# Error while installing Rails using gem install rails

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [August 18, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919 "2009-08-18T09:34:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/1 "2009-08-18T09:34:13Z")

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I’ve got this error, while trying to do

gem install rails

Bulk updating Gem source index for: [http://gems.rubyforge.org](http://gems.rubyforge.org)  
Building native extensions. This could take a while…  
ERROR: While executing gem … (Gem::Installer::ExtensionBuildError)  
ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.

ruby extconf.rb install rails -y  
checking for fcgiapp.h… no  
checking for fastcgi/fcgiapp.h… no  
\*\*\* extconf.rb failed \*\*\*  
Could not create Makefile due to some reason, probably lack of  
necessary libraries and/or headers. Check the mkmf.log file for more  
details. You may need configuration options.

Provided configuration options:  
–with-opt-dir  
–without-opt-dir  
–with-opt-include  
–without-opt-include=${opt-dir}/include  
–with-opt-lib  
–without-opt-lib=${opt-dir}/lib  
–with-make-prog  
–srcdir=.  
–curdir  
–ruby=C:/Program Files/ruby/bin/ruby  
–with-fcgi-dir  
–without-fcgi-dir  
–with-fcgi-include  
–without-fcgi-include=${fcgi-dir}/include  
–with-fcgi-lib  
–without-fcgi-lib=${fcgi-dir}/lib

Gem files will remain installed in C:/Program Files/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/  
1.8/gems/  
fcgi-0.8.7 for inspection.  
Results logged to C:/Program Files/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/  
fcgi-0.8.7/ext/fc  
gi/gem\_make.out

I’ve tried with Ruby1.8.6.25 and Ruby1.8.6.26, with the same  
error…??

Can someone help me…??

Thanks in advance!!

Christian  
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/2 "2009-08-18T09:44:59Z")

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Try to Install Ruby1.8-dev

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**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 10:27am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/3 "2009-08-19T10:27:01Z")

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On Aug 18, 11:40 pm, chrisnzi [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> What’s that?? Where can I find it…??? How Can I install it???

A red herring. On many linux distros ruby is split into several  
packages, this of course doesn’t apply if you are on windows. The  
error you are getting is gem failing to install the fcgi gem (probably  
because you don’t have an appropriate compiler) but I’m not sure why  
it’s trying in the first place - fcgi is pretty much dead as a method  
of deploying rails these days and I don’t think it was ever a  
dependency of rails.

Fred

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/4 "2009-08-18T17:20:13Z")

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[http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/getting-started/installation/windows](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/getting-started/installation/windows)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/5 "2009-08-19T01:24:24Z")

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What’s that?? Where can I find it…??? How Can I install it???

On Aug 18, 1:44 am, Jason L. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

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**Author:** ![chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@chrisnzi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chrisnzi)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-while-installing-rails-using-gem-install-rails/173919/6 "2010-05-30T13:46:45Z")

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I was getting the same error. Install the fcgi header files with this  
package:  
sudo apt-get install libfcgi-dev