I just succesfully installed c++ on eclipse using the CDT C++ plugin and MinGW compiler for windows Vista. There are a lot of plugins to get working. There were a few things that I had to set up, no doubt, so here are some notes for those of you trying to do the same thing:
0. Obviously you need to have downloaded eclipse first http://www.eclipse.org
1. Download the Eclipse CDT Plugin http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/
2. Now because I am on windows I need to install a c++ compiler (the CDT plugin doesn’t come with one!), so the recommended one is MinGW. Here is a link that says exactly how to install it, and exactly what you will need to install. http://www.mingw.org/wiki/Getting_Started. Note that there is an automatic installer.
At this point, DO NOT FORGET TO SET YOUR PATH VARIABLE! This is very easy on windows; http://www.java.com/en/download/help/path.xml this says how to do it.
If you happen to get the error:”Your connection appears to have dropped out. Reconnect your dial up or check your IE proxy settings.” then this means that sourceforge is having trouble downloading the file. What you should do is first make sure the installer is not on your desktop, retry it a few times, and then set your source forge default mirror settings - this can be done by signing up for a sourceforge account and then going to your account https://sourceforge.net/account/ and clicking the Default Download Mirror under the main preferences page.
3. Now follow this guide to setting up the code environment - it is a little outdated but you should be able to follow it pretty easily:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/tips/CPP_Dev_eclipse_CDT.aspx
4. Finally, you will need to set the path of the ‘includes’ library, so to do this, go to Project -> properties -> C/C++ general -> Paths and Symbols, then click on the ‘Includes Tab (first one), and under languages go to GNU C++, then click on the ‘Add…’ button the right, and then select the folder C:\MinGW\include, and press enter.
Done!