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BUILD_WINDOWS.md

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🪟 Building on Windows

Complete guide for building Paddle Decoder on Windows.

📦 Prerequisites

1. Install Rust

Download and run the installer from: https://rustup.rs

Or use PowerShell:

# Download rustup-init.exe and run it
# Follow the on-screen instructions

After installation, open a new PowerShell/Command Prompt and verify:

rustc --version
cargo --version

2. Install Visual Studio Build Tools

Rust on Windows requires the Microsoft C++ build tools.

Option A: Visual Studio 2022 (Recommended)

Option B: Build Tools Only (Minimal)

  • Download "Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022"
  • Install "C++ build tools" workload
  • Smaller download, command-line only

3. No additional dependencies needed!

Windows includes everything else needed:

  • ✅ Audio support (Windows Audio Session API)
  • ✅ GUI support (built into Windows)
  • ✅ MIDI support (Windows MIDI API)

🔨 Building

1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt

Navigate to project directory:

cd C:\path\to\paddle_decoder_cross_platform

2. Build the application

cargo build --release

First build takes 3-5 minutes. Subsequent builds are instant.

3. The executable will be at:

target\release\paddle_decoder.exe

🚀 Running

Method 1: Using cargo

cargo run --release

Method 2: Run the .exe directly

.\target\release\paddle_decoder.exe

Method 3: Double-click

  • Navigate to target\release\ in File Explorer
  • Double-click paddle_decoder.exe

🔧 Platform-Specific Issues

Issue: "No MIDI device found"

Check Device Manager:

  1. Open Device Manager (Win+X → Device Manager)
  2. Look under "Sound, video and game controllers"
  3. Should see "USB Audio Device" or similar when Digispark is plugged in

Install Digispark Drivers (Windows 10/11):

Modern Windows usually auto-installs, but if needed:

  1. Download Digispark driver installer
  2. Run as Administrator
  3. Plug in Digispark
  4. Wait for driver installation

Check MIDI device:

# In PowerShell:
Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like "*MIDI*"}

Issue: "VCRUNTIME140.dll not found"

Cause: Missing Visual C++ Redistributable

Solution: Download and install:

Issue: No sound

Check Windows Sound Settings:

  1. Right-click speaker icon in taskbar
  2. Open Sound Settings
  3. Verify output device is selected
  4. Test with other applications

Check Volume Mixer:

  1. Right-click speaker icon
  2. Open Volume Mixer
  3. Verify application isn't muted

Issue: Windows Defender blocks the application

If SmartScreen blocks:

  1. Click "More info"
  2. Click "Run anyway"

If Defender quarantines:

  1. Open Windows Security
  2. Virus & threat protection
  3. Protection history
  4. Restore the file
  5. Add to exclusions if needed

🎯 Windows-Specific Features

High DPI Support

Application automatically scales on high-DPI displays.

Dark Mode

Follows Windows dark/light theme automatically.

Multiple Audio Devices

Automatically uses Windows default audio output device.

📋 Quick Test Script

Create test_windows.ps1:

# Windows System Test
Write-Host "=== Windows System Test ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""

# 1. Check Rust
Write-Host "1. Checking Rust..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
if (Get-Command rustc -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    $version = rustc --version
    Write-Host "   ✓ Rust installed: $version" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
    Write-Host "   ✗ Rust not found" -ForegroundColor Red
    Write-Host "   Install from: https://rustup.rs" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    exit 1
}

# 2. Check Build Tools
Write-Host "2. Checking Visual C++ Build Tools..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
if (Test-Path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\") {
    Write-Host "   ✓ Visual Studio found" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
    Write-Host "   ⚠ Visual Studio not detected" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "   May need C++ build tools" -ForegroundColor Yellow
}

# 3. Check Digispark
Write-Host "3. Checking USB devices..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
$devices = Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.InstanceId -like "*VID_16C0*"}
if ($devices) {
    Write-Host "   ✓ Digispark device found" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
    Write-Host "   ⚠ Digispark not found - plug it in" -ForegroundColor Yellow
}

# 4. Check Audio
Write-Host "4. Checking audio devices..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
$audio = Get-CimInstance Win32_SoundDevice
if ($audio) {
    Write-Host "   ✓ Audio devices found" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
    Write-Host "   ✗ No audio devices" -ForegroundColor Red
}

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "=== Test complete ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan

Run in PowerShell:

.\test_windows.ps1

🎮 Creating a Desktop Shortcut

Method 1: Manual

  1. Navigate to target\release\
  2. Right-click paddle_decoder.exe
  3. Send to → Desktop (create shortcut)

Method 2: PowerShell Script

Create create_shortcut.ps1:

$WshShell = New-Object -comObject WScript.Shell
$Shortcut = $WshShell.CreateShortcut("$Home\Desktop\Paddle Decoder.lnk")
$Shortcut.TargetPath = "$PWD\target\release\paddle_decoder.exe"
$Shortcut.WorkingDirectory = "$PWD\target\release"
$Shortcut.Save()
Write-Host "Shortcut created on Desktop!"

Run:

.\create_shortcut.ps1

📦 Creating a Portable Package

Build a portable version:

# Build release
cargo build --release

# Create package folder
mkdir paddle_decoder_portable
cd paddle_decoder_portable

# Copy executable
copy ..\target\release\paddle_decoder.exe .

# Create README
echo "Paddle Decoder - Portable Windows Version" > README.txt
echo "Double-click paddle_decoder.exe to run" >> README.txt
echo "Make sure Digispark is plugged in!" >> README.txt

# Zip it
Compress-Archive -Path * -DestinationPath ..\paddle_decoder_windows.zip

Now you have paddle_decoder_windows.zip ready to share!

🚀 Ready to Go!

cd C:\path\to\paddle_decoder_cross_platform
cargo run --release

Or just double-click paddle_decoder.exe in target\release\!

73! 📻