Windows 8 + Emacs 24.3 + emacs-for-python: Pymacs helper did not start within 30 seconds

Question

I recently installed Emacs 24.3 and try to use it coding for Python (v3.3.2 x86-64 MSI installer). (I'm new to Emacs). Then i try to install emacs-for-python by unpack the zip to

"C:\Users\mmsc\AppData\Roaming\.emacs.d\emacs-for-python"

folder and add

: (load-file "~/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-init.el")

into C:\Users\mmsc\AppData\Roaming.emacs

after I launch Emacs, I see error

Warning (initialization): An error occurred while loading `c:/Users/Klein/AppData/Roaming/.emacs':

error: Pymacs helper did not start within 30 seconds

To ensure normal operation, you should investigate and remove the cause of the error in your initialization file. Start Emacs with the `--debug-init' option to view a complete error backtrace.

with the "--debug-init", I saw below information but I have little knowledge about Emacs/Lisp, so I can't locate the problem easily.

Debugger entered--Lisp error: (error "Pymacs helper did not start within 30 seconds")
  signal(error ("Pymacs helper did not start within 30 seconds"))
  pymacs-report-error("Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" 30)
  (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))
  (while (progn (goto-char (point-min)) (not (re-search-forward "<\\([0-9]+\\)  " nil t))) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start)))
  (let ((process (apply (quote start-process) "pymacs" buffer (let ((python (getenv "PYMACS_PYTHON"))) (if (or (null python) (equal python "")) pymacs-python-command python)) "-c" (concat "import sys;" " from Pymacs import main;" " main(*sys.argv[1:])") (append (and (>= emacs-major-version 24) (quote ("-f"))) (mapcar (quote expand-file-name) pymacs-load-path))))) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn (goto-char (point-min)) (not (re-search-forward "<\\([0-9]+\\)  " nil t))) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))) (let ((marker (process-mark process)) (limit-position (+ (match-end 0) (string-to-number (match-string 1))))) (while (< (marker-position marker) limit-position) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper probably was interrupted at start")))))
  (progn (let ((process (apply (quote start-process) "pymacs" buffer (let ((python ...)) (if (or ... ...) pymacs-python-command python)) "-c" (concat "import sys;" " from Pymacs import main;" " main(*sys.argv[1:])") (append (and (>= emacs-major-version 24) (quote ...)) (mapcar (quote expand-file-name) pymacs-load-path))))) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn (goto-char (point-min)) (not (re-search-forward "<\\([0-9]+\\)   " nil t))) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))) (let ((marker (process-mark process)) (limit-position (+ (match-end 0) (string-to-number (match-string 1))))) (while (< (marker-position marker) limit-position) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper probably was interrupted at start"))))) (goto-char (match-end 0)) (let ((reply (read (current-buffer)))) (if (and (pymacs-proper-list-p reply) (= (length reply) 2) (eq (car reply) (quote version))) (if (string-equal (cadr reply) "0.25") nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs Lisp version is 0.25, Python is %s" (cadr reply))) (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs got an invalid initial reply"))))
  (unwind-protect (progn (let ((process (apply (quote start-process) "pymacs" buffer (let (...) (if ... pymacs-python-command python)) "-c" (concat "import sys;" " from Pymacs import main;" " main(*sys.argv[1:])") (append (and ... ...) (mapcar ... pymacs-load-path))))) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn (goto-char (point-min)) (not (re-search-forward "<\\([0-9]+\\)  " nil t))) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))) (let ((marker (process-mark process)) (limit-position (+ (match-end 0) (string-to-number ...)))) (while (< (marker-position marker) limit-position) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper probably was interrupted at start"))))) (goto-char (match-end 0)) (let ((reply (read (current-buffer)))) (if (and (pymacs-proper-list-p reply) (= (length reply) 2) (eq (car reply) (quote version))) (if (string-equal (cadr reply) "0.25") nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs Lisp version is 0.25, Python is %s" (cadr reply))) (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs got an invalid initial reply")))) (set-match-data save-match-data-internal (quote evaporate)))
  (let ((save-match-data-internal (match-data))) (unwind-protect (progn (let ((process (apply (quote start-process) "pymacs" buffer (let ... ...) "-c" (concat "import sys;" " from Pymacs import main;" " main(*sys.argv[1:])") (append ... ...)))) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn (goto-char (point-min)) (not (re-search-forward "<\\([0-9]+\\)   " nil t))) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))) (let ((marker (process-mark process)) (limit-position (+ ... ...))) (while (< (marker-position marker) limit-position) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper probably was interrupted at start"))))) (goto-char (match-end 0)) (let ((reply (read (current-buffer)))) (if (and (pymacs-proper-list-p reply) (= (length reply) 2) (eq (car reply) (quote version))) (if (string-equal (cadr reply) "0.25") nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs Lisp version is 0.25, Python is %s" (cadr reply))) (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs got an invalid initial reply")))) (set-match-data save-match-data-internal (quote evaporate))))
  (save-current-buffer (set-buffer buffer) (erase-buffer) (buffer-disable-undo) (pymacs-set-buffer-multibyte nil) (set-buffer-file-coding-system (quote raw-text)) (let ((save-match-data-internal (match-data))) (unwind-protect (progn (let ((process (apply ... "pymacs" buffer ... "-c" ... ...))) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn (goto-char ...) (not ...)) (if (accept-process-output process pymacs-timeout-at-start) nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs helper did not start within %d seconds" pymacs-timeout-at-start))) (let ((marker ...) (limit-position ...)) (while (< ... limit-position) (if ... nil ...)))) (goto-char (match-end 0)) (let ((reply (read ...))) (if (and (pymacs-proper-list-p reply) (= ... 2) (eq ... ...)) (if (string-equal ... "0.25") nil (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs Lisp version is 0.25, Python is %s" ...)) (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs got an invalid initial reply")))) (set-match-data save-match-data-internal (quote evaporate)))))
