compiling Programs for OpenGL

Hi all i am very new to opengl which i am trying to learn in my spare time. I am having some strange problems and have heard various pieces of advice but with all this variety confusion has set in.

I have installed visual C++ and I have copied and pasted all the lib and dll files in the right places (windows/system/ etc etc.) My code was working then after returning back to my work . When i Build a project for ages. the link.exe appears at hte bottom and nothing happens the applications doesn’t freeze as i can still used the system and select other options in the Vc++ gui but i get the message saying it is building and i have to stop the build apart from cancel or ctrl+break the build does not stop and i have to break out ofh the program etc.

I have no went to using borland c++ version 6 put the files in the right place but can anyone tell me step by step. how to compile a project and get it working as i can compile in vC++ but the same code won’t compile in borland?
A great many questions and I thank anyone who has had hte patience to read it . Thank you very much for any answers that anyone may have and thank you for your time.