Added elaborate trouble shooting guide.

Added more specific directions for editing the environment on Windows '95.
Made the section headers more visible.

1 files changed, 119 insertions, 8 deletions

diff --git a/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt b/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
index eeca4ca..783fc1e 100644
--- a/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
+++ b/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ support.  The installation has not been tested on Windows 3.1 with
 Win32s.  For general information on Python, see
 http://www.python.org/.
 
-To install:
+
+To install
+----------
 
 Unzip the archive in the root of a file system with enough space.  It
 will create a directory \Python1.4b3 containing subdirectories Bin and
@@ -19,27 +21,47 @@ filenames, get the file winzip95.exe and install it -- this is WinZip
 Run the SETUP.BAT file found in directory just created.  When it is
 done, press Enter.
 
-To use:
+Tcl/Tk support requires additional installation steps, see below.
+
+
+To use
+------
 
 Python runs in a console (DOS) window.  From the File Manager, run the
 file python.exe found in the Bin subdirectory.  You can also drag it
 to a program group of your choice for easier access.  Opening any file
 ending in .py from the file manager should run it.
 
-To use with Tkinter:
 
-Get the file win41p1.exe from here or from ftp site ftp.sunlabs.com,
-directory /pub/tcl/.  This is a self-extracting archive containing the
-Tcl/Tk distribution for Windows NT.  Don't use an older version.
+To use with Tkinter
+-------------------
+
+Get the file win41p1.exe from /pub/python/nt/ on ftp.python.org or
+from ftp site ftp.sunlabs.com, directory /pub/tcl/.  This is a
+self-extracting archive containing the Tcl/Tk distribution for Windows
+NT.  Don't use an older version.
 
 Using the control panel, set the TCL_LIBRARY and TK_LIBRARY
 environment variables.  E.g. if you installed Tcl/Tk in C:\TCL (the
 default suggested by the installer), set TCL_LIBRARY to
 "C:\TCL\lib\tcl7.5" and set TK_LIBRARY to "C:\TCL\lib\tk4.1".
 
+On Windows '95, you need to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT for this, e.g. by adding
+the lines
+
+	SET TCL_LIBRARY=C:\Program Files\TCL\lib\tcl7.5
+	SET TK_LIBRARY=C:\Program Files\TCL\lib\tk4.1
+
+(substituting the actual location of the TCL installation directory).
+
 On Windows '95, you also need to add the directory "C:\TCL\bin" (or
 whereever the Tcl bin directory ended up) to the PATH environment
-variable.  (Sorry, I don't know how to do this myself :-( )
+variable in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  Do this by editing the
+AUTOEXEC.BAT file, e.g. by adding this line to the end:
+
+	SET PATH="%PATH%";"C:\Program Files\TCL\bin"
+
+(substituting the actual location of the TCL installation directory).
 
 Once Tcl/Tk is installed, you should be able to type the following
 commands in Python:
@@ -50,7 +72,95 @@ commands in Python:
 This creates a simple test dialog box (you may have to move the Python
 window a bit to see it).  Click on OK to get the Python prompt back.
 
-To uninstall:
+
+Troubleshooting
+---------------
+
+The following procedure will test successive components required for
+successful use of Python and Tkinter.  The steps before "import
+_tkinter" can be used to verify the proper installation of the Python
+core.
+
+- First, run the Python interpreter (python.exe).  This should give
+you a ">>>" prompt in a "MS-DOS console" window.  This may fail with a
+complaint about being unable to find the file MSVC40RT.DLL.  This file
+(along with several other files) is included in the MSOFTDLL.EXE
+self-extracting archive available in the /pub/python/wpy directory on
+ftp.python.org.  After extraction, move MSVCRT40.NT to
+\Windows\System\MSVCRT40.DLL (note the change of extension).
+
+- If you can't get a ">>>" prompt, your core Python installation may
+be botched.  Reinstall from the ZIP file (see above) and run
+SETUP.BAT.
+
+- At the ">>>" prompt, type a few commands.  Each command should
+succeed without complaints.  Remember that Python is a case sensitive
+language, so type the commands exactly as shown ("tkinter" and
+"Tkinter" are two very different things).
+
+>>> import sys
+
+	If this fails, you can't type :-) (Explanation: this is a
+	built-in module that is pre-initialized before the first ">>>"
+	prompt is printed.  There is no way that this import can fail
+	except by a typo.)
+
+>>> import string
+
+	If this fails, the Python library cannot be found.  Reinstall
+	Python.  (Explanation: the registry entry for PythonPath is
+	botched.  Inspect sys.path to see what it is.  If it is
+	something like ['.', '.\\lib', '.\\lib\\win'], the setup.py
+	script has not run successfully and you may get away with
+	rerunning the SETUP.BAT file.)
+
+>>> import _tkinter
+
+	This can fail in a number of ways:
+
+	ImportError: No module named _tkinter
+		The Python module file _tkinter.dll can't be found.
+		Since it is installed by default, the installation is
+		probably botched.  Reinstall Python.
+
+	ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not
+	be found.  (Possibly with a dialog box explaining that
+	TCL75.DLL or TK41.DLL could not be found.)
+		Probably a Tcl/Tk installation error.  Reinstall Tcl/Tk.
+		Note that on Windows '95, you may need to add the Tcl
+		bin directory to the PATH environment variable.
+
+	Other failures:
+		It may be possible that you have an early prerelease
+		TCL75.DLL or TK41.DLL, which is incompatible with the
+		_tkinter module in the Python distribution.  This will
+		most likely result in error messages that don't make a
+		lot of sense.  Try installing Tcl/Tk from the
+		win41p1.exe self-extracting archive found in
+		/pub/python/nt on ftp.python.org.
+
+>>> import Tkinter
+
+	If this fails, your Python library or sys.path is botched.
+	Your best bet, again, is to reinstall Python.
+
+>>> Tkinter._test()
+
+	This should pop up a window with a label ("Proof-of-existence
+	test for TK") and two buttons ("Click me!" and "QUIT").
+	If you get nothing at all (not even a ">>>" prompt), the
+	window is probably hiding behind the Python console window.
+	Move the console window around to reveal the test window.
+
+	If you get an exception instead, it is most likely a verbose
+	complaint from Tcl/Tk about improper installation.  This is
+	usually caused by bad or missing values for the environment
+	variables TK_LIBRARY or TCL_LIBRARY.  See the installation
+	instructions above.
+
+
+To uninstall
+------------
 
 Run the batch file UNINSTALL.BAT.  This will run the Python script
 uninstall.py, which undoes the registry additions and removes most
@@ -60,6 +170,7 @@ batch file ends with an error because it deletes itself.  Hints on how
 to avoid this (and also on how to remove the installation directory
 itself) are gracefully accepted.
 
+
 September 3, 1996
 
 --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)