Workaround: Running mt.exe on Windows 7 Beta

This
issue applies to the version of mt.exe that ships in the newly released Microsoft
Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: BETA.  

Issue:

The use
of mt.exe to add a manifest resource to a PE image file (.EXE, .DLL, etc.) that
does not already contain a resource (.rsrc) section in it may fail on Windows 7
Beta. The problem does not occur on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and
Windows Server 2008, nor does it occur on Windows 7 Beta when manipulating PE
image files that already contain a resource section. 

Workarounds:

1.    Use
mt.exe on Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 instead of Windows 7
Beta, or

2.    If using
Windows 7 Beta, use an external manifest file or ensure the PE image has a
non-zero length resource section. 

a.    External
Manifest File:

For .EXE files, the manifest need not be embedded as a resource. Rather,
it may simply be placed next to the .EXE. I.e., for ‘hello.exe’, the
manifest ‘hello.exe.manifest’, when placed next to it, has the same effect as
if the manifest were embedded as a resource. This is true only for .EXE
files.

b.    Create a
Non-Zero-Length Empty Resource Section:

If it is imperative that mt.exe later be used to embed a manifest, and
the PE image file in question cannot otherwise be guaranteed to have a resource
section, then an empty resource script may be used. Despite that the script
is empty, the resultant resource section will not be zero-length, and mt.exe
can then be used. For example:

                                         
i.    cl.exe /c
hello.c

                                        
ii.    echo.
> hello.rc

                                       
iii.    rc.exe /r
hello.rc

                                      
iv.    link.exe
/out:hello.exe hello.obj hello.res

                                       
v.    mt.exe
-outputresource:hello.exe;1 -manifest: hello.exe.manifest

                                      
vi.    (the file
hello.exe now exists with hello.exe.manifest embedded)