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How do I create a format file?

I've successfully compiled the TexLive sources under Ubuntu. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no included format files (e.g., plain.fmt, pdftex.fmt, luatex.fmt, etc.). So, to create one, I tried the following commands, but neither produced an "fmt" file:

tex -ini plain.tex

tex -ini '\input plain \dump'

I also tried the instructions in this link to no avail

How to create a format file with initex to speed up processing time?

Compiling my own mktexfmt

By the way, I've created a directory that conforms to TDS, as well as the texmf.cnf file. I've done this before under Windows years ago, and I was able to generate both plain.fmt and latex.fmt. But I can't do the same under Ubuntu.

Glorfindel
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knight_owl
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    If you've compiled TeX Live from the sources, you should have fmtutil available and be able to do fmtutil-sys --all: does that work? What do you actually get from tex -ini plain.tex: 'doesn't work' is a bit vague. (Aside: I also wonder why you are compiling from the source! It might be worth saying how much of TL you downloaded/compiled that way.) – Joseph Wright Sep 27 '15 at 07:29
  • @JosephWright Thanks for the comment. "fmtutil-sys" is not available; I do have the executables tex, luatex, xetex, pdftex, tangle, weave, etc., but not "fmtutil-sys". "tex -ini.." does not generate the format file; that's what I meant by "doesn't work. As for TL, I've downloaded the whole sources and compiled them because I wanted to create my own minimal distribution and modify the sources, partly out of curiosity. I don't have luck though doing it under Windows using MingW, which was my original plan. – knight_owl Sep 28 '15 at 01:04
  • @knight_owl: The sources don't install a usable system. So I'm not surprised that "it doesn't work" - what does that mean, exactly? Show us the output of the commands, please. – Martin Schröder Sep 28 '15 at 05:22
  • Welcome to TeX.SX! You can have a look at our starter guide to familiarize yourself further with our format. – Martin Schröder Sep 28 '15 at 05:23
  • I see you've edited but we still need some real detail, for example a .log file from TeX. – Joseph Wright Sep 28 '15 at 12:04

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