http://tinyurl.com/moxw8 (http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.vc.language/ browse_frm/thread/811cc53a3d36d276/44768de68d91a640) describes a long list of vc6 bugs along with workarounds, but the workaround for this message's title bug is not transparent: the static member of the function will not necessarily be constructed during the program's dynamic initialization. This problem has reared it's ugly head many times for the serialization library, but I've just found a fix: http://tinyurl.com/ljdp8 (http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.vc.language/ browse_frm/thread/90354d2e722c7d99/d42bff533ccdf364) Just to make sure this information doesn't get lost, I'm also posting a copy of the workaround as applied to the OP's example here. Enjoy, (if you run into this problem). -- Dave Abrahams Boost Consulting www.boost-consulting.com