Cannot open include file: 'stdio.h' - Visual Studio Community 2017 - C++ Error

Question

I am trying to Build a Solution on Visual Studio Community 2017, but I keep getting the error "Cannot open include file: 'stdio.h' ". I've read through several similar questions, but still can't fix this problem. Looks like the stdio.h file is called in the stdafx.h file. Below are more details. Any suggestions? (I can't embed images yet, so please click on the links for screenshots.)

System details: Windows 10
Visual Studio Community 2017 v.15.2 (26430.6)
-- Installed Desktop Development with C++ (Screenshot: Installation list)

Step 1: I wrote the famous Hello World program in C++.

#include "stdafx.h"
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    cout << "Hello World!" << endl;
    return 0;
}

Step 2: I clicked on Build > Build Solution.

Problem: 'stdio.h': No such file or directory. Full Error:

1>------ Build started: Project: HelloWorld, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
1>stdafx.cpp
1>c:\users\dahiana mini\desktop\learncpp\helloworld\helloworld\stdafx.h(10): 
    fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'stdio.h': No such file or directory
1>Done building project "HelloWorld.vcxproj" -- FAILED.
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

Troubleshooting details/Things I've tried:

Configuration Properties > VC++ Directories
Include Directories $(VC_IncludePath);$(WindowsSDK_IncludePath);
Screenshot: Solution Explorer (files in the project)

Code in stdafx.cpp file:

// stdafx.cpp : source file that includes just the standard includes  
// HelloWorld.pch will be the pre-compiled header
// stdafx.obj will contain the pre-compiled type information

#include "stdafx.h"

// TODO: reference any additional headers you need in STDAFX.H
// and not in this file

Code in stdafx.h file:

// stdafx.h : include file for standard system include files,
// or project specific include files that are used frequently, but
// are changed infrequently

#pragma once

#include "targetver.h"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <tchar.h>

NOTE: the #include for <stdio.h> and <tchar.h> both have the red squiggle line underneath, and says "cannot open source file".
TRIED: I tried removing the last two lines, but then I got more errors.

TRIED: Since many suggested that stdafx.h is not required, I tried removing just the first line, #include "stdafx.h". But in order for this to work I had to do a little more. SEE ANSWER BELOW.

Well, start by removing the stdafx.h include since it is non-standard and complete unnecessary in VS2017. — DeiDei
@DeiDei Oh I actually tried that. I'll add it above. In a way this did not work for me, because I only removed that line, #include "stdafx.h". I had to do a little more, which is what I think @manni66 was suggesting. First, I set my options to ignore the precompiled headers by following the instructions here. Then, I removed that line in the code. Thanks everyone for their input! — dahiana
Either way this is actually a bit weird, as <stdio.h> must exist and work in any correctly configured compiler, even in C++ mode. — Paul Stelian
@PaulStelian if that's the case, perhaps my error was mostly caused by my Windows SDK install not working well with my Visual Studio install. See answer below. — dahiana

Maxim Akristiniy Maxim Akristiniy · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-26T06:48:04

Got same problem with project porting from VS2013 to VS2017,
Fix: change "Properties->General->Windows SDK Version" to 10

Cannot open include file: 'stdio.h' - Visual Studio Community 2017 - C++ Error

13 Answers