Bugger. We're getting out of my depth on the LaTeX front.
The initex run was looking for the wrong file: should be 'initex
latex.ltx' (not .lts). The latex.ltx file should be in the
C:\MiKTeX\tex\latex\base directory (give or take adjusting the root path
of the MiKTeX install). Might be worth a try running that.
I'm bothered by the fact that the output from your format refresh seems
to be running pdfetex rather than etex, but I don't know if I should be.
When you ran latex against chklatex.ltx, it was (properly) etex that
ran, albeit unsuccessfully. One thing you could do just for the sake of
my curiosity is to take a look at the formats.ini file in the MiKTeX
config directory (sibling to the MiKTeX bin directory). In the section
labeled '[latex]', the compile should be 'etex' and the input should be
'latex.ltx'. It's a long-shot, but someone in the list encountered a
problem because 'latex.exe' was linked to pdflatex on his system.
You might want to take this to comp.text.tex on USENET, or to the help
forum for MiKTeX (http://www.miktex.org/fora.html).
Or you could try reposting here with a subject line like "MiKTeX
installation help" that might draw a guru. It's pretty clear that your
MiKTeX installation is broken, but I don't know why.
I'll be largely out of the loop until around 26 November, by the way.
Paul (who's brain is cramping)
John Kane wrote:
"Paul A. Rubin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
John,
Did you try updating your format files using the MiKTeX Options program
(General tab, Format files section, Update Now button) and, if so, did
anything on your computer melt?
Paul
Arghh! I was afraid I'd forgotten something! Thanks. I just did it.
Results
Creating "latex.efmt"...
"pdfetex.exe" --ini --interaction=nonstopmode --halt-on-error --alias
pdflatex *\pdfcompresslevel=9 \pdfdecimaldigits=3 \pdfhorigin=1 true in \pdfoutput=1
\pdfpageheight=297 true mm \pdfpagewidth=210 true mm \pdfoptionpdfminorversion=4
\pdfpkresolution=600 \pdfvorigin=1 true in \input latex.ltx \dump
This is pdfeTeX, Version 3.141592-1.21a-2.2 (MiKTeX 2.4) (INITEX)
entering extended mode
(C:\texmf\tex\latex\base\latex.ltx (C:\texmf\tex\latex\00miktex\texsys.cfg)
!! No syntax for the current directory could be found
[EMAIL PROTECTED] set to: .
Assuming \openin and \input
have the same search path.
----------And much more dreck-----------------------------
John Kane wrote:
Updates on the continuing (non) installation saga
This replies to a number of postings by Steven and Paul over the Sunday 14 &
Nov 14, 2005. Hopefully I have not missed any important suggestions. I decided to
use Yahoo mail for the list since I don't use it much otherwise and thought it
would keep things separate. Unfortunately I had not realised the rather serious
limitations of it for handling a mail list.
Anyway
I did have an earlier installation of LyX Small a few weeks ago when I was
trying to install LyX 1.3.5. As far as I have been able to tell, there are no
files/folders left from that attempt. I spend a good while late yesterday and
this morning checking. Also checked for *.tex files and found nothing
suspicious.
Since then I have tried both the large and whole installations both from
the hard drive.
The last installation I also disabled my virus protection.
I have checked and could not find any rogue Latex.exe files and I have hunted
down and exterminated the localtexmf and texmf and the only texmf which was in
my R folder. I simply removed R for the moment. :)
I copied ltxcheck.tex to C:\texmf ran C:\texmf>latex ltxcheck.tex with the
same results as when I ran the 'latex chklatex.ltx' . That is, files not found
etc.
I then tried the c:\fmtutil –all with this result
C:\>fmtutil --all
'fmtutil' is not recognized as an internal or external
command,
operable program or batch file.
I tried “initex latex.lts Latex.lts does not seem to exist. A search of C drive did not find it.
C:\texmf>initex latex.lts
This is TeX, Version 3.141592 (MiKTeX 2.4) (INITEX)
! I can't find file `latex.lts'.
<*> latex.lts
