Linker cannot creat .exe file (antivirus problem?)

[Gabriel_Toro]

Hi, After compiling a program several times, I started getting the following error message from the linker (in Dev. Studio): "Error 2 fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'Release\plot_rates.exe' LINK" Moreover, the previous version of the executable becomes locked and I cannot even delete it (need Admin permissions). The exe file becomes locked after multiple run-rebuild cycles. I am not sure during which of the steps the file becomes locked. I strongly suspect this is caused by the antivirus software (aka "Comodo"). Our IT department has been using new and more restrictive antivirus software, often with bad unintended consequences. Has anyone experienced similar problems? Any suggestions? BTW, I am using Parallel Studio XE 2019 Pro Update 4 and Visual Studio 2013 Shell. It is an old setup, but it used to work before. Thanks, Gabriel

[Steve_Lionel]

Yes, I have seen this myself, and have helped others with the problem. Sometimes you can set your development area to be excluded from scans for virus activity (creating or modifying EXEs.) You should be able to see the log of AV actions.

But another thing to try is to exit VS and restart. There was a long-standing problem where the debugger would keep an EXE open, preventing new links. This is fixed in newer VS versions.