Member Avatar for wheatontrue

Hello - my Python 2.5 IDLE used to start up, but now it won't.

I tried looking at the preferences - those don't have any glaring mistakes.

When I try to start it command line I get the following error:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

G:\>cd python25/lib/idlelib

G:\Python25\Lib\idlelib>
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "G:\Python25\Lib\idlelib\", line 21, in <module>
idlelib.PyShell.main()
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 1402, in main
shell = flist.open_shell()
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 275, in open_shell
self.pyshell = PyShell(self)
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 811, in __init__
OutputWindow.__init__(self, flist, None, None)
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 16, in __init__
EditorWindow.__init__(self, *args)
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 248, in __init__
self.update_recent_files_list()
File "C:\Python25\lib\idlelib\", line 715, in update_recent_fil
es_list
rf_file = open(self.recent_files_path, 'w')
IOError: [Errno 28] No space left on device: 'G:\\.idlerc\\recent-files.lst'

What is going on? I would very much like to be able to use 2.5. I can get 2.6 to work, but the modules I need don't have a version in 2.6 because of the Numeric/Numpy difference

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by wheatontrue

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch — IDLE will abort at startup if it can’t write its recent-files file in your user .idlerc folder. That typically happens when the drive that holds your home directory (or a mapped/network home) is full or subject to quotas. The quickest fixes are to free space, or remove/rename the .idlerc\recent-files.lst so IDLE can recreate it.

Quick troubleshooting checklist

  • Check free space on the drive that holds your user profile (right‑click the drive in Explorer → Properties). If it’s full, free or move files.
  • If the drive shows free space but the error persists, check disk quotas or remote share limits (common with network homes).
  • Check permissions on the .idlerc folder and recent-files.lst (folder Properties → Security) to ensure your account can write there.
  • To find exactly where IDLE will try to write the file, run this in Python and inspect the path it prints:
import os
print os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".idlerc", "recent-files.lst")

Quick workarounds

  • Rename or delete the .idlerc folder (Explorer or from a cmd prompt) — IDLE will recreate it on startup.
  • To force IDLE to use a different home for a single session, set HOME in the same command window and launch idle from that window:
set HOME=C:\Temp\myhome
python "C:\Python25\Lib\idlelib\idle.py"

(Adjust paths for your Python install.)

If you want a more tolerant workaround inside IDLE, wrap the file-open/write in a try/except so a write error doesn’t abort startup — but only as a last resort and keep a backup before editing library files. The real fix is resolving the underlying storage/quota problem so IDLE can save its settings normally.

Member Avatar for wheatontrue

Never mind. Finally figured it out. 2 drives - one local, one network. One was full.

Thanks to those who read the post!

W

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