BUG: Setup Cannot Create Directory ":\:INDOWS"

The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, versions 1.0 and 1.5

SYMPTOMS

During installation, the Visual C++ setup can fail with a message box that reads as follows

 Cannot create directory :\:INDOWS

 '\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI' cannot be opened for reading.

CAUSE

The path environment variable contains an entry for "\WINDOWS" or ".\WINDOWS" instead of a full path such as "C:\WINDOWS".

RESOLUTION

Edit the path in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to include:

   <drive letter>:\WINDOWS

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Visual C/C++ versions 1.0 and 1.5. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The information the Visual C++ Setup program uses for the Windows location is derived from the PATH environment variable which is set in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Using a "\WINDOWS" or ".\WINDOWS" in the PATH statement will also modify the "windir" environment variable, which Setup and other Windows applications depend on. For this reason, "windir" should be a fully qualified path, including a drive specification.

When Visual C++ tries to place files in the Windows directory, it assumes the directory does not exist, which causes the setup program to fail and display one of the above messages. This problem is not likely to occur on Windows NT, since the windir environment setting cannot be modified by the user.