Hi Jeff, Thanks for your prompt answer. What I meant was to surround "" with something like: string_type ("") where string_type is a template-based type defined in the surrounding time_facet class. Nevertheless, I tested a little bit more the code and it turned out that the crash is due to ss.str() in the same line (time_facet.hpp:308). Changing the code to : boost::algorithm::replace_all(format, string_type (ss.str()), // <<<<<<<< use explicitly the standard string ""); seems to do the job. What worries me is that the original/official version of the code looks correct. I checked with some folks using the same deployment(e.g., boost 1.33.1 & Visual Studio 2005) and they have the same problem with the sample I posted. I am wondering whether we made a mistake while installing this particular version of boost or whether there is indeed something unusual with the way the compiler interprets the code in time_facet.hpp. Would it be possible for you to see whether the program I posted works in your Visual Studio 2005 setup? Thanks, Bogdan _______________________________________________________ Jeff Garland wrote: I'm not aware of anyone else having this problem -- which doesn't mean they aren't. Anyway, the "" can't be std::string b/c it might be std::wstring. I've added string algorithms in the header since replace_all comes from there. Jeff