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Building Thunderbird On Windows XP

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by shaunrozario

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I was building Thunderbird 2.0.0.21 on windows and i had followed the instructions on this website.

http://gemal.dk/mozilla/build.html

The thing is i need to build it without using the cygwin tools as i already have Visual Studio 2005 wid me....I had seeked the help of another forum which showed me that.

https://spaces.mtu.edu/clearspace/docs/DOC-1478;jsessionid=76C65C286F24DBC6B1154361AFB8805F

I get caught at the part which says Double click on the start-msvc8.bat file. The command prompt just appears and quickly disappears not letting me to carry on..

What would be the possible problem guys???

8 replies

by thumbsup2

... which tell you to DOUBLE CLICK a BAT file, then you need to go back to that web site and explain the problem you're having. Maybe they can help you, because double clicking any BAT file will do exactly what you're seeing unless specific code resides in the BAT file to keep the command prompt window open after the BAT file runs.

In the first web site (gemal), it clearly explains that you need to type all of the commands in while the command prompt window is open. Nowhere in THOSE instructions does it say to double click anything.

by older mycroft

That NOTHING is wrong.

The very next instruction line says:

[i]Change into the directory you made previously. For example, cd c:/Thunderbird to get into C:\Thunderbird[/i] - the batch file is no longer mentioned.

Have you considered the possibility that the batch file HAS WORKED, just very quickly. ;)

by shaunrozario

As you had said, if the bat file had executed really fast, i had tried the bat file which was meant for the versions vs.net and vs2008 and it at least showed me an error that it cannot find the version of Visual Studio i am using. and the command prompt stays on.

I tried to edit the file and see the coding behind it. Though i was able to figure out an anybody help me understand what is going on in the file ??? The link to the bat file is...

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=64ff6f62b352a176391d7d881749d3a7affd865435f9743ac95965eaa7bc68bc

by seanferd

It may not compile regardless of how you edit the batch file, but you can try.

You'll need to make sure that the directories mentioned actually exist. Make sure they are also set in the for the environment - open a command prompt & type "set" (without the quotes) to see if the required paths are actually set.

It is also looking for the SDK version. You could try to fake it, but there is no guarantee the fake variable would work, or that you could actually compile even if you fake it successfully.

Your best bet is to use the recommended development tools, or VS2008, or ask at the site that provides the info on building with vs2008 for info on building with vs2005.

I'm not trying to be an a$$ here, so bear with me:

Why not just install Thunderbird as provided?
If you want to work with the dev community, it is best to use their tools of choice.

If you are trying to make a modified build for your own in-house purposes, I'd guess that you are going to run into a lot of things you can't handle if you can't figure out the batch file. (Again, just suggesting you consider your goals and options.) :)

Good luck, whatever path you choose.

by shaunrozario

I want to build the application without using the Cygwin setup method as i had mentioned earlier. Using the C++ build environment because it is easy to set it up in multiple work places.

by seanferd

https://spaces.mtu.edu/clearspace/docs/DOC-1478;jsessionid=76C65C286F24DBC6B1154361AFB8805F

Choosing the version of Visual Studio to use

*Thunderbird doesn't support all versions of Visual Studio.
*If you want to build Thunderbird 2 in Windows, you should use Visual Studio .NET
*For Thunderbird 3, Visual Studio 2005 works well.
*Visual C++ 2005 Express edition is free from Microsoft.
*You will also need this.
*Finally, download and install this NOTE: if you installed 2005 Express. If you have errors with VC 2005 Standard or Pro, you won't be able to install it, but you can extract the contents with 7-zip (right-click the downloaded file, 7-zip Extract to..., then right-click the setup.exe file and extract it, then extract vamsm1.cab, rename the file to ml.exe) and copy ml.exe.
*Make sure to get updates for all related software before beginning

If that is the site that provided the batch file, they should have one for vc++ 2005, as they say it is OK to build on it for Thunderbird 3. For T2, VS.NET is required.

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