Question

We have a large project using VS2008 and boost 1_42. I’m trying to upgrade to VS2010 and boost 1_44. I installed VS2010 and boost 1_44 and converted the project. Now I am trying to build, and everything compiles, but fails when linking:

LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'libboost_thread-vc90-mt-1_42.lib'

I have changed the include and lib directories to point to the new boost 1_44 files and I have renamed the old boost 1_42 directory.

Why is the linker still looking for a vc90-1_42 file, when it is only using 1_44 headers? Is there a way that I can determine WHY the linker wants this file? The linker obviously thinks it needs the file, but why?

I have cleaned the project and I am re-building to ensure any old build files are erased.

Answer 1

Along with changing the lib directory, you need to change the name of the boost library. That’s in the Linker | Input section of the project settings.

Your added comment makes it clear that the dependency on the Boost 1.42 library was being created indirectly by another library that hadn’t been rebuilt.

For this you basically have two choices: either add that library as a project to your main solution, and make sure it has enough dependency information that it’ll be re-built when you upgrade Boost, or use the /Zl compiler switch when you build your library. This tells the compiler you’re building a library so you do not want to embed library dependencies like this.