For Net40... solution configuration you need to have Windows SDK 7.0 or 7.1 installed, as its headers are used during code generation process. For example, on my machine I have Win SDK 7.1A (I'm on Win 8.1 x64 with both VS 2012 and VS2013 installed).

The related line where the error is generated is in GccXml.

Please let us know if and how you will solve the issue - as I don't have a Win 7 OS at hand right now. This weekend, probably, I will set up a virtual machine and will check the exact minimum requirements.

Alright, I will install the Windows SDK 7.1, however do I also require the DirectX June 2010 SDK to compile under .net 4.0 or does that come with Windows SDK 8.x?

Also perhaps that message should be changed to say 7.0/7.1 only?

do I also require the DirectX June 2010 SDK to compile under .net 4.0 or does that come with Windows SDK 8.x?

AFAIK, it is needed for net40 configuration anyway. We have removed this dependency for DX11.2 configuration - so I need to recheck all this in a vm.

Also perhaps that message should be changed to say 7.0/7.1 only?

Probably you are right, but I will change it only after will test this behavior.

I did a few tests in my own VM with Windows 7 SP1 with latest updates. DirectX SDK is required 100%, Windows SDK 7.1 with only Sources/Headers is required.

Obviously .net 3.5 is installed. .net 4.5.1 was also installed (compiled in VS2013).

For some reason I cannot compile SharpDX with .net 4.0Release, DIRECTX11_2RELEASE/DEBUG works though, is this normal? How should I compile the toolkit, compiling the toolkit with .net 4.0Release will result in SharpDX being compiled in the same previously failed config.

