Microsoft KB Archive/27857

= Old LINKer &quot;Unrecognized Switch Error: 'EX'&quot; when &quot;Make EXE&quot; =

Article ID: 27857

Article Last Modified on 11/21/2006



This article was previously published under Q27857



SUMMARY
When making an EXE file from within the QB.EXE Version 4.00, 4.00b, or 4.50 editor and QBX.EXE (from Microsoft Basic PDS Version 7.00) editor, the following message is generated when the wrong version of LINK.EXE is used:

Unrecognized switch error: &quot;EX&quot;

When running an older linker from DOS with a newer switch (such as mistakenly using the /NOE option with the LINK.EXE Version 3.05 provided with DOS Version 3.30), you can also get an &quot;Unrecognized switch error&quot; message.

You must use the LINK.EXE that comes with QuickBasic or the Basic Compiler (or a later version of the linker). To find out the version number, invoke LINK from your working directory, and the linker displays a version number. This number can be compared with the number displayed by LINK.EXE on the product release disk.



MORE INFORMATION
QuickBasic Version 4.00 and QBX.EXE from Basic PDS 7.00 each comes with its own copy of the LINK utility (LINK.EXE, Version 3.61 and Version 5.05 respectively). This version of the linker supports (and later versions support) the new /EX (/EXEPACK) switch. The function of this switch is to remove sequences of repeated bytes from object files. As a result, the switch provides a means for creating smaller EXE files. When the Make EXE option is chosen inside the editor from the Run menu, this switch is automatically used when the linker is invoked. Subsequently, if the wrong version of the linker is found (that is, one that does not support the new /EX switch), the error message &quot;Unrecognized switch error&quot; is generated.

Because the message correctly indicates that the wrong version of LINK.EXE is being used, the workaround is to either remove all older versions of the linker from the machine or modify the DOS path statement so that the correct version of the linker is the first one found.

Additional query words: QuickBas BasicCom

Keywords: KB27857

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