64) Package – {5827ECE1-AEB0-328E-B813-6FC68622C1F9}
   
   
6. Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update
   (x86) Package – {1F1C2DFC-2D24-3E06-BCB8-725134ADF989}
   (x64) Package – {4B6C7001-C7D6-3710-913E-5BC23FCE91E6}
   (ia64) Package – {977AD349-C2A8-39DD-9273-285C08987C7B}