Latex failed to create a dvi file

[Hopeless]

Hi,

I am facing a problem with WinEdt whenever I compile my tex file with
Latex. It
shows "Latex failed to create a dvi file".

Recently, I had to install Windows XP. However, in my previous windows
setup
there was no such problem using the same softwares (i.e, MikTex 2.7
and WinEdt
5.4). Isn't it surprising?

I have gone through few of the conversations regarding this matter in
the
archive of this site. At some point, it is said that there is nothing
wrong with
WinEdt for this kind of error. So, possible problems might be with
MikTex. I am
again saying, I had no such problem with the same MikTex in my earlier
set up
and now I am getting that error with exactly same MikTex. In spite of
that, I
also have tried with MikTex 2.4 and still getting that "Latex failed
to create a
dvi file" error. It's really irritating me.

I would, hence, be very much happy if anyone can help me to get out of
this
problem.

Thanks and regards,

[Werner Grundlingh]

Have you tried following this advice:
  http://www.win.tue.nl/latex/faq.html#q21

It would be hard to assess this problem without any more detail. For example, does this problem persist even when using a minimal example like:

  \documentclass{minimal}

  \begin{document}

  This is just a test.

  \end{document}

Perhaps, if the minimal document compiles without problem, sequentially filter through the example that doesn't compile to try and find whether it is an error with your MikTeX installation/setup, or perhaps just the document/code.

Werner

[Werner Grundlingh]

...here's another suggestion, in order to isolate the problem on either MikTeX's or WinEdt's side:
  http://www.tug.org/pipermail/texhax/2004-February/001784.html

[Syed Rafiul Hussain]

Thanks Werner.

The same error shows when the minimal document is compiled. Moreover, While installing MikTex, I found no error.

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[Syed Rafiul Hussain]

The output in the console is given below:

==========================================================
E:\Personal\CV for me\CV writing2>Latex "CV_SR Hussain_Application.log"
This is e-TeX, Version 3.141592-2.2 (MiKTeX 2.4)
"etex.exe" --ini --interaction=nonstopmode --halt-on-error --alias latex *latex.
ltx \dump
This is e-TeX, Version 3.141592-2.2 (MiKTeX 2.4) (INITEX)
entering extended mode
(C:\texmf\tex\latex\base\latex.ltx (C:\texmf\tex\latex\00miktex\texsys.cfg)
./texsys.aux found


\@currdir set to: ./.


Assuming \openin and \input
have the same search path.


Defining UNIX/DOS style filename parser.

catcodes, registers, compatibility for TeX 2,  parameters,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! You are attempting to make a LaTeX format from a source file
! That is more than five years old.
!
! If you enter <return> to scroll past this message then the format
! will be built, but please consider obtaining newer source files
! before continuing to build LaTeX.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

! LaTeX source files more than 5 years old!.
l.540 ...aTeX source files more than 5 years old!}

No pages of output.
Transcript written on latex.log.
initexmf: etex.exe failed on "latex.ltx".
cannot make latex.efmt
I can't find the default format file!

E:\Personal\CV for me\CV writing2>

=======================================

I can't understand the possible reasons for this error. Please help me in this regard.

--
Rafiul

[Werner Grundlingh]

MiKTeX is only supported from 2.8 upwards since 2011-01-01:

  http://miktex.org/releases

From the output console I find it interesting that running latex initiates e-TeX (rather than pdfTeX). That's perhaps not a problem - I'm not familiar with the difference/preference/requirements. However, it doesn't compile your document "CV_SR Hussain_Application.log". Instead, it first compiles "latex.ltx" and then crashes on line 540 after doing a \typeout{...} (presumably) saying:

  ! LaTeX source files more than 5 years old!.

What does latex.ltx look like around lines 540 (say lines 530-550) would be my next question?

On a completely separate note: Have you tried opening up a command window (command.exe in Windows XP) and running latex from the prompt on your file "CV_SR Hussain_Application.log"?

[Peter Flynn]

On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 10:07 PM, Hopeless <rafiu...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

I am facing a problem with WinEdt whenever I compile my tex file with
Latex. It
shows "Latex failed to create a dvi file".

Recently, I had to install Windows XP. However, in my previous windows
setup
there was no such problem using the same softwares (i.e, MikTex 2.7
and WinEdt
5.4). Isn't it surprising?

No, Windows can do some silly things sometimes.
 

I have gone through few of the conversations regarding this matter in
the
archive of this site. At some point, it is said that there is nothing
wrong with
WinEdt for this kind of error. So, possible problems might be with
MikTex. I am
again saying, I had no such problem with the same MikTex in my earlier
set up
and now I am getting that error with exactly same MikTex. In spite of
that, I
also have tried with MikTex 2.4 and still getting that "Latex failed
to create a
dvi file" error. It's really irritating me.

I would, hence, be very much happy if anyone can help me to get out of
this
problem.

Have you checked the log file to see if there are any errors?
It's in the same folder as your .tex file but the name ends with .log

If LaTeX can't find the files it needs (perhaps because your upgrade
has trashed the WinEdt configuration), then the log file will say so.

Have you tried running the job outside WinEdt (open a Command window,
use the cd command to go to the folder where the .tex file is, and then type
latex followed by the filename. This will also recreate the log file.

///Peter

[Peter Flynn]

On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 10:42 PM, Syed Rafiul Hussain <rafiu...@gmail.com> wrote:

The output in the console is given below:

==========================================================
E:\Personal\CV for me\CV writing2>Latex "CV_SR Hussain_Application.log"
This is e-TeX, Version 3.141592-2.2 (MiKTeX 2.4)
"etex.exe" --ini --interaction=nonstopmode --halt-on-error --alias latex *latex.ltx \dump

This looks like your problem. Something (WinEdt?) is telling LaTeX to reinitialise itself by recreating the latex.ini file. This should only ever happen once, when you install a new version of TeX from scratch.

At a guess, something interrupted your installation of TeX, so it has never been initialised properly, so it will never work until this problem is fixed.

Also, MiKTeX 2.4 is very old. You should remove MiKTeX completely and reinstall is using the latest version instead. You must then reconfigure WinEdt to know where the TeX and LaTeX programs are.

///Peter