cannot execute CVTRES.exe

Question

Could not write to output file 'xxx' -- 'Could not execute CVTRES.EXE.' . I am having this issue. I have re install the VS2010 but yet the problem remains. I have also applied the devnev -resetsettings but in vain. How to solve this issue.

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I just encountered this issue after installing VS2010 on a VMware image of a customer where I need to debug someting. The error prevented me from building any C# projects, while building C++ projects worked just fine.

The source of the problem was a corrupted cvtres.exe.config. I just happened to check out this file:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\cvtres.exe.config

and found that it contained nothing but a sequence of zero bytes. After restoring the content of the file from a known good system everything just started to worked fine. Here's what I now have in the file:

<?xml version ="1.0"?>
<configuration>
    <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
        <requiredRuntime safemode="true" imageVersion="v4.0.30319" version="v4.0.30319"/>
        <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku="client" />
    </startup>
</configuration>

This answer is probably too late for you, but I'm writing it just in case it will help somebody else. Final notes about my system configuration: Win7 64-bit, VS2010 (10.0.40219.1 SP1Rel), .NET Framework 4 (4.0.30319 SP1Rel).