ml64.exe is failing on Windows8 x64 machine - windows-8

Question

There is the build rule (below) which was used to compile x64 assembly with Visual Studio 2005. It works well but the issue is appearing on Windows8 machine. And compiler fires the next error:
1>Assembling x64...
1>Project : error PRJ0003 : Error spawning 'cmd.exe'.
while 32bin assembly builds successfully. Any ideas how to fix it?
The rule is located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\VCProjectDefaults" directory and ml64.exe in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\bin\amd64" and "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\bin\x86_amd64".
< ?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
< VisualStudioToolFile
Name="Microsoft Macro Assembler x64"
Version="8.00">
<Properties>
<BooleanProperty
Name="NoLogo"
DisplayName="Suppress Startup Banner"
Description="Suppress the display of the startup banner and information messages. (/nologo)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/nologo"
DefaultValue="true"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="TinyMemoryModelSupport"
DisplayName="Tiny Memory Model Support"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Enables tiny-memory-model support. Note that this is not equivalent to the .MODEL TINY directive. (/AT)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/AT"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="ObjectFileName"
DisplayName="Object File Name"
PropertyPageName="Object File"
Description="Specifies the name of the output object file. (/Fo:[file])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Fo"[value]""
DefaultValue="$(IntDir)\$(InputName).obj"
/>
<EnumProperty
Name="PreserveIdentifierCase"
DisplayName="Preserve Identifier Case"
Description="Specifies preservation of case of user identifiers. (/Cp, /Cu, /Cx)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
DefaultValue="0"
<Values>
<EnumValue
Value="0"
DisplayName="Default"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="1"
Switch="/Cp"
DisplayName="Preserves Identifier Case (/Cp)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="2"
Switch="/Cu"
DisplayName="Maps all identifiers to upper case. (/Cu)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="3"
Switch="/Cx"
DisplayName="Preserves case in public and extern symbols. (/Cx)"
/>
</Values>
</EnumProperty>
<StringProperty
Name="PreprocessorDefinitions"
DisplayName="Preprocessor Definitions"
Description="Defines a text macro with the given name. (/D[symbol])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/D"[value]""
Delimited="true"
Inheritable="true"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="GeneratePreprocessedSourceListing"
DisplayName="Generate Preprocessed Source Listing"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Generates a preprocessed source listing to the Output Window. (/EP)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/EP"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="AssembledCodeListingFile"
DisplayName="Assembled Code Listing File"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Generates an assembled code listing file. (/Fl[file])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Fl"[value]""
/>
<StringProperty
Name="SourceListingLineWidth"
DisplayName="Source Listing Line Width"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Sets the line width of source listing in characters per line. Range is 60 to 255. Same as PAGE width. (/Sl [width])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sl [value]"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="SourceListingPageLength"
DisplayName="Source Listing Page Length"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Sets the page length of source listing in lines per page. Range is 10 to 255. Same as PAGE length. (/Sp [length])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sp [value]"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="IncludePaths"
DisplayName="Include Paths"
Description="Sets path for include file. A maximum of 10 /I options is allowed. (/I [path])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/I "[value]""
Delimited="true"
Inheritable="true"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="ListAllAvailableInformation"
DisplayName="List All Available Information"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Turns on listing of all available information. (/Sa)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sa"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="UseSafeExceptionHandlers"
DisplayName="Use Safe Exception Handlers"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Marks the object as either containing no exception handlers or containing exception handlers that are all declared with .SAFESEH. (/safeseh)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/safeseh"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="AddFirstPassListing"
DisplayName="Add First Pass Listing"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Adds first-pass listing to listing file. (/Sf)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sf"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="EnableAssemblyGeneratedCodeListing"
DisplayName="Enable Assembly Generated Code Listing"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Turns on listing of assembly-generated code. (/Sg)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sg"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="DisableSymbolTable"
DisplayName="Disable Symbol Table"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Turns off symbol table when producing a listing. (/Sn)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sn"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="SourceListingSubTitle"
DisplayName="Source Listing Subtitle"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Specifies subtitle text for source listing. Same as SUBTITLE text. (/Ss [subtitle])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Ss [value]"
/>
