fix_link.exe_not_found.md

Fixing link.exe Not Found Error

This error occurs when Rust can't find the Microsoft Visual C++ linker on Windows. Here are the minimal installation options to resolve it:

Option 1: Visual Studio Build Tools (Recommended - Smallest Install)

1. Download the Visual Studio Build Tools from Microsoft's official site:

   • Go to https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
   • Scroll down to "Tools for Visual Studio"
   • Download "Build Tools for Visual Studio"

2. Install with minimal components:

   • Run the installer
   • Select "C++ build tools" workload
   • Under "Individual components", ensure these are checked:
     • MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tools
     • For ARM64 systems: Also check MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ ARM64 build tools
     • Windows 10/11 SDK (latest version)
     • For ARM64 systems: Ensure you get the ARM64 version of the SDK
   • Uncheck everything else to minimize install size
   • Install size: ~2-3 GB (slightly larger with ARM64 tools)

3. Restart your terminal/command prompt after installation

Option 2: Use GNU Toolchain (Alternative)

If you prefer to avoid Visual Studio entirely:

For x64 systems:

1. Install the GNU toolchain target:

   rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

2. Install MinGW-w64:

   • Download from https://www.mingw-w64.org/downloads/
   • Or use a package manager like Chocolatey: choco install mingw

3. Build using GNU target:

   cargo build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

For ARM64 systems:

1. Install the GNU toolchain target:

   rustup target add aarch64-pc-windows-gnu

2. Install MinGW-w64 with ARM64 support:

   • Use LLVM-MinGW which supports ARM64: https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw
   • Or use Chocolatey: choco install llvm-mingw

3. Build using GNU target:

   cargo build --target aarch64-pc-windows-gnu

ARM64 Windows Specific Notes

• Native ARM64 compilation: If you're on ARM64 Windows and want to compile for ARM64, use the aarch64-pc-windows-msvc target (default) or aarch64-pc-windows-gnu
• Cross-compilation: You can still compile for x64 from ARM64 by adding the x64 target: rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
• Performance: Native ARM64 compilation will generally perform better than x64 emulation

Verification

After installation, verify the fix by running:

cargo build

The error should be resolved and your Rust project should compile successfully.

Note: Option 1 is recommended as it provides the best compatibility with Windows-specific crates and is the default toolchain Rust expects on Windows.