[Tex/LaTex] MikTeX problem after last update

miktex

After my last update on May 20th 2014, the Miktex Update Wizard give me this error:

The `.tmp` file could not be parsed.

Details:

C:\User\xxx\AppData\Local\Temp\mik13840\pstool.tmp

I think that pstool.tmp is the problem. I tried to delete the package, but the problem still appear. I cannot find the folder mik13840 and each time I run the update, the number after "mik" change.

Any idea ?

Thank you in advance

Best Answer

The concrete problem has been resolved by an update. But here some background information regarding tpm files and what one can do if one get the error The .tmp file could not be parsed.

tpm-files contain information about a package: version number, included files, where they should be installed etc. tpm-files are xml-files. And if they contain syntax errors then the parsing of the xml can fail, like the "parsing" of a tex-file can fail. Here a faulty & in a name was the problem.

tpm-files exist in two places: After the miktex installation there is a local copy of all existing tpm in the main texmf tree in tpm\packages. The package manager use this tpm to show you e.g. the content of a package (right click ->properties).

These local files are updated when you synchronize. If such a file is faulty after the synchronization you can open it with an xml-editor and correct it. This should at least allow you to use the package manager (as long as you don't try to install the faulty package).

There are also online tpm files. These are used by the update manager. They must be repaired by the miktex maintainer, so one should make a bug report like this https://sourceforge.net/p/miktex/bugs/2323/.