GNU bug report logs - #37203
26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 12:21:50 +1000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

I want  to store my init.el on Google drive so it shares between computers.
So I created a windows symlink:
mklink .emacs.d Google\emacs
I do this as administrator, because you have to on windows.

I get the following error when using runemacs.exe
--------------
Warning (initialization): Unable to access `user-emacs-directory'
(~/.emacs.d/).
Any data that would normally be written there may be lost!
If you never want to see this message again,
customize the variable `user-emacs-directory-warning'.

--------------
Not sure what is going on here, but this is my guess:

It is mistakenly thinking that the directory isn't writable probably
because it is a <SYMLINK> rather than a <DIR>, or alternatively because the
symlink is owned by Administrators.



In GNU Emacs 26.2 (build 1, x86_64-w64-mingw32)
 of 2019-04-13 built on CIRROCUMULUS
Repository revision: fd1b34bfba8f3f6298df47c8e10b61530426f749
Windowing system distributor 'Microsoft Corp.', version 10.0.18362
Recent messages:
For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a.

Configured using:
 'configure --without-dbus --host=x86_64-w64-mingw32
 --without-compress-install 'CFLAGS=-O2 -static -g3''

Configured features:
XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG RSVG SOUND NOTIFY ACL GNUTLS LIBXML2 ZLIB
TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS THREADS LCMS2

Important settings:
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  locale-coding-system: cp1252

Major mode: Fundamental

Minor modes in effect:
  tooltip-mode: t
  global-eldoc-mode: t
  electric-indent-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  buffer-read-only: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t

Load-path shadows:
None found.

Features:
(shadow sort mail-extr emacsbug message rmc puny dired dired-loaddefs
format-spec rfc822 mml mml-sec epa derived epg gnus-util rmail
rmail-loaddefs mm-decode mm-bodies mm-encode mail-parse rfc2231
mailabbrev gmm-utils mailheader sendmail rfc2047 rfc2045 ietf-drums
mm-util mail-prsvr mail-utils elec-pair edmacro kmacro thing-cmds
hide-comnt cl thingatpt+ thingatpt finder-inf package easymenu
epg-config url-handlers url-parse auth-source cl-seq eieio eieio-core
cl-macs eieio-loaddefs password-cache url-vars seq byte-opt gv bytecomp
byte-compile cconv cl-loaddefs cl-lib time-date mule-util tooltip eldoc
electric uniquify ediff-hook vc-hooks lisp-float-type mwheel dos-w32
ls-lisp disp-table term/w32-win w32-win w32-vars term/common-win
tool-bar dnd fontset image regexp-opt fringe tabulated-list replace
newcomment text-mode elisp-mode lisp-mode prog-mode register page
menu-bar rfn-eshadow isearch timer select scroll-bar mouse jit-lock
font-lock syntax facemenu font-core term/tty-colors frame cl-generic
cham georgian utf-8-lang misc-lang vietnamese tibetan thai tai-viet lao
korean japanese eucjp-ms cp51932 hebrew greek romanian slovak czech
european ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese composite charscript charprop
case-table epa-hook jka-cmpr-hook help simple abbrev obarray minibuffer
cl-preloaded nadvice loaddefs button faces cus-face macroexp files
text-properties overlay sha1 md5 base64 format env code-pages mule
custom widget hashtable-print-readable backquote threads w32notify w32
lcms2 multi-tty make-network-process emacs)

Memory information:
((conses 16 243150 15397)
 (symbols 48 27066 2)
 (miscs 40 78 137)
 (strings 32 76674 1849)
 (string-bytes 1 1860097)
 (vectors 16 22250)
 (vector-slots 8 620218 13358)
 (floats 8 54 257)
 (intervals 56 304 56)
 (buffers 992 12))

[Message part 2 (text/html, inline)]

Message #8 received at 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#37203: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 09:23:28 +0300

> From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 12:21:50 +1000
> 
> I want  to store my init.el on Google drive so it shares between computers.
> So I created a windows symlink:
> mklink .emacs.d Google\emacs

This doesn't create a directory symlink, it creates a symlink to a
(non-existent) file.  To make a directory symlink, you need to do this
instead:

  mklink /d .emacs.d Google\emacs

If this doesn't work either, please tell more about what does "Google"
above represent, as it doesn't seem to point to a drive, at least not
syntactically.

> It is mistakenly thinking that the directory isn't writable probably because it is a <SYMLINK> rather than a
> <DIR>, or alternatively because the symlink is owned by Administrators.

If ownership winds up to be the problem (I don't think so), it can be
changed from the Windows Explorer or other similar tools.

Message #11 received at 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#37203: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 09:59:20 +0300

> From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:27:27 +1000
> Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> 
> Ahh, ok thanks. Although the link did seem to work for m-x load-file
> 
> In any case, i found that mklink /j also seems to work. Some different kind of link i dont fully understand.

So does this mean this issue can be closed?

Message #16 received at 37203-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 37203-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#37203: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:51:09 +0300

> From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:31:52 +1000
> Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> 
> I believe so. 

Thanks, closing.

Message #19 received at 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#37203: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:27:27 +1000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Ahh, ok thanks. Although the link did seem to work for m-x load-file

In any case, i found that mklink /j also seems to work. Some different kind
of link i dont fully understand.

On Wed, 28 Aug. 2019, 4:23 pm Eli Zaretskii, <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:

> > From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
> > Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 12:21:50 +1000
> >
> > I want  to store my init.el on Google drive so it shares between
> computers.
> > So I created a windows symlink:
> > mklink .emacs.d Google\emacs
>
> This doesn't create a directory symlink, it creates a symlink to a
> (non-existent) file.  To make a directory symlink, you need to do this
> instead:
>
>   mklink /d .emacs.d Google\emacs
>
> If this doesn't work either, please tell more about what does "Google"
> above represent, as it doesn't seem to point to a drive, at least not
> syntactically.
>
> > It is mistakenly thinking that the directory isn't writable probably
> because it is a <SYMLINK> rather than a
> > <DIR>, or alternatively because the symlink is owned by Administrators.
>
> If ownership winds up to be the problem (I don't think so), it can be
> changed from the Windows Explorer or other similar tools.
>

[Message part 2 (text/html, inline)]

Message #22 received at 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#37203: 26.2; error on load with .emacs.d symlink on windows
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:31:52 +1000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

I believe so.

On Wed, 28 Aug. 2019, 4:59 pm Eli Zaretskii, <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:

> > From: Chris BSomething <xpusostomos <at> gmail.com>
> > Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:27:27 +1000
> > Cc: 37203 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> >
> > Ahh, ok thanks. Although the link did seem to work for m-x load-file
> >
> > In any case, i found that mklink /j also seems to work. Some different
> kind of link i dont fully understand.
>
> So does this mean this issue can be closed?
>

[Message part 2 (text/html, inline)]

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