ELC Troubleshooting
Typical ELC Opening Challenges
GNU Emacs Disappeared
You attempt to load your ELC file and get an error such as "%%os%% Can't Open The ELC File Extension". If this is the case, it's usually due to the fact that you do not have GNU Emacs for %%os%% installed on your computer. Your operating system cannot associate your ELC with GNU Emacs, so double-clicking the file won't work.
Tip: If you don't have GNU Emacs installed, and you know of another program to open your ELC file, you can try opening it by selecting from the programs listed under "Show Apps".
Wrong Version of GNU Emacs is Installed
Occasionally, you might have an outdated version of GNU Emacs installed that's incompatible with your Emacs Compiled Lisp File type. Installing the latest version of GNU Emacs from GNU Project is recommended. This issue mainly occurs when your Emacs Compiled Lisp File file was created by a newer version of GNU Emacs than you have on your PC.
Tip: You can sometimes get hints about the right program version by right-clicking on the ELC file, selecting "Properties", and looking at the version information.
Regardless, most of the ELC file opening problems relate to not having the right version of GNU Emacs installed.
Associated Difficulties Loading ELC Files
Assuming you have the right GNU Emacs version installed, other problems can prevent you from opening ELC files. If you are continuing to have errors with loading ELC files, other external issues might be to blame. These other problems include (listed in order from most to least common):
- Windows Registry ELC file paths that are incorrect
- Unintentional removal of the description of the ELC file inside the Windows Registry
- Defective install of a ELC program, such as GNU Emacs
- Something has caused file corruption of your ELC
- Your ELC is infected with malware
- ELC-related hardware has device drivers that obsolete
- Your computer does not have the adequate system resources to open the Emacs Compiled Lisp File format
Quiz: Which operating system pioneered hierarchical file system (eg. file folders)?
That's Correct!
Multics was the first OS to support hierarchies of directories (eg. "Home" -> "Documents" -> "Work"). Nearly every modern operating system was heavily influenced by Multics.
Close, but not quite...
Multics was the first OS to support hierarchies of directories (eg. "Home" -> "Documents" -> "Work"). Nearly every modern operating system was heavily influenced by Multics.