Why Does My C Project Show 'Unresolved External Symbol: _WinMain@16' and How Can I Fix It?

Unresolved External Symbol: _WinMain@16 Using Visual Studio

When attempting to compile and execute a simple C program involving a generic Stack class, you may encounter the following errors:

• MSVCRTD.lib(crtexew.obj) : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _WinMain@16 referenced in function ___tmainCRTStartup

This issue arises due to a linker problem caused by an incorrect setting in Visual Studio. Here's the solution:

Changing SubSystem Setting in Visual Studio

1. Open your Visual Studio project and navigate to the "Properties" pane.
2. Under "Configuration Properties," expand "Linker" and select "System."
3. Locate the "SubSystem" option. By default, it is likely set to "Windows (/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS)."
4. Change the setting to "Console (/SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE)."

This adjustment instructs the linker to use the console subsystem for the application, rather than the Windows subsystem. This resolves the issue of the unresolved external symbol _WinMain@16, which is required for console-based applications.

After making this change, rebuild your project and run it. The errors should no longer occur.

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