diff --git a/src/bitcoinrpc.cpp b/src/bitcoinrpc.cpp
index d8b9782e..868419ea 100644
--- a/src/bitcoinrpc.cpp
+++ b/src/bitcoinrpc.cpp
@@ -2371,13 +2371,13 @@ void ThreadRPCServer2(void* parg)
             strWhatAmI = strprintf(_("To use the %s option"), "\"-server\"");
         else if (mapArgs.count("-daemon"))
             strWhatAmI = strprintf(_("To use the %s option"), "\"-daemon\"");
-        ::error(
-            _("%s, you must set a rpcpassword in the configuration file:\n %s\n"
-              "It is recommended you use the following random password:\n"
-              "rpcuser=bitcoinrpc\n"
-              "rpcpassword=%s\n"
-              "(you do not need to remember this password)\n"
-              "If the file does not exist, create it with owner-readable-only file permissions.\n"),
+        std::string strMessage = _("%s, you must set a rpcpassword in the configuration file:\n %s\n"
+                                          "It is recommended you use the following random password:\n"
+                                          "rpcuser=bitcoinrpc\n"
+                                          "rpcpassword=%s\n"
+                                          "(you do not need to remember this password)\n"
+                                          "If the file does not exist, create it with owner-readable-only file permissions.\n");
+        fprintf(stderr, strMessage.c_str(),
                 strWhatAmI.c_str(),
                 GetConfigFile().c_str(),
                 EncodeBase58(&rand_pwd[0],&rand_pwd[0]+32).c_str());
diff --git a/src/headers.h b/src/headers.h
index 88f5476f..3596fd08 100644
--- a/src/headers.h
+++ b/src/headers.h
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@
 #endif
 #define _WIN32_IE 0x0400
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN 1
-
+#ifndef NOMINMAX
+#define NOMINMAX
+#endif
 // Include boost/foreach here as it defines __STDC_LIMIT_MACROS on some systems.
 #include <boost/foreach.hpp>
 
diff --git a/src/init.cpp b/src/init.cpp
index 4078b7e0..8531b207 100644
--- a/src/init.cpp
+++ b/src/init.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(qkrcodecs)
 Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(qtaccessiblewidgets)
 #endif
 
+#ifdef WIN32
+#define strncasecmp strnicmp
+#endif
+
 using namespace std;
 using namespace boost;
 
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 16159e18..6c81abad 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@
 #include "script.h"
 #include "db.h"
 
+#ifdef WIN32
+#include <io.h> /* for _commit */
+#endif
+
 #include <list>
 
 class CBlock;
@@ -161,7 +165,7 @@ public:
     std::string ToString() const
     {
         if (IsNull())
-            return strprintf("null");
+            return "null";
         else
             return strprintf("(nFile=%d, nBlockPos=%d, nTxPos=%d)", nFile, nBlockPos, nTxPos);
     }
@@ -288,7 +292,7 @@ public:
     std::string ToString() const
     {
         std::string str;
-        str += strprintf("CTxIn(");
+        str += "CTxIn(";
         str += prevout.ToString();
         if (prevout.IsNull())
             str += strprintf(", coinbase %s", HexStr(scriptSig).c_str());
diff --git a/src/netbase.h b/src/netbase.h
index 43189c37..9e79de42 100644
--- a/src/netbase.h
+++ b/src/netbase.h
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
 
 #ifdef WIN32
 #define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN 1
+#ifndef NOMINMAX
+#define NOMINMAX
+#endif
 #include <winsock2.h>
 #include <mswsock.h>
 #include <ws2tcpip.h>
@@ -29,6 +33,10 @@
 
 extern int nConnectTimeout;
 
+#ifdef WIN32
+// In MSVC, this is defined as a macro, undefine it to prevent a compile and link error
+#undef SetPort
+#endif
 
 /** IP address (IPv6, or IPv4 using mapped IPv6 range (::FFFF:0:0/96)) */
 class CNetAddr
diff --git a/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp b/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
index 68f750dd..6ee7fed5 100644
--- a/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
@@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ std::string _(const char* psz)
     return QCoreApplication::translate("bitcoin-core", psz).toStdString();
 }
 
