C/C++ executables built with VS2019 (Toolset v142) or VS2022 (Toolset v143) do **not** normally run on Windows XP. That is because the executables created by VS2019 (Toolset v142) or VS2022 (Toolset v143) depend on certain functions in the `KERNEL32.DLL` system library that simply did **not** exist in Windows XP yet. Consequently, on the Windows XP system, those executable fail to start with an error message about the missing entry point!
CompatLib provides a workaround for the problem, by eliminating the "problematic" `KERNEL32.DLL` dependencies from the executable, so that the executable will again be able to run on Windows XP. This is achieved by substituting the call to the original (missing) function in `KERNEL32.DLL` with a small "shim" function. The "shim" function is linked directly into the executable file; it tries to emulate the call, by forwarding the call to an adequate function in `KERNEL32.DLL` that *does* exist on Windows XP. Dependencies that must be substituted by CompatLib include `InitializeCriticalSectionEx()`, `LCMapStringEx()`, `CompareStringEx()` and `GetLocaleInfoEx()`.
In order to build an executable that will run on Windows XP with VS2019 (Toolset v142) or VS2022 (Toolset v143), the following settings are required in your Visual Studio C/C++ project:
