I'm trying to build a MIDI player for Windows 3.1 using Microsoft Visual C++ 1.52c, and I’ve run into a brick wall: I can’t locate the essential Win16 import libraries (user.lib, gdi.lib, kernel.lib, etc.) required to link against the Windows 3.1 API.

Even though I’ve installed both the Windows 3.1 SDK and Visual C++ 1.52c, those libraries are missing. I’ve checked every version I could find online — including MSDN ISOs, WinWorldPC, and Archive.org — but they all seem to lack these crucial .LIB files for Win16.

These files are needed for basic Windows programming. For example, linking against USER.LIB is required for common functions like CreateWindow, MessageBox, DialogBoxParam, etc.

My MIDI player is a 16-bit GUI program, styled like Winamp, and I’m trying to compile it on original hardware using VC++ 1.52c and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. The program builds fine until link time, when it fails due to missing Windows libraries.

Hmmm,
try OpenWatcom and also contact Michal Necasek at os2museum.com since he's done some work with Windows 3.1 fairly recently
https://www.os2museum.com/wp/windows-3-x-vddv … comment-page-1/
https://www.os2museum.com/wp/retro-porting-to-nt-3-1/

CrazyKickBoxer wrote on 2025-05-12, 14:46:

I'm trying to build a MIDI player for Windows 3.1 using Microsoft Visual C++ 1.52c, and I’ve run into a brick wall: I can’t locate the essential Win16 import libraries (user.lib, gdi.lib, kernel.lib, etc.) required to link against the Windows 3.1 API.

IIRC the imports for 16-bit kernel, user, gdi and a few other dlls are all included in one import library - LIBW.LIB.

Also, if you don't have that lib, it's just an "import" library, that is, it contains no real code, meaning that it can be created by tool IMPLIB.EXE ( included in MS VC 1.52 ).

That worked thank you