BUG: Internal Compiler Error, C1001, MSC2.CPP, line 1011

The information in this article applies to:

• The Microsoft C/C++ Compiler (CL.EXE), included with:

      - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, version 1.5, 1.51, and 1.52
  

SYMPTOMS

When using the /Ol switch (enable loop optimizations) and compiling a module that contains several large loops, or that contains several layers of nested loops, version 8.0c of the Microsoft C/C++ compiler may generate the following error message:

   file.c(xxx) : fatal error C1001: internal compiler error
               (compiler file 'msc2.cpp', line 1011)

RESOLUTION

There are two workarounds for this error message:

1. Compile using the fast compiler. Use of the fast compiler can be forced by using the /f compiler switch.

   -or-

2. Do not compile with loop optimizations enabled. This can be done either at the module level by removing the /Ol option from the compiler command line, or at the function level by using #pragma optimize directives. The syntax of the #pragma optimize directive is as follows:

          #pragma optimize( "l", off ) // Disable loop optimizations
   

          // Function that contains the code causing the problem.
          // This can be determined by the line number given in the
          // C1001 error message.
   

          #pragma optimize( "l", on ) // Enable loop optimizations
   

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem with the C/C++ compiler version 8.0c. We are researching the problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.