  (let ((buffer (get-buffer-create "*Pymacs*"))) (save-current-buffer (set-buffer buffer) (erase-buffer) (buffer-disable-undo) (pymacs-set-buffer-multibyte nil) (set-buffer-file-coding-system (quote raw-text)) (let ((save-match-data-internal (match-data))) (unwind-protect (progn (let ((process ...)) (pymacs-kill-without-query process) (while (progn ... ...) (if ... nil ...)) (let (... ...) (while ... ...))) (goto-char (match-end 0)) (let ((reply ...)) (if (and ... ... ...) (if ... nil ...) (pymacs-report-error "Pymacs got an invalid initial reply")))) (set-match-data save-match-data-internal (quote evaporate))))) (if (not pymacs-use-hash-tables) (setq pymacs-weak-hash t) (if pymacs-used-ids (progn (let ((pymacs-transit-buffer buffer) (pymacs-forget-mutability t) (pymacs-gc-inhibit t)) (pymacs-call "zombie_python" pymacs-used-ids)) (setq pymacs-used-ids nil))) (setq pymacs-weak-hash (make-hash-table :weakness (quote value))) (if (boundp (quote post-gc-hook)) (add-hook (quote post-gc-hook) (quote pymacs-schedule-gc)) (setq pymacs-gc-timer (run-at-time 20 20 (quote pymacs-schedule-gc))))) (setq pymacs-transit-buffer buffer) (let ((modules pymacs-load-history)) (setq pymacs-load-history nil) (if (and modules (yes-or-no-p "Reload modules in previous session? ")) (progn (mapc (function (lambda (args) (condition-case err ... ...))) modules)))))
  pymacs-start-services()
  (if (and pymacs-transit-buffer (buffer-name pymacs-transit-buffer) (get-buffer-process pymacs-transit-buffer)) nil (if pymacs-weak-hash (progn (if (or (eq pymacs-auto-restart t) (and (eq pymacs-auto-restart (quote ask)) (yes-or-no-p "The Pymacs helper died.  Restart it? "))) nil (pymacs-report-error "There is no Pymacs helper!")))) (pymacs-start-services))
  pymacs-serve-until-reply("eval" (pymacs-print-for-apply (quote "pymacs_load_helper") (quote ("ropemacs" "rope-" nil))))
  pymacs-call("pymacs_load_helper" "ropemacs" "rope-" nil)
  (let ((lisp-code (pymacs-call "pymacs_load_helper" module prefix noerror))) (cond (lisp-code (let ((result (eval lisp-code))) (add-to-list (quote pymacs-load-history) (list module prefix noerror) (quote append)) (message "Pymacs loading %s...done" module) (run-hook-with-args (quote pymacs-after-load-functions) module) result)) (noerror (message "Pymacs loading %s...failed" module) nil)))
  pymacs-load("ropemacs" "rope-")
  setup-ropemacs()
  (progn (setup-ropemacs) (autoload (quote virtualenv-activate) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment specified by PATH" t) (autoload (quote virtualenv-workon) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment present using virtualenvwrapper" t) (add-hook (quote python-mode-hook) (lambda nil (if (buffer-file-name) (flymake-mode)))) (defun workon-postactivate (virtualenv) (require (quote virtualenv)) (virtualenv-activate virtualenv) (desktop-change-dir virtualenv)))
  (lambda nil (progn (setup-ropemacs) (autoload (quote virtualenv-activate) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment specified by PATH" t) (autoload (quote virtualenv-workon) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment present using virtualenvwrapper" t) (add-hook (quote python-mode-hook) (lambda nil (if (buffer-file-name) (flymake-mode)))) (defun workon-postactivate (virtualenv) (require (quote virtualenv)) (virtualenv-activate virtualenv) (desktop-change-dir virtualenv))))()
  funcall((lambda nil (progn (setup-ropemacs) (autoload (quote virtualenv-activate) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment specified by PATH" t) (autoload (quote virtualenv-workon) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment present using virtualenvwrapper" t) (add-hook (quote python-mode-hook) (lambda nil (if (buffer-file-name) (flymake-mode)))) (defun workon-postactivate (virtualenv) (require (quote virtualenv)) (virtualenv-activate virtualenv) (desktop-change-dir virtualenv)))))
  eval((funcall (quote (lambda nil (progn (setup-ropemacs) (autoload (quote virtualenv-activate) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment specified by PATH" t) (autoload (quote virtualenv-workon) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment present using virtualenvwrapper" t) (add-hook (quote python-mode-hook) (lambda nil (if (buffer-file-name) (flymake-mode)))) (defun workon-postactivate (virtualenv) (require (quote virtualenv)) (virtualenv-activate virtualenv) (desktop-change-dir virtualenv)))))))
  eval-after-load(python (progn (setup-ropemacs) (autoload (quote virtualenv-activate) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment specified by PATH" t) (autoload (quote virtualenv-workon) "virtualenv" "Activate a Virtual Environment present using virtualenvwrapper" t) (add-hook (quote python-mode-hook) (lambda nil (if (buffer-file-name) (flymake-mode)))) (defun workon-postactivate (virtualenv) (require (quote virtualenv)) (virtualenv-activate virtualenv) (desktop-change-dir virtualenv))))
  eval-buffer(#<buffer  *load*-819053> nil "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-python.el" nil t)  ; Reading at buffer position 4662
  load-with-code-conversion("c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-python.el" "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-python.el" nil t)
  require(epy-python)
  eval-buffer(#<buffer  *load*-283406> nil "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-init.el" nil t)  ; Reading at buffer position 476
  load-with-code-conversion("c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-init.el" "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-init.el" nil nil)
  load("c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs.d/emacs-for-python/epy-init.el" nil nil t)
  load-file("C:\\Users\\mmsc\\AppData\\Roaming\\.emacs.d\\emacs-for-python\\epy-init.el")
  eval-buffer(#<buffer  *load*> nil "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs" nil t)  ; Reading at buffer position 656
  load-with-code-conversion("c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs" "c:/Users/mmsc/AppData/Roaming/.emacs" t t)
  load("~/.emacs" t t)

