IDLE Will not load on reinstall

@loewis

BPO	14838
Nosy	@loewis, @terryjreedy, @serwy
Superseder	bpo-13582: IDLE and pythonw.exe stderr problem

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = None
closed_at = <Date 2012-05-19.04:49:54.387>
created_at = <Date 2012-05-17.04:13:07.138>
labels = ['expert-IDLE', 'type-bug']
title = 'IDLE Will not load on reinstall'
updated_at = <Date 2012-05-19.06:47:54.858>
user = 'https://bugs.python.org/BugReporter'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2012-05-19.06:47:54.858>
actor = 'BugReporter'
assignee = 'none'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2012-05-19.04:49:54.387>
closer = 'loewis'
components = ['IDLE']
creation = <Date 2012-05-17.04:13:07.138>
creator = 'BugReporter'
dependencies = []
files = []
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 14838
keywords = []
message_count = 11.0
messages = ['160952', '160964', '160977', '161036', '161039', '161040', '161081', '161090', '161091', '161092', '161094']
nosy_count = 5.0
nosy_names = ['loewis', 'terry.reedy', 'roger.serwy', 'Anthony.Kong', 'BugReporter']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'normal'
resolution = 'duplicate'
stage = None
status = 'closed'
superseder = '13582'
type = 'behavior'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue14838'
versions = ['Python 3.2', 'Python 3.3']

After reinstalling Python 3.2.2, I have been unable to load IDLE - it simply refuses to respond. I have tried upgrading to 3.3 also, and still have the same problem - following multiple uninstalls, reinstalls and searching, I can't appear to find any solution to this problem which does appear to have occurred to others in the past with no solution that I can find.

Any ideas?

Which os? windows or linux or osx?

It actually sounds like a support question. You probably should take the question to the python newsgroup (https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/comp.lang.python).

Please run, from the command line, in the Python installation

python.exe Lib\idlelib\idle.py

and report any output you get.

Running Windows 7.

I get the following output when running the requested command:

File "<stdin>", line 1
python.exe Lib\idlelib\idle.py

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Can you please attach your idle.py, and/or figure out why it has a syntax error on line 1?

Ah, I think I know what happened. When I said "command line", I didn't mean "Python (command line)", but "CMD shell", as found in the start menu (i.e. cmd.exe). The line I gave you is, of course, invalid Python syntax.

If you have never used the Windows command line, please read up on it a little bit before trying this out. Read in particular about the "cd" command.

If python itself runs, you can easily try this from inside the interpreter

>> from idlelib import idle

This *should* bring up the Idle shell window. It just did for me on 64 bit Win7. If not, there *should* be an error traceback you can cut and paste here.

Terry - just ran that command as you suggested and it did bring up idle, however also reported errors in the command window:

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'stderr-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'keyword-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'string-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'break-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'error-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'cursor-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'definition-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'error-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'normal-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'keyword-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'hilite-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'comment-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'hit-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'builtin-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'stdout-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'string-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'break-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'comment-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'hilite-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'gray'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'definition-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'stderr-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'hit-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'console-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'normal-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'builtin-foreground'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: 'bpo-000000'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'stdout-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'

Warning: configHandler.py - IdleConf.GetThemeDict -
problem retrieving theme element 'console-background'
from theme 'desert'.
returning default value: '#ffffff'