Install problem WNT4.0 & TCL

[Tim Peters]

[posted & mailed]

[Martin Kew, installs Python under NT, tries IDLE, and gets ...]
<QUOTE>
C:\Python>python c:\Python\Tools\idle\Idle.py
Traceback (innermost last):
  File "c:\Python\Tools\idle\Idle.py", line 3, in ?
    PyShell.main()
  File "C:\Python\Tools\idle\PyShell.py", line 611, in main
    root = Tk()
  File "C:\Python\Lib\lib-tk\Tkinter.py", line 886, in __init__
    self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, className)
TclError: Can't find a usable init.tcl in the following
          directories:
    {} ./lib/tcl8.0 C:/tcl8.0/library C:/library

This probably means that Tcl wasn't installed properly.
</QUOTE>

The "init.tcl" msg comes from Tcl, and isn't actually a problem with Python
(that is, Python didn't cause it and can't cure it).  The cause is usually
that you had (whether you knew it or not) some older version of Tcl
installed, and that left crap behind that's confusing the newer version of
Tcl Python installed (via running the Scriptics Tcl installer, which should
really be looking for these problems itself).

What usually works is to uninstall everything, search for and destroy
(rename, whatever) every file with a name of the form tk*.dll and tcl*.dll
on your machine, then reinstall.  People usually discover old Tcl and Tk
DLLs in their system directories when they do this, and getting rid of them
makes the Tcl problems go away.

some-weeks-this-complaint-gets-raised-twice-every-day<wink>-ly
    y'rs  - tim