MinGW - what is the minimum Windows version

[Charlie Gibbs]

Are there any MinGW gurus here? If not, where should I look?

I'm experimenting with the MinGW compiler suite. So far I've been
using version 9.2.0, which successfully generates native Windows
executables. However, I'm trying to build the latest version of
OpenSSL and getting a lot of undefined symbols in both the compile
and the link stages. I'd like to try a newer version of MinGW,
but this has problems of its own. I've successfully built and run
a "hello world" program with the latest version of MinGW (13.2.0),
but it's still getting a lot of undefined symbols with a real-world
program. This is on a machine running Windows 11. I have another
machine which runs Windows XP (don't ask), on which 9.2.0 compiles
these programs successfully. When I try running 13.2.0, I get
the message "The system cannot execute the specified program."
Is there a minimum Windows version for MinGW, and is it increasing
with successive versions of MinGW? Or did I just download the wrong
variant of MinGW?

[JJ]

Post by Charlie Gibbs
Are there any MinGW gurus here? If not, where should I look?
I'm experimenting with the MinGW compiler suite. So far I've been
using version 9.2.0, which successfully generates native Windows
executables. However, I'm trying to build the latest version of
OpenSSL and getting a lot of undefined symbols in both the compile
and the link stages. I'd like to try a newer version of MinGW,
but this has problems of its own. I've successfully built and run
a "hello world" program with the latest version of MinGW (13.2.0),
but it's still getting a lot of undefined symbols with a real-world
program. This is on a machine running Windows 11. I have another
machine which runs Windows XP (don't ask), on which 9.2.0 compiles
these programs successfully. When I try running 13.2.0, I get
the message "The system cannot execute the specified program."
Is there a minimum Windows version for MinGW, and is it increasing
with successive versions of MinGW? Or did I just download the wrong
variant of MinGW?

It's initially AND is supposed to support all Windows versions including
Win95. Hence the "W" in "MinGW".

"MinGW" is a shorthand for "Minimalist GNU for Windows" (initially was
"Minimalist GNU for W32"). It's not a shorthand for "Minimalist GNU for
Windows 10", or "Minimalist GNU for Windows 7", or "Minimalist GNU for
Windows XP", etc.

I guess MinGW is not susceptible to bloat and ignorance.

[Charlie Gibbs]

Post by JJ

Post by Charlie Gibbs
Are there any MinGW gurus here? If not, where should I look?
I'm experimenting with the MinGW compiler suite. So far I've been
using version 9.2.0, which successfully generates native Windows
executables. However, I'm trying to build the latest version of
OpenSSL and getting a lot of undefined symbols in both the compile
and the link stages. I'd like to try a newer version of MinGW,
but this has problems of its own. I've successfully built and run
a "hello world" program with the latest version of MinGW (13.2.0),
but it's still getting a lot of undefined symbols with a real-world
program. This is on a machine running Windows 11. I have another
machine which runs Windows XP (don't ask), on which 9.2.0 compiles
these programs successfully. When I try running 13.2.0, I get
the message "The system cannot execute the specified program."
Is there a minimum Windows version for MinGW, and is it increasing
with successive versions of MinGW? Or did I just download the wrong
variant of MinGW?

It's initially AND is supposed to support all Windows versions including
Win95. Hence the "W" in "MinGW".
"MinGW" is a shorthand for "Minimalist GNU for Windows" (initially was
"Minimalist GNU for W32"). It's not a shorthand for "Minimalist GNU for
Windows 10", or "Minimalist GNU for Windows 7", or "Minimalist GNU for
Windows XP", etc.
I guess MinGW is not susceptible to bloat and ignorance.

I tried downloading version 11.4.0, and it works just fine under XP.
I'll try working my way up through newer versions to see where the
breakage occurs, and let the MinGW folks know.

Thanks for the help.