TF270003: Failed to copy

Question

This pertains to:

• Visual Studio 2013
• Team Foundation Server 2010

Error:

TF270003: Failed to copy. Ensure the source directory \\TFSFileStore\TFSBuild\Xxx\Yyy\_PublishedWebsites\Zzz exists and that you have the appropriate permissions.

_PublishedWebsites does not exist. The problem is that it isn't being created by MSBuild. Even if I were to manually create those folders, the files don't get copied there.

We just upgraded from Visual Studio 2010 to 2013.

---

After perusing the log files, it seems as though the wrong MSBuild is being used. It's using:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\MSBuild.exe

when it should be using:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\12.0\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe

Any ideas on how to get TFS to use the correct MSBuild executable?

---

I followed http://hamidshahid.blogspot.com/2013/10/building-visual-studio-2013-solutions.html:

1) Find all instances of the MSBuild activity. The activity is named as “Run MSBuild for Project” within the build templates as show below:

2) Change the ToolsPath of the activity to point to the MSBuild 12.0 exe file as shown below:

However ... the log in Diagnostic mode shows the following for Run MSBuild for Project:

Initial Property Values
    AdditionalVCOverrides = 
    CommandLineArguments = /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /tv:12.0
    Configuration = Release
    GenerateVSPropsFile = True
    LogFile = 
    LogFileDropLocation = \\Xxx\Yyy\Zzz\logs
    MaxProcesses = 1
    OutDir = E:\Builds\Xxx\Binaries
    Platform = Any CPU
    Project = E:\Builds\Xxx\Xxx.sln
    ResponseFile = 
    RunCodeAnalysis = AsConfigured
    Targets = 
    TargetsNotLogged = String[] Array
    ToolPath = 
    ToolPlatform = X86
    Verbosity = Diagnostic

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\MSBuild.exe 

Somehow, the ToolPath property that I set to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\12.0\Bin\amd64\

is getting overridden and set to empty.

Answer 1

If your build process template is from an earlier version of TFS, you might need to edit your template and modify an MSBuild activity property.

If your build server is running:

Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2013: Set the MSBuild activity ToolVersion property to 12.0

Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012: Set the MSBuild ToolPath property to the path to the path to MSBuild 12. In many cases, this path is either C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\12.0\Bin\ (32-bit) or C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\12.0\Bin\amd64 (64-bit). You must also install Visual Studio 2013 on the build agent.

MSDN Source