+#ifdef WIN32
+#define strncasecmp strnicmp
+#endif
 #ifndef BITCOIN_QT_TEST
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
diff --git a/src/qt/transactiondesc.cpp b/src/qt/transactiondesc.cpp
index 089fe751..4cb2e68d 100644
--- a/src/qt/transactiondesc.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/transactiondesc.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#include <transactiondesc.h>
+#include "transactiondesc.h"
 
 #include "guiutil.h"
 #include "bitcoinunits.h"
diff --git a/src/qt/walletmodel.h b/src/qt/walletmodel.h
index 4123240e..e8948424 100644
--- a/src/qt/walletmodel.h
+++ b/src/qt/walletmodel.h
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@ class AddressTableModel;
 class TransactionTableModel;
 class CWallet;
 
-struct SendCoinsRecipient
+class SendCoinsRecipient
 {
+public:
     QString address;
     QString label;
     qint64 amount;
diff --git a/src/serialize.h b/src/serialize.h
index 25777fe3..227bfb92 100644
--- a/src/serialize.h
+++ b/src/serialize.h
@@ -24,12 +24,15 @@ typedef unsigned long long  uint64;
 
 #ifdef WIN32
 #define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN 1
+#ifndef NOMINMAX
+#define NOMINMAX
+#endif
 #include <windows.h>
 // This is used to attempt to keep keying material out of swap
 // Note that VirtualLock does not provide this as a guarantee on Windows,
 // but, in practice, memory that has been VirtualLock'd almost never gets written to
 // the pagefile except in rare circumstances where memory is extremely low.
-#include <windows.h>
 #define mlock(p, n) VirtualLock((p), (n));
 #define munlock(p, n) VirtualUnlock((p), (n));
 #else
diff --git a/src/util.cpp b/src/util.cpp
index 08752e69..cf73ecf5 100644
--- a/src/util.cpp
+++ b/src/util.cpp
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ int my_snprintf(char* buffer, size_t limit, const char* format, ...)
     return ret;
 }
 
-string strprintf(const std::string &format, ...)
+string real_strprintf(const std::string &format, int dummy, ...)
 {
     char buffer[50000];
     char* p = buffer;
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ string strprintf(const std::string &format, ...)
     loop
     {
         va_list arg_ptr;
-        va_start(arg_ptr, format);
+        va_start(arg_ptr, dummy);
         ret = _vsnprintf(p, limit, format.c_str(), arg_ptr);
         va_end(arg_ptr);
         if (ret >= 0 && ret < limit)
@@ -292,13 +292,13 @@ string strprintf(const std::string &format, ...)
     return str;
 }
 
-bool error(const std::string &format, ...)
+bool error(const char *format, ...)
 {
     char buffer[50000];
     int limit = sizeof(buffer);
     va_list arg_ptr;
     va_start(arg_ptr, format);
-    int ret = _vsnprintf(buffer, limit, format.c_str(), arg_ptr);
+    int ret = _vsnprintf(buffer, limit, format, arg_ptr);
     va_end(arg_ptr);
     if (ret < 0 || ret >= limit)
     {
diff --git a/src/util.h b/src/util.h
index 4fa5a089..0af5b0a2 100644
--- a/src/util.h
+++ b/src/util.h
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <sys/time.h>
 #include <sys/resource.h>
+#else
+typedef int pid_t; /* define for windows compatiblity */
 #endif
 #include <map>
 #include <vector>
@@ -128,8 +130,15 @@ void RandAddSeed();
 void RandAddSeedPerfmon();
 int OutputDebugStringF(const char* pszFormat, ...);
 int my_snprintf(char* buffer, size_t limit, const char* format, ...);
-std::string strprintf(const std::string &format, ...);
-bool error(const std::string &format, ...);
+
+/* It is not allowed to use va_start with a pass-by-reference argument.
+   (C++ standard, 18.7, paragraph 3). Use a dummy argument to work around this, and use a
+   macro to keep similar semantics.
+*/
+std::string real_strprintf(const std::string &format, int dummy, ...);
+#define strprintf(format, ...) real_strprintf(format, 0, __VA_ARGS__)
+
+bool error(const char *format, ...);
 void LogException(std::exception* pex, const char* pszThread);
 void PrintException(std::exception* pex, const char* pszThread);
 void PrintExceptionContinue(std::exception* pex, const char* pszThread);