<StringProperty
Name="SourceListingTitle"
DisplayName="Source Listing Title"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Specifies title for source listing. Same as TITLE text. (/St [title])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/St [value]"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="EnableFalseConditionalsInListing"
DisplayName="Enable False Conditionals In Listing"
PropertyPageName="Listing File"
Description="Turns on false conditionals in listing. (/Sx)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Sx"
/>
<EnumProperty
Name="WarningLevel"
DisplayName="Warning Level"
Description="Sets the warning level, where level = 0, 1, 2, or 3. (/W0, /W1, /W2, /W3)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
DefaultValue="3"
<Values>
<EnumValue
Value="0"
Switch="/W0"
DisplayName="Warning Level 0 (/W0)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="1"
Switch="/W1"
DisplayName="Warning Level 1 (/W1)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="2"
Switch="/W2"
DisplayName="Warning Level 2 (/W2)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="3"
Switch="/W3"
DisplayName="Warning Level 3 (/W3)"
/>
</Values>
</EnumProperty>
<BooleanProperty
Name="TreatWarningsAsErrors"
DisplayName="Treat Warnings As Errors"
Description="Returns an error code if warnings are generated. (/WX)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/WX"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="MakeAllSymbolsPublic"
DisplayName="Make All Symbols Public"
PropertyPageName="Object File"
Description="Makes all symbols public. (/Zf)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Zf"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="GenerateDebugInformation"
DisplayName="Generate Debug Information"
Description="Generates Debug Information. (/Zi)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Zi"
DefaultValue="true"
/>
<BooleanProperty
Name="EnableMASM51Compatibility"
DisplayName="Enable MASM 5.1 Compatibility"
Description="Enables M510 option for maximum compatibility with MASM 5.1. (/Zm)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Zm"
/>
<EnumProperty
Name="PackAlignmentBoundary"
DisplayName="Pack Alignment Boundary"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Packs structures on the specified byte boundary. The alignment can be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16. (/Zp1, /Zp2, /Zp4, /Zp8, /Zp16)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
<Values>
<EnumValue
Value="0"
DisplayName="Default"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="1"
Switch="/Zp1"
DisplayName="One Byte Boundary (/Zp1)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="2"
Switch="/Zp2"
DisplayName="Two Byte Boundary (/Zp2)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="3"
Switch="/Zp4"
DisplayName="Four Byte Boundary (/Zp4)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="4"
Switch="/Zp8"
DisplayName="Eight Byte Boundary (/Zp8)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="5"
Switch="/Zp16"
DisplayName="Sixteen Byte Boundary (/Zp16)"
/>
</Values>
</EnumProperty>
<BooleanProperty
Name="PerformSyntaxCheckOnly"
DisplayName="Perform Syntax Check Only"
Description="Performs a syntax check only. (/Zs)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/Zs"
/>
<EnumProperty
Name="CallingConvention"
DisplayName="Calling Convention"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Selects calling convention for your application. (/Gc, /Gd. /Gz)"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
<Values>
<EnumValue
Value="0"
DisplayName="Default"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="1"
Switch="/Gd"
DisplayName="Use C-style Calling Convention (/Gd)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="2"
Switch="/Gz"
DisplayName="Use stdcall Calling Convention (/Gz)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="3"
Switch="/Gc"
DisplayName="Use Pascal Calling Convention (/Gc)"
/>
</Values>
</EnumProperty>
<EnumProperty
Name="ErrorReporting"
DisplayName="Error Reporting"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Reports internal assembler errors to Microsoft. (/errorReport:[method])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
<Values>
<EnumValue
Value="0"
Switch="/errorReport:prompt"
DisplayName="Prompt to send report immediately (/errorReport:prompt)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="1"
Switch="/errorReport:queue"
DisplayName="Prompt to send report at the next logon (/errorReport:queue)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="2"
Switch="/errorReport:send"
DisplayName="Automatically send report (/errorReport:send)"
/>
<EnumValue
Value="3"
Switch="/errorReport:none"
DisplayName="Do not send report (/errorReport:none)"
/>
</Values>
</EnumProperty>
<StringProperty
Name="BrowseFile"
DisplayName="Generate Browse Information File"
PropertyPageName="Advanced"
Description="Specifies whether to generate browse information file and its optional name or location of the browse information file. (/FR[name])"
HelpURL="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmasm/html/vclrfml.asp"
Switch="/FR"[value]""
Delimited="true"
Inheritable="true"
/>
</Properties>
</CustomBuildRule>
</Rules>

Answer 1

Error spawning 'cmd.exe'.
Your machine is pretty messed up, Visual Studio cannot start the command processor. First you need to check if cmd.exe is still located in the c:\windows\system32 directory. Next you need to check if your environment variables are still correct. Which is the more typical mishap, uninstallers tend to screw this up.
Start + Control Panel, System, Advanced, Environment Variables button. Look at the System variables displayed there. The ComSpec variable needs to point to c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe. The Path environment variable needs to start with c:\windows\system32;c:\windows. I'm using the default names for these directories, small chance that they are different on your machine. Log out and log back in to make changes effective.