Search code examples
cgcccompilationpermission-denied

Compiling with GCC on windows 7: \mingw32\bin\ld.exe: cannot open output file a.exe

This is what I get when trying to compile a simple hello world program with gcc.

c:\>gcc hello.c
hello.c:9:2: warning: no newline at end of file
C:\MinGW\bin\..\lib\gcc\mingw32\3.4.5\..\..\..\..\mingw32\bin\ld.exe: cannot open output file a.exe
: Permission denied
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

Does it have something to do with windows 7 administrative privileges?

If the output file is being created but cannot be opened, where is it located?

Sorry if this is too much of a noobie question. I have been using Dev-C++ for compiling my source code till now. I tried googling around the error but all i could find was the file is already open, but there is no mention of such exe in task manager.

Edit: Also the file is located at C:\hello.c

Will i be able to do it if i place it in other drive?

When i place the file at D:\ and try change it to any other drive using cd d:\ doesn't change the drive.

Solution

  • Yes it is a permissions issue, you must not be running the command line window in Admin mode.

    Don't work in C:\

    Copy the file to a folder under my documents, or a subfolder of C:, or another drive.

    Or, run the console in Administrator mode if you really want to work in the root of C:

    To switch to D: while in C:, just type D: (you use CD only when already on the correct drive)