Unable to compile Rust hello world on Windows: linker link.exe not found

Question

I have installed Rust on windows from Rust installation page. After installation I tried running the \"hello world\" program but got the following error.

Answer 1

Case 1: Using C++ win compiler, to fix it you need to reinstall VS build tool C++

Download the Visual Studio 2019 Build tools from the Microsoft website: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=BuildTools&rel=16

After the download, while installing the Build tools, make sure that you install the required components:

1. C++ build tools

This will download required files. Once everything is successfully installed, reboot and re-run your rust program and it will compile successfully.

Case2: This error can come from the fact that you use GCC to compile, to fix it (assume that you already have MinGW):

Tape in cmd:

1. rustup uninstall toolchain stable-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
2. rustup toolchain install stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu (or download rustup-init for the platform of your choice at https://forge.rust-lang.org/infra/other-installation-methods.html)
3. rustup default stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

Case 3: You don't want to download Visual studio with build tools, simply install MinGw with g++ gcc development packages, then run CASE 2