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title: "Setting up MinGW-w64" url: doc/installation/mingw.html page_css_file: /4diac/css/4diac_doc.css sidebar: - sb-doc ---

# Setting up MinGW-w64

## Install latest MinGW-w64 via MSYS2

Since the original mingGW installer from underneath is not always working this is the best possibility to install the latest version of MingGW-64. Download the latest MSYS2 Installer and follow the steps in the wizard. After installing MSYS2, open the "MSYS2 MINGW64" terminal and download the Mingw-w64 toolchain with help of the package manager:

    pacman -S --needed base-devel mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

## Install MinGW-w64

MinGW-w64 comprises development tools for compiling and debugging. Download the Mingw-w64 Installer from here and follow the steps in the wizard. It is essential that the installation path does not contain any spaces. Therefore, you cannot install MinGW-w64 in Program Files. We recommend to create a folder mingw-w64 on your system drive (e.g., C:\mingw). Install a current version and specify win32 as thread when requested. Additionally, choose the architecture x86_64.

## Set PATH variable

After installing, you need to edit the PATH variable. You can access the System Control Center by pressing Windows Key + Pause. In the System window, click Advanced System Settings → Advanced (tab) → Environment Variables. For Windows 10, a quick access is to enter "Edit the system environment variables" in the Start Search of Windows and click the button "Environment Variables". Change the PATH variable (double-click on it or Select and Edit), and add the path where your MinGW-w64 has been installed to e.g., `C:\mingw\mingw64\bin` or `C:\msys64\mingw64\bin`. This folder should contain a number of .exe-files that you can see in your Explorer.

## Test MinGW-w64

Open the command prompt of Windows either via the Program Menu or type cmd in the Start Search of Windows. Enter:

    g++ --version

If version information of the compiler is displayed, it was successful and you can continue with the next section.

If you get an error such as "Command g++ not found", then something went wrong. In this case, verify that the PATH variable was successfully set and directs to the correct installation path. Additionally, open a new command prompt and try to execute the command again. If you try to reinstall, do not forget to restart the command prompt again (it does not update automatically). If this does not help, please ask for advice in the Forum.

## Change name of the make executable

In your installation folder, inside the `bin` directory, you should find a file called `mingw32-make.exe`. Create a copy of the file in the same directory named `make.exe`. This is because this file is the one you will use to compile 4diac FORTE, and "make" is the command used for that throughout the documentation.

## Next steps

Now that you successfully installed a compiler, you can continue with the next step of the installation tutorial. All information in the installation tutorial is based on a setup with MinGW-w64. For users with previous experience in building a 4diac FORTE, the details are listed:

- When generating files for compiling in CMake, the tool "Unix Makefiles" has to be selected.

- Also the architecture option needs to be set in CMake: The correct FORTE_ARCHITECTURE is Win32

- When compiling, open the Windows command line and go to the folder, where CMake built the binaries. Execute the command make to compile.

## Where to go from here?

If you want to build a 4diac FORTE, here is a quick link back:

Install Eclipse 4diac

If you want to go back to the Start Here page, we leave you here a fast access

Start Here page

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