I have a Dell Studio XPS running Windows 8 Pro. I upgraded it from Windows 7 shortly after Windows 8 was released. I also installed Visual Studio 2012 Professional shortly after it was released and have installed Update 3.
Ever since I got Windows 8 I have tried to open some of the C++ DirectX samples and have never been able to. The solution would open with (0 projects), the project would still be listed under the solution but it would be marked with (incompatible). When I click the project it drops down and says
This project is incompatible with the current edition of Visual Studio
This is even when I download the StarterKit samples from directly within the New Solution dialog. I figured I might be missing the DirectX SDK, but as far as I understand it is not packaged with the Windows SDK, which I have tried reinstalling multiple times. It has been the exact same for every DirectX sample I have tried to load in Visual Studio.
I recently just tried installing the 2013 preview to see if it would be any different. Got the same results with a slight change in message:
This project requires a higher version of Windows to load.
Strange, because as far as I know I am running the latest version of Windows 8. Does anyone with experience using DirectX to develop Windows Store Apps in Visual Studio know why I can't seem to get a sample working?
Update: I have tried many samples, but here is a link to the basic starter kit example. It is supposed to work on Windows 8, VS 2012. I just get "(incompatible)"
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Visual-Studio-3D-Starter-455a15f1