diff --git a/include/dmlc/base.h b/include/dmlc/base.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 89218b4a9..000000000
--- a/include/dmlc/base.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-/*!
- *  Copyright (c) 2015 by Contributors
- * \file base.h
- * \brief defines configuration macros
- */
-#ifndef DMLC_BASE_H_
-#define DMLC_BASE_H_
-
-/*! \brief whether use glog for logging*/
-#ifndef DMLC_USE_GLOG
-#define DMLC_USE_GLOG 0
-#endif
-
-/*! \brief whether compile with hdfs support */
-#ifndef DMLC_USE_HDFS
-#define DMLC_USE_HDFS 0
-#endif
-
-/*! \brief whether compile with s3 support */
-#ifndef DMLC_USE_S3
-#define DMLC_USE_S3 0
-#endif
-
-/*! \brief whether or not use parameter server */
-#ifndef DMLC_USE_PS
-#define DMLC_USE_PS 0
-#endif
-
-/*! \brief whether or not use c++11 support */
-#ifndef DMLC_USE_CXX11
-#define DMLC_USE_CXX11 defined(__GXX_EXPERIMENTAL_CXX0X) || __cplusplus >= 201103L || defined(_MSC_VER)
-#endif
-
-///
-/// code block to handle optionally loading
-///
-#if !defined(__GNUC__)
-#define fopen64 std::fopen
-#endif
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
-// NOTE: sprintf_s is not equivalent to snprintf,
-// they are equivalent when success, which is sufficient for our case
-#define snprintf sprintf_s
-#define vsnprintf vsprintf_s
-#else
-#ifdef _FILE_OFFSET_BITS
-#if _FILE_OFFSET_BITS == 32
-#pragma message ("Warning: FILE OFFSET BITS defined to be 32 bit")
-#endif
-#endif
-
-#ifdef __APPLE__
-#define off64_t off_t
-#define fopen64 std::fopen
-#endif
-
-extern "C" {
-#include <sys/types.h>
-}
-#endif
-
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
-typedef unsigned __int16 uint16_t;
-typedef unsigned __int32 uint32_t;
-typedef unsigned __int64 uint64_t;
-typedef __int64 int64_t;
-#else
-#include <inttypes.h>
-#endif
-#include <vector>
-#include <string>
-
-/*! \brief namespace for dmlc */
-namespace dmlc {
-/*!
- * \brief safely get the beginning address of a vector
- * \param vec input vector
- * \return beginning address of a vector
- */
-template<typename T>
-inline T *BeginPtr(std::vector<T> &vec) {
-  if (vec.size() == 0) {
-    return NULL;
-  } else {
-    return &vec[0];
-  }
-}
-/*! \brief get the beginning address of a vector */
-template<typename T>
-inline const T *BeginPtr(const std::vector<T> &vec) {
-  if (vec.size() == 0) {
-    return NULL;
-  } else {
-    return &vec[0];
-  }
-}
-inline char* BeginPtr(std::string &str) {
-  if (str.length() == 0) return NULL;
-  return &str[0];
-}
-inline const char* BeginPtr(const std::string &str) {
-  if (str.length() == 0) return NULL;
-  return &str[0];
-}
-}  // namespace dmlc
-#endif  // DMLC_BASE_H_
diff --git a/include/dmlc/io.h b/include/dmlc/io.h
index 041d6dd36..5e6052134 100644
--- a/include/dmlc/io.h
+++ b/include/dmlc/io.h
@@ -11,7 +11,13 @@
 #include <istream>
 #include <ostream>
 #include <streambuf>
-#include "./base.h"
+
+// include uint64_t only to make io standalone
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+typedef unsigned __int64 uint64_t;
+#else
+#include <cinttypes>
+#endif
 
 /*! \brief namespace for dmlc */
 namespace dmlc {