Error 2 in gccxml Unable to locate key [SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\Setup\VC] in registry C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 8 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/windows.h 151 19 SharpDX
Error 9 in gccxml stdarg.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/windows.h 152 20 SharpDX
Error 17 in gccxml ctype.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 31 21 SharpDX
Error 26 in gccxml string.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/guiddef.h 146 20 SharpDX
Error 34 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 1177 19 SharpDX
Error 35 in gccxml string.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 12642 20 SharpDX
Error 42 in gccxml stdarg.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winuser.h 42 20 SharpDX
Error 49 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/rpc.h 153 19 SharpDX
Error 57 in gccxml stdlib.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/objbase.h 327 20 SharpDX
Error 60 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 61 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 65 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10math.h 17 18 SharpDX
Error 68 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx11.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 69 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx11.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 72 in gccxml stdlib.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3d9.h 37 20 SharpDX
Error 76 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3d9types.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 79 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx9.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 82 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/dsound.h 12 19 SharpDX
Error 85 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h 41 23 SharpDX
Error 86 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h 43 20 SharpDX
Error 90 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3wb.h 16 21 SharpDX
Error 94 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xapofx.h 38 45 SharpDX
Error 98 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xaudio2fx.h 78 43 SharpDX
Error 99 in gccxml Unable to locate key [SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\Setup\VC] in registry C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 105 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/windows.h 151 19 SharpDX
Error 106 in gccxml stdarg.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/windows.h 152 20 SharpDX
Error 114 in gccxml ctype.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 31 21 SharpDX
Error 123 in gccxml string.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/guiddef.h 146 20 SharpDX
Error 131 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 1177 19 SharpDX
Error 132 in gccxml string.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h 12642 20 SharpDX
Error 139 in gccxml stdarg.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winuser.h 42 20 SharpDX
Error 146 in gccxml excpt.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/rpc.h 153 19 SharpDX
Error 154 in gccxml stdlib.h: No such file or directory C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/objbase.h 327 20 SharpDX
Error 157 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 158 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 162 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx10math.h 17 18 SharpDX
Error 165 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx11.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 166 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx11.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 169 in gccxml stdlib.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3d9.h 37 20 SharpDX
Error 173 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3d9types.h 20 19 SharpDX
Error 176 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/d3dx9.h 19 20 SharpDX
Error 179 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/dsound.h 12 19 SharpDX
Error 182 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h 41 23 SharpDX
Error 183 in gccxml limits.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h 43 20 SharpDX
Error 187 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3wb.h 16 21 SharpDX
Error 191 in gccxml float.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xapofx.h 38 45 SharpDX
Error 195 in gccxml math.h: No such file or directory C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xaudio2fx.h 78 43 SharpDX
Error 205 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/guiddef.h:161: error: 'memcmp' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 214 in gccxml C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h:1184: error: expected initializer before 'EXCEPTION_ROUTINE' C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 215 in gccxml C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/winnt.h:1191: error: expected initializer before '*' token C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 222 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winbase.h:5694: error: 'va_list' has not been declared C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 223 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winbase.h:5706: error: 'va_list' has not been declared C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 230 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winuser.h:224: error: 'va_list' has not been declared C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 231 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/winuser.h:231: error: 'va_list' has not been declared C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 241 in gccxml C:/Users/Coins/Desktop/SharpDX-master/Source/../External/gccxml/share/gccxml-0.9/vc10/PlatformSDK/propidl.h:1173: error: 'memset' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 249 in gccxml C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows/v7.1/Include/stralign.h:113: error: 'wcscpy' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 255 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:764: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 257 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:770: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 259 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:953: error: 'memcmp' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 261 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:959: error: 'memcmp' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 263 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:1057: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 265 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:1562: error: 'sqrtf' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 267 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:1694: error: 'sqrtf' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 269 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:1839: error: 'sqrtf' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 271 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/D3DX10math.inl:2009: error: 'sqrtf' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 276 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3wb.h:143: error: '_byteswap_ulong' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 278 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3wb.h:164: error: '_byteswap_ushort' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 280 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3wb.h:437: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 284 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h:141: error: 'FLT_MAX' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 285 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h:142: error: 'FLT_MAX' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 286 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h:157: error: 'FLT_MAX' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 287 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xact3.h:158: error: 'FLT_MAX' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 292 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xaudio2fx.h:345: error: 'log10' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 293 in gccxml C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)//include/xaudio2fx.h:353: error: 'log10' was not declared in this scope C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 294 in gccxml Unable to generate XML file with gccxml [sharpdx-root.xml]. Check previous errors. C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 295 fatal:C++ compiler failed to parse header files C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 296 Process stopped. A fatal error occured C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpGen 1 1 SharpDX
Error 297 The command ""C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\Tools\SharpGen\RunGenerator.bat" Net40Release" exited with code -1. C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX\SharpDX.csproj 237 5 SharpDX
Error 298 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX.DXGI\CSC SharpDX.DXGI
Error 299 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX.Direct3D11\CSC SharpDX.Direct3D11
Error 300 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.DXGI.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\SharpDX.Direct3D11\CSC SharpDX.Direct3D11
Error 301 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.Direct3D11.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\Toolkit\SharpDX.Toolkit\CSC SharpDX.Toolkit
Error 302 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\Toolkit\SharpDX.Toolkit\CSC SharpDX.Toolkit
Error 303 Metadata file 'C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Bin\DirectX11-net40\SharpDX.DXGI.dll' could not be found C:\Users\Coins\Desktop\SharpDX-master\Source\Toolkit\SharpDX.Toolkit\CSC SharpDX.Toolkit

Could this be because I only installed the Windows 7 headers only? I have doubts thats the issue though.

Also what is with:

Error 2 in gccxml Unable to locate key [SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\Setup\VC] in registry

Is Visual Studio 2010 required for this?

Anyway I have a good VM setup now, I can test anything using Visual Studio 2013. Give us requests if you want since I don't know what to try. I would offer to send the VM machine however it is 40GB in size and with my uploads that would probably take a week. As told before I am able to compile on DirectX11_2Release/Debug but not Net40Release. Above is the output of trying to compile the SharpDX.Toolkit with Net40Release (however it is trying to compile just SharpDX first in that config when I attempt compiling the Toolkit)

Any idea as to why this might happen?

Includes from VS2010 VC are required when building Net40 version. Afair, they should be installed along the Windows 7.1 SDK (and the registry should contain the correct key for SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\Setup\VC) in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\include. If you don't have these includes, It won't compile

Got it working just had to reinstall Windows 7.1 SDK with default setup (not just C++ headers).

Thanks for the feedback, that explains it. Their are two kinds of C++ headers, the framework/platform headers and the VC headers (that are part of the compiler that is installed only if you select this option in the Windows SDK).

So is your initial problem solved? (so that I can close this issue)

Yes all good now, to prevent future confusion perhaps the following code:

https://github.com/sharpdx/SharpDX/blob/master_integration/Source/Tools/SharpGen/Parser/GccXml.cs#L342

Should say SDK 7.1 is required for Windows 7. Windows 8 can use SDK 8? or something along them lines?