You're not following the guide.
bjam --v2 toolset=msvc-7.1 ^^^^^^^^
will work.
Not for me. Here is what I get: warning: Python location is not configured warning: the Boost.Python library won't be built Building Boost.Regex with the optional Unicode/ICU support disabled. Please refer to the Boost.Regex documentation for more information (and if you don't know what ICU is then you probably don't need it). Jamfile.v2:239: in Jamfile</C:/BoostHead>.tag rule stage.add-variant-and-compiler unknown in module Jamfile</C:/BoostHead>. .. a bunch of other stuff its not clear to me how something like that could work. How does the system know on what path my compiler is installed? also http://www.boost.org/regression-logs/cs-win32_metacomm/doc/html/bbv2/advance... suggests to me that the following syntax should work bjam msvc release some_target which I take to mean that the following should work bjam --v2 msvc release some_target and which would lead me to expect that the following should work bjam --v2 msvc which doesn't work. I've studied the "getting started" as well as the boost build documentation and I can't see how one is expected to specify all the toolsets he uses. FYI in my case I want to use the following: msvc 6.5 msvc 7.1 msvc 8.0 bcc 5.51 bcc 5.64 comeau gcc 3.3 stlport 5.0 stlport 4.53 I expect to find a place - with a syntax to specify it - a set of path names for each of the above. If its in the documents it certainly doesn't jump out at me. Robert Ramey