I have tried to search some help from Internet but most of them are for Linux/Unix env. Is there anyone using Emacs with Python under Windows and know what does this mean and how can I fix it?

Thanks!

Is there really no more logging in the `*Messages*` window or elsewhere? — abarnert, Jun 06 '13 at 22:30
Also, which version of Python are you using, and how did you install it? — abarnert, Jun 06 '13 at 22:34
@wvxvw: I assume there's a relatively easy way to start Pymacs directly, instead of in the middle of a whole mess of other stuff. If you know what that is, the OP could just eval that instead of epy-init.el, and hopefully it'll get a lot easier to debug. — abarnert, Jun 07 '13 at 18:43
MMSC: You installed under `C:\Users\mmsc` but got an error about `c:/Users/Klein`? — phils, Sep 16 '13 at 05:55

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 07 '13 at 21:11

This was a little too much for a comment:

    (let ((process
           (apply 'start-process "pymacs" buffer
                  (let ((python (getenv "PYMACS_PYTHON")))
                    (if (or (null python) (equal python ""))
                        pymacs-python-command
                      python))
                  "-c" (concat "import sys;"
                               " from Pymacs import main;"
                               " main(*sys.argv[1:])")
                  (append
                   (and (>= emacs-major-version 24) '("-f"))
                   (mapcar 'expand-file-name pymacs-load-path)))))

This is the bit of Pymacs code which starts the process in *Pymacs* buffer. You could infer from this that Pymacs will first search for environment variable $PYMACS_PYTHON and if that doesn't exist or it's value is empty string, then it will try pymacs-python-command, which, by default is "python". So, it will make this call:

$ python -c 'import sys; from Pymacs import main; main(*sys.argv[1:])'

There's a problem with -f - I don't know what version of Python accepts this argument, but then one that I have doesn't. The intention of this code is quite clear - probably it has to load the files on pymacs-load-path, but for me the value of this variable is nil - so I don't think this code ever runs. Anyway, this argument doesn't seem to harm as for me it launches with or without it just the same.

So, if you try running the above command in console, and get something like:

(version "0.25")

Then this code works fine, otherwise, you'd get some error and that would help you identify the problem. Remember that it may not be just python. It is either $PYMACS_PYHON or pymacs-python-command.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 16 '13 at 03:10

I had the same symptoms but what my problem turned out to be was an old pymacs.el and a new Pymacs. Evidently Pymacs changed the module interface and I had to go hunt down the stray pymacs.el. So the pymacs.el was installed by apt-get in an odd location. You have to make sure the byte code file is gone too.

Windows 8 + Emacs 24.3 + emacs-for-python: Pymacs helper did not start within 30 seconds

2 Answers2

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