"The File <Project.mak> Cannot Be Written" and Related Errors

The information in this article applies to:

• The Visual Workbench included with:

      - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.5 and 1.51
      - Microsoft Fortran PowerStation for MS-DOS, versions 1.0 and 1.0a
  

SUMMARY

After modifying an open project in Visual C++ by either changing the files listed in the project or modifying the build switches, it is possible to get one of the following errors:

• The file <project.mak> cannot be written.

Additionally, the following error may be given incorrectly:

• The directory specification '<drive><directory>' is invalid.

This error may occur after editing a project and selecting the Cancel button. Or, when selecting a project from the Project menu's most-recently- used list.

Manifestations of these errors may vary under different environments.

When these errors are being issued erroneously, it is usually due to a conflicting third party driver, either a 32 bit VxD listed in the [386ENH] section or a 16 bit driver (.DRV) in the [BOOT] section of the SYSTEM.INI file.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem can be resolved by using the standard troubleshooting guidelines for Visual C++ as outlined in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

   Q102333 Troubleshooting Visual C++: Setup and Build Process
   Q117674 How to Create a SYSTEM.INI Without Third-Party
                Drivers

This problem appears to be limited to WFW 3.11 and PC's with multiple drives (logical or hardware). Well known causes of this problem include drivers from PC AnyWhere and Norton Utilities version 8.00.

In the case of Norton Utilities and Norton Desktop the SYMEVNT.386 in the [386Enh] section is the problem. Commenting this out will resolve the problem.