What might I have broken in Delphi XE2?

19
votes

I was fiddling with a batch file to call MSBuild to build my project. Something went wrong because now when I go into XE2 and choose File | New | VCL Forms Application and click 'Build' (or Run) I get the following immediate error:

Checking project dependencies...
Compiling Project5.dproj (Debug, Win32)
brcc32 command line for "Project5.vrc"
  c:\program files (x86)\embarcadero\rad studio\9.0\bin\cgrc.exe -c65001 "Project5.vrc" -foProject5.res 
[MSBuild Error] The "OutputExt" parameter is not supported by the "DCC" task. Verify the parameter exists on the task, and it is a settable public instance property.
[MSBuild Error] The "DCC" task could not be initialized with its input parameters. 
Failed
Elapsed time: 00:00:00.1

I've done a reinstall using 'Repair', tried again using 'Modify' and checked that the *.targets files are all the same as a known good machine all to no avail. I get the same error if I call MSBuild directly with my project *.dproj file (its an empty project). Where might I look?

1
delphimsbuilddelphi-xe2
I'm just guessing here, but have you tried saving the Project to a different directory first, then compiling again? Could this be related to the DefaultProjectsDir registry setting pointing to an invalid (write-only) directory? - Paul-Jan
I'd try to switch to Microsoft RC as first step - OnTheFly
@user539484: What does switching the resource compiler have to do with the issue? It's a problem with the environment for MSBuild and the Delphi IDE. Brian, try checking to see if something defined the environmental variable PLATFORM (Tools->Options->Environment Options->Environment Variables from the IDE menu). Sometimes this is an issue for XE2, because the multi and cross platform targets set this depending on which platform the compiler is targeting. Setting it to something not expected (like new HP systems setting it to BPS or something upon startup) confuses the project settings. - Ken White
It was hard to debug logically - I guess a file had been corrupted involved with the build mechanics. A reinstall was needed :-( Thanks for your help. - Brian Frost
This is a wonderful example of why everyone should put everything into source control. +1 for interest - Toby Allen

1 Answers

0
votes

As suggested I will answer with my solution. I tried a 'repair' using XE" without success. Finally a reinstall was needed which fixed the problem. It was my own fault and a lesson to make a backup of the folders before experimenting. Thanks for all your suggestions.