TeX Live and MacTeX ⇒ Installation testing

[Keith Pickering]

I've used LaTeX on Linux, but this is my first time for Windows. Downloaded TexLive, ran the install (5+ hours) and ran the basic tests as described in the TexLive Guide section 3.5.

All tests appeared to run OK (didn't get any notfounds) but the output either was not created, or was stashed somewhere bizarre. Where does TEX put output on a Windows system? Because Windows search can't find it, and running kpsewhich tells me that the output is in the incredibly unhelpful
./sample2e.pdf
and I have no clue as to what that really means. Or did the test of pdftex just fail?

Second issue: the first time I opened the TexLive command-line (from the Windows start menu) it dropped me into a standard cmd.exe box at directory c:/Windows/System32
... which worked fine. The second (and every subsequent) time I ran TexLive command-line from the start menu, it dropped me into directory
c:/Windows
... which doesn't do a darned thing, until you manually cd to the System32 directory. Is there any way to fix this?

[Johannes_B]

LaTeX should put the output in your current working directory (i.e. the folder you are in; ./). But there is no reason to use the cmd-line for your real documents if you are feel uncomfortable there.

With your TL install the editor TeXworks has be installed. This is a pretty easy to use and straigh-forward editor. You should try it out.

[Keith Pickering]

Well then this is very odd, because a straight "dir" command shows no sample2e.pdf in the working directory, and Windows Explorer says the same thing. Yet kpsewhich still claims it's there?

Also inexplicable: I run:
dviout sample2e
... and after a moment to find fonts, the dviout window pops up with the document, and claims that the document being displayed is
c:\Windows\system32\sample2e.dvi

Yet at exactly the same time, the "dir *.dvi" command in the command box, while in the c:\Windows\system32 directory, gives file not found. Here's a screenshot:


Huh??

[Keith Pickering]

OK, after further experimentation:

Everything works fine when I run the tests in my home directory. All output found.

This must be an issue with the /Windows/system32 directory, which must be locked down for some reason in some odd way. So I'm going to shoot an email back to TUG and suggest that they NOT put the command box into this directory at startup.

[Johannes_B]

With your next mail, can you link here to the mailing list and vice versa? It is better to link/bind the two threads, as they concern the same problem.