[OS X TeX] Can't find required tool

[Herbert Schulz]

> On Aug 31, 2016, at 11:14 AM, Richard J Benish <rjbenish at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>>> On Aug 30, 2016, at 9:57 PM, Richard J Benish <rjbenish at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Greetings,
>>> 
>>> On a G5 with Mac OS 10.4.11, I've been using TeXShop v 2.33 for 
>>> years. Without consciously having changed anything to affect the 
>>> program, suddenly, when I hit the typeset button I get the error 
>>> message:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Can't find required tool.
>>> 
>>> "/usr/texbin/pdflatex does not exist. Perhaps TeXLive was not 
>>> installed or was removed during a system upgrade. If so, go to the 
>>> TeXShop web site and follow the instructions to (re)install 
>>> TeXLive. Another possibility is that a tool path is incorrectly 
>>> configured in TeXShop preferences. This can happen if you are using 
>>> the fink teTeX distribution."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I've tried restarting, correcting permissions, and reinstalling. 
>>> After failing to find an old install version on the web, I tried 
>>> installing from a locally saved copy of:
>>> 
>>> MacTeX-2011.mpkg
>>> 
>>> This resulted in a grayed out list of components which, when I 
>>> clicked on INSTALL, resulted in an error saying "There is nothing 
>>> to Install." Could that be because the non-functioning version 
>>> needs to be uninstalled first? If so I hesitate to do so before 
>>> getting confirmation.
>>> 
>>> I've haven't found anything on the web to get me back to a 
>>> properly functioning application.
>>> 
>>> Any ideas?
>>> 
>>> Thanks.
>>> 
>>> Richard Benish
>> 
>> Howdy,
>> 
>> First... are you sure your not having Hard Disk problems?
>> 
>> In Terminal please run the five commands
>> 
>> which pdflatex
>> 
>> ls -alF /
>> 
>> ls -alF /usr
>> 
>> ls -alF /usr/local
>> 
>> ls -alF /usr/local/texlive
>> 
>> and let us know the results.
>> 
>> Good Luck,
>> 
>> Herb Schulz
>> (herbs at wideopenwest dot com)
> 
> 
> Thanks Herb,
> 
> I've attached the Terminal session with the five questions and 
> answers in the order that you gave them.
> 
> The last one says
> 
> "ls: /usr/local/texlive: No such file or directory"
> 
> If the file is supposed to be findable, I have no idea how it got lost.
> 
> I ran a MacOS hard drive diagnostic and passed. I've not had any 
> problems with the drive. It is less than a year old.
> 
> It's been a few weeks since I used LaTeX, but at that time, 
> everything worked fine--as it has for years. It would be nice to have 
> all new(er) stuff. My motorized transport just turned 50. It's got a 
> Slant-6. :) I really like my G5 and OS 10.4.11. And I'm broke.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help and your patience.
> 
> Rick Benish<LaTeX Five Questions Aug 31 2016.term>

Howdy,

The file you sent contains only configuration information about your Terminal session, not the results of the commands. The easiest thing would be to run the commands, then click in the Terminal Window and Select All (Cmd-A) and Copy all the information. Then open TextEdit, open a new document and Paste the information there. Save it and send that file.

However, given that there is no /usr/local/texlive I think you have a problem of some sort. You should be able to download MacTeX from 2011 at <ftp://ftp.tug.org/historic/systems/mactex>. If asked, go in as Guest with no password. You should find a 2011 folder and then can open it and download the MacTeX from 2011.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest dot com)