Fix common MSVC build errors

What the most frequent Visual Studio C++ compiler, linker, and MSBuild errors mean, why they happen, and how to fix each cause.

Linker errors

unresolved external symbol

unresolved external symbol

cannot open file

mismatch detected

symbol already defined

unresolved externals

cannot open file for writing

undeclared identifier

cannot open include file

function may be unsafe or deprecated

is not a member of

cannot convert

cannot convert argument

missing type specifier

type redefinition

unexpected end of file while looking for precompiled header

attempting to reference a deleted function

build tools cannot be found

Windows SDK version not found

CppPilot is a free extension that explains and fixes MSVC build errors with Codex, Claude, or CppPilot Cloud.