Installation problem on Windows 98

[Kent Tong]

Hi all,

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer
downloaded from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The
installation process went well without any problem.
However, double-clicking the "IDLE (Python GUI)" does
nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for about
1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command
line)" works.

Any help? Thanks!

[R. Hughes]

No problems here on two W98 platforms using Python
versions 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 from www.python.org.
Suggest you try to reinstall then if you still have problems
try downloading the W98 installer for 2.3.3 again

Good Luck.

"Kent Tong" <ke**@cpttm.org.mo> wrote in message
news:c9**************************@posting.google.c om...

Hi all,

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer
downloaded from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The
installation process went well without any problem.
However, double-clicking the "IDLE (Python GUI)" does
nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for about
1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command
line)" works.

Any help? Thanks!

[Thomas Heller]

ke**@cpttm.org.mo (Kent Tong) writes:

Hi all,

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer
downloaded from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The
installation process went well without any problem.
However, double-clicking the "IDLE (Python GUI)" does
nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for about
1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command
line)" works.

Any help? Thanks!

Can you try to disable your firewall software, if you have one.

Thomas

[Dave K]

On 16 Feb 2004 02:26:44 -0800 in comp.lang.python, ke**@cpttm.org.mo
(Kent Tong) wrote:

Hi all,

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer
downloaded from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The
installation process went well without any problem.
However, double-clicking the "IDLE (Python GUI)" does
nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for about
1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command
line)" works.

Any help? Thanks!

The standard installation should have done this, but it might be worth
checking - the path in my shortcut is:

D:\Python23\pythonw.exe "D:\PYTHON23\Lib\idlelib\idle.pyw"

Changing the argument to a non-existent file gives me the behaviour
you mention (a very brief hourglass, followed by nothing). Also, if
you're running a personal firewall, you could check that pythonw.exe
isn't blocked (that shouldn't really prevent it starting up AFAIK, but
worth checking).

That's about the limit of my technical expertise, I'm afraid, maybe
another process you're running is interfering, but I wouldn't have a
clue what it might be.

Dave

[Kurt B. Kaiser]

ke**@cpttm.org.mo (Kent Tong) writes:

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer downloaded
from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The installation process went
well without any problem. However, double-clicking the "IDLE
(Python GUI)" does nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for
about 1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command line)"
works.

The current Python CVS has improvements which make it easier to track
down problems when IDLE is having trouble setting itself up. One
improvement is to have Tk post a dialog describing the error, another
is better error messages. (These changes were also added to the
IDLEfork CVS.)

That isn't much help to you, I'm afraid. To see the error in 2.3.3,
you will need to start IDLE using a command window.

Open a command window, then:

\python23\python.exe -i \python23\lib\idlelib\idle.py

and let us know what you see.

Note that I didn't use pythonw.exe or idle.pyw!

It is likely a firewall or network setup problem. To run IDLE
without the subprocess:

\python23\python.exe \python23\lib\idlelib\idle.py -n

but it's much nicer with the subprocess execution server.

--
KBK

[Thomas Heller]

kb*@shore.net (Kurt B. Kaiser) writes:

ke**@cpttm.org.mo (Kent Tong) writes:

I've installed Python 2.3 using the Windows installer downloaded
from www.python.org. I'm using Win98. The installation process went
well without any problem. However, double-clicking the "IDLE
(Python GUI)" does nothing. The cursor changes to a hour-glass for
about 1 second and then nothing happens. The "Python (command line)"
works.

The current Python CVS has improvements which make it easier to track
down problems when IDLE is having trouble setting itself up. One
improvement is to have Tk post a dialog describing the error, another
is better error messages. (These changes were also added to the
IDLEfork CVS.)

It is getting off-topic, but I still believe that pythonw.exe should be
improved to show errors in a console window which opens as soon as the
first output is written to sys.stderr (and sys.stdout also, maybe).

There is no chance otherwise to complain that tcl/tk can not be found,
for example.

And that reminds me: we had the case that a Ruby installation, which
sets some tcl/tk enviroment variables. Removing the Ruby installation
did help in that case.

Thomas

[Neil Hodgson]

Thomas Heller:

It is getting off-topic, but I still believe that pythonw.exe should be
improved to show errors in a console window which opens as soon as the
first output is written to sys.stderr (and sys.stdout also, maybe).

So if it is being redirected or captured by another application, such as,
say, SciTE, then an extra console window will open up?

Neil

[Thomas Heller]

"Neil Hodgson" <nh******@bigpond.net.au> writes:

Thomas Heller:

It is getting off-topic, but I still believe that pythonw.exe should be
improved to show errors in a console window which opens as soon as the
first output is written to sys.stderr (and sys.stdout also, maybe).

So if it is being redirected or captured by another application, such as,
say, SciTE, then an extra console window will open up?

No, that is not the intent. Can this case be detected somehow?

Thomas

[Neil Hodgson]

Thomas Heller:

After thinking it over: why is pythonW.exe used, and not python.exe?
Doesn't xemacs, for example, also use python.exe?

I expect the main reason is to avoid extra console windows.

Neil