PRB: Cannot Open Compiler Intermediate File

• The Microsoft C/C++ Compiler (CL.EXE) included with: - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.5, 1.51, 1.52 - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Edition, versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2,

       4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0
  

SYMPTOMS

The following error occurs when compiling a file with the Visual C++ compiler:

   fatal error C1083: Cannot open compiler intermediate file:
                    '<tmp directory>;\<tmpfile>': Invalid argument

-or-

   fatal error C1083: Cannot open compiler intermediate file:
                    '<tmp directory>;\<tmpfile>': No such file or
                    directory

CAUSE

The error is caused by a semicolon at the end of the TMP environment variable. For example:

   TMP=C:\TMP;

RESOLUTION

The correct way to set up the TMP environment variable from the command line is as follows:

   C:\>SET TMP=C:\TMP

MORE INFORMATION

It is important that the environment string does not end with a semicolon (;) because the compiler appends the intermediate filename to the TMP path. By removing the semicolon from the path, the compiler can create the file correctly.

In addition, the TMP variable should be a fully qualified path and not a relative path. For example C:TMP may cause the compiler to issue similar errors, but C:\TMP will always work correctly. The TMP environment variable should also be set to a drive that has sufficient space for the compiler's temporary files.

Keywords          : CLIss
Version           : WINDOWS:1.51,1.52;WINDOWS NT:1.0,2.0,2.1,4.0,4.1,4.2,5.0
Platform          : NT WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb