Why is msbuild and link.exe "hanging" during a build?
batch-file, c++, linker, msbuild, visual-studio
Solution
Whole-program optimization (/GL and /LTCG) and /MP don't mix -- the linker hangs. I raised this on Connect.
The upshot is that it's a confirmed bug in VS2008; contact PSS if you want a hotfix; and the fix is included in VS2010.
If you can't wait that long, turn off /MP (slower compiles) or /LTCG (slower code).
Problem
We have a few C++ solutions and we run some build scripts using batch files that call msbuild.exe for each of the configurations in the solutions. This had been working fine on 3 developer machines and one build machine, but then one of the projects started to hang when linking. This only happens on the newest machine which is a quad core, 2.8ghz I think. It runs on Windows Server 2003 and the others are on XP or Vista. This happens consistently even if I change the order of builds in the bat file. If I run the build from the IDE on that machine it does not hang. Any ideas about what could possibly be causing this? I am using Visual Studio 2008. Edit: I see now that when it is hung the following are running: - link.exe (2 instances) One with large memory usage and one with a small amount of memory usage. - vcbuild.exe - msbuild.exe - vcbuildhelper.exe - mspdbsrv.exe Edit: The exe file exists and so does the pdb file. The exe file is locked by some process, and I can't delete it or move it. I can delete the pdb file though. I also have the problem if I just use VCBuild.exe. I decided to try debugging the 2 link.exe processes and the mspdbsrv.exe processes. When I attached the debugger/MSdev IDE to them I got a message box saying that the application was deadlocked and/or that "all threads have exited". I guess I will have to check for a service pack for that msdev install on that machine. Edit: In the debug.htm output file I get all sorts of stuff output after the link.exe command is generated. However, for the release buildlog.htm the linke.exe line is the last line. This is clearly a hang in the linker. Definitely a Microsoft bug. I am now trying to figure out what the .rsp (linker response) file is. When I issue: link.exe @c:\\Release\RSP00000535202392.rsp /NOLOGO /ERRORREPORT:QUEUE That is the last line in the release build log. The debug one has lots more information after that. Reinstalling a different version of Visual Studio did not solve the problem. I will open an issue/ticket with Microsoft. I will post an answer if I can.