Hi, I just installed Python 3.1.1 via link in the book Python Programming for the absolute beginner third edition. But Idle won't start. When I try to open Idle the Windows "hourglass" just flash briefly but nothing happens after that. No error messages.

My operating system is XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 3.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled several times but nothing changes. I select "Install for All Users" during the installation.

I have also tried installing instead the 3.2 version from the python.org website but the same issue arises - idle doesn't launch. 

Does anyone know what the problem is? Really want to get going with the program!

How do you try to open the IDLE? For example, I open it from the start menu, python3.2. When you try to double click on a .py file, it is normal to see what you describe.

Hi, thank you for your reply. 
 
I try to start it directly from the start menu, where it jumped to after the first open attempt, and have also tried start menu - all programs - python - idle, then one click or right click then chosing open. Nothing works.
 
The python (command line) opens, and python manuals, but not idle or module docs.

--- On Mon, 3/7/11, Victor <report@bugs.python.org> wrote:

From: Victor <report@bugs.python.org>
Subject: [issue11413] Idle doesn't start
To: ceonnbobst@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, March 7, 2011, 1:33 PM

Victor <victorywin5@yahoo.com> added the comment:

How do you try to open the IDLE? For example, I open it from the start menu, python3.2. When you try to double click on a .py file, it is normal to see what you describe.

----------
nosy: +victorywin

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue11413>
_______________________________________

Can you open a command prompt, and type:
   c:\python32\python.exe -m idlelib.idle
If there are messages, please paste them here!

Can you please guide me step by step - how and where exactly do I open a command prompt?
 

--- On Mon, 3/7/11, Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org> wrote:

From: Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org>
Subject: [issue11413] Idle doesn't start
To: ceonnbobst@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, March 7, 2011, 4:26 PM

Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <amauryfa@gmail.com> added the comment:

Can you open a command prompt, and type:
   c:\python32\python.exe -m idlelib.idle
If there are messages, please paste them here!

----------
nosy: +amaury.forgeotdarc

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue11413>
_______________________________________

- Click the "Start" button
- On this menu, click the "Run..." item (almost at the bottom)
- In the small windows that opens, type "cmd" and click OK. This opens the command prompt.
- In this window, type:
    c:\python32\python.exe -m idlelib.idle

To copy the output, you can open the menu by clicking on the icon on the top-left corner of the window; select "Edit", "Select All" and press Enter to copy all the window text into the clipboard.

Thank you, here is the message I got:
 
 
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\Ceonn>c:\python32\python.exe -m idlelib.idle
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "c:\python32\lib\runpy.py", line 160, in _run_module_as_main
    "__main__", fname, loader, pkg_name)
  File "c:\python32\lib\runpy.py", line 73, in _run_code
    exec(code, run_globals)
  File "c:\python32\lib\idlelib\idle.py", line 11, in <module>
    idlelib.PyShell.main()
  File "c:\python32\lib\idlelib\PyShell.py", line 1374, in main
    root = Tk(className="Idle")
  File "c:\python32\lib\tkinter\__init__.py", line 1674, in __init__
    self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, className, interactive, want
objects, useTk, sync, use)
_tkinter.TclError: Can't find a usable init.tcl in the following directories:
    {C:\IBMTOOLS\Python22\tcl\tcl8.4} C:/IBMTOOLS/Python22/tcl/tcl8.5 c:/python3
2/lib/tcl8.5 c:/lib/tcl8.5 c:/lib/tcl8.5 c:/library c:/library c:/tcl8.5.9/libra
ry c:/tcl8.5.9/library
C:/IBMTOOLS/Python22/tcl/tcl8.4/init.tcl: version conflict for package "Tcl": ha
ve 8.5.9, need exactly 8.4
version conflict for package "Tcl": have 8.5.9, need exactly 8.4
    while executing
"package require -exact Tcl 8.4"
    (file "C:/IBMTOOLS/Python22/tcl/tcl8.4/init.tcl" line 19)
    invoked from within
"source C:/IBMTOOLS/Python22/tcl/tcl8.4/init.tcl"
    ("uplevel" body line 1)
    invoked from within
"uplevel #0 [list source $tclfile]"

This probably means that Tcl wasn't installed properly.

--- On Tue, 3/8/11, Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org> wrote:

From: Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org>
Subject: [issue11413] Idle doesn't start
To: ceonnbobst@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 9:26 AM

Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <amauryfa@gmail.com> added the comment:

- Click the "Start" button
- On this menu, click the "Run..." item (almost at the bottom)
- In the small windows that opens, type "cmd" and click OK. This opens the command prompt.
- In this window, type:
    c:\python32\python.exe -m idlelib.idle

To copy the output, you can open the menu by clicking on the icon on the top-left corner of the window; select "Edit", "Select All" and press Enter to copy all the window text into the clipboard.

----------

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue11413>
_______________________________________

You certainly have a TCL_LIBRARY environment variable set on your system,
it should be removed.  For detailed instructions:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2010-April/1241061.html

In the Control Panel - System - Advanced - Environment Variables I find variables:
 
PYTHONCASEOK, 

--- On Tue, 3/8/11, Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org> wrote:

From: Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org>
Subject: [issue11413] Idle doesn't start
To: ceonnbobst@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 10:43 AM

Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <amauryfa@gmail.com> added the comment:

You certainly have a TCL_LIBRARY environment variable set on your system,
it should be removed.  For detailed instructions:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2010-April/1241061.html

----------

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue11413>
_______________________________________

Sent previous message before it was finished, will resend, got to go now though.

--- On Tue, 3/8/11, Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org> wrote:

From: Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <report@bugs.python.org>
Subject: [issue11413] Idle doesn't start
To: ceonnbobst@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 10:43 AM

Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <amauryfa@gmail.com> added the comment:

You certainly have a TCL_LIBRARY environment variable set on your system,
it should be removed.  For detailed instructions:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2010-April/1241061.html

----------

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue11413>
_______________________________________

Chris: I appreciate you wanting use IDLE. I love it, hope to improve it, and am sorry that people occasionally have a problem starting it.

However, this is not a bug report but a usage question that would better have been posted to our python-list email list or the comp.lang.python newsgroup or the gmane.comp.python.general newsgroup mirror at the free news.gmane.org site.

I am closing this issue because there is not any obvious action to take with respect to the Python repository. Closing does not delete anything, nor does it stop you and Amaury from continuing your discussion. If some needed change to Python does become revealed, this can be reopened, although starting fresh with a new issue might be better.

When you email to the tracker, please delete everything except your response. Your last two messages are nearly all noise except for the the one new line.

I have considered that we maybe need an IDLE Troubleshooting doc, but I am not sure where to put it so that anyone would find it and use it. If there were a 'Running IDLE' HOW TO, would you have found it?

If you are going to use 3.1, use the latest 3.1.3 release, with all of its bug fixes. But I strongly recommend that you start now with 3.2, with its additional new changes, and forget 3.1.

It also appears that you are submitting messages as HTML rather than plain text. Hence the junk 'unknown' files. Please do not do that. (Messages to a mailing list or newsgroup should also be plain text.)