Microsoft visual C# 2010 express won't build my simple monogame app

Question

So I was trying to use monogame to show an image on screen but I keep on getting this error,

"Error 1 The command ""C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\MonoGame\v3.0\Tools\MGCB.exe" /@:"" /platform:WindowsGL /outputDir:"C:\Users\TehGamester\documents\visual studio 2010\Projects\test\test\Content\bin\WindowsGL" /intermediateDir:"C:\Users\TehGamester\documents\visual studio 2010\Projects\test\test\Content\obj\WindowsGL" /quiet" exited with code -532462766. test ", " Error 2 Could not copy the file "C:\Users\Program Files (x86)\MonoGame\v3.0\Assemblies\WindowsGL\SDL.dll" because it was not found. test "

any advice? Heres my code.

using Microsoft.Xna.Framework;
using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics;
using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Input;

namespace test
{
    /// <summary>
    /// This is the main type for your game
    /// </summary>
    public class Game1 : Game
    {
        GraphicsDeviceManager graphics;
        SpriteBatch spriteBatch;
        private Texture2D sprite;

        public Game1()
            : base()
        {
            graphics = new GraphicsDeviceManager(this);
            Content.RootDirectory = "Content";
            graphics.IsFullScreen = false;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Allows the game to perform any initialization it needs to before starting to run.
        /// This is where it can query for any required services and load any non-graphic
        /// related content.  Calling base.Initialize will enumerate through any components
        /// and initialize them as well.
        /// </summary>
        protected override void Initialize()
        {
            // TODO: Add your initialization logic here

            base.Initialize();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// LoadContent will be called once per game and is the place to load
        /// all of your content.
        /// </summary>
        protected override void LoadContent()
        {
            // Create a new SpriteBatch, which can be used to draw textures.
            spriteBatch = new SpriteBatch(GraphicsDevice);
            //Load up our sprite
            sprite = Content.Load<Texture2D>("MonoGameLogo.mgcb");
            // TODO: use this.Content to load your game content here
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// UnloadContent will be called once per game and is the place to unload
        /// all content.
        /// </summary>
        protected override void UnloadContent()
        {
            // TODO: Unload any non ContentManager content here
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Allows the game to run logic such as updating the world,
        /// checking for collisions, gathering input, and playing audio.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="gameTime">Provides a snapshot of timing values.</param>
        protected override void Update(GameTime gameTime)
        {
            if (GamePad.GetState(PlayerIndex.One).Buttons.Back == ButtonState.Pressed || Keyboard.GetState().IsKeyDown(Keys.Escape))
                Exit();

            // TODO: Add your update logic here

            base.Update(gameTime);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// This is called when the game should draw itself.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="gameTime">Provides a snapshot of timing values.</param>
        protected override void Draw(GameTime gameTime)
        {
            GraphicsDevice.Clear(Color.CornflowerBlue);
            spriteBatch.Begin();
            spriteBatch.Draw(sprite,new Rectangle(200,200,256,256),Color.White);
            spriteBatch.End();
            // TODO: Add your drawing code here

            base.Draw(gameTime);
        }
    }
}

Visual Studio 2010 is pretty old now. You should probably consider upgrading. As for your specific issue, it's because SDL.DLL seems to be missing. Chances are your simple project won't need it anyway, so remove the reference from the project. — craftworkgames
I would consider upgrading, but I am pretty sure you need to pay for the newer versions, also the tutorials online use this version, as for my simple project I was planning on making a small action adventure rpg game so do you still think I need the reference? Also where is the reference? — Corona
@DylanWilson "Visual Studio 2010 is pretty old now. You should probably consider upgrading" - perhaps. But then again, the last XNA, XNA 4 was for VS2010 and the current Monogame supports VS2010. — MickyD
@MickyDuncan All of the Visual Studio Express editions have been free for while now I believe. You might have a reason to keep using VS2010 if you need to load old XNA content projects, but it's certainly not a cost issue. visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-express-vs.aspx — craftworkgames
Also, this looks like your issue reported on the MonoGame issues list github.com/mono/MonoGame/issues/1720 — craftworkgames

Truerror Truerror · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-10T11:15:07

There's a missing reference there (SDL.dll in this case), the mistake isn't in your code.

You can either add this manually, or, since it doesn't seem like you've changed the original boilerplate much, try creating a new project with DX.

EDIT: I noticed that the path in your error message is "C:**Users**\Program Files (x86)\MonoGame\v3.0\Assemblies\WindowsGL\SDL.dll". I'd venture a guess that there's no such user named "Program Files (x86)" in your PC. In this case, pointing your project to the correct location would be enough. :)

Microsoft visual C# 2010 express won't build my simple monogame app

1 Answers