You can always disable the use of pre-compiled headers in the project settings.
Instructions for VS 2010 (should be similar for other versions of VS):
Select your project, use the “Project -> Properties” menu and go to the “Configuration Properties -> C/C++ -> Precompiled Headers” section, then change the “Precompiled Header” setting to “Not Using Precompiled Headers” option.
If you are only trying to setup a minimal Visual Studio project for simple C++ command-line programs (such as those developed in introductory C++ programming classes), you can create an empty C++ project.