Credo che TeX sia sempre TeX e quindi ci sia stato qualche cambiamento nei pacchetti o nel sorgente da quando usavi una distro sotto linux.
Ti riporto i messaggi di inizio compilazione di un qualsiasi sorgente (distro TeX Live 2009 sotto windows xp):
`C:\>pdflatex esempio
This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-1.40.10 (Web2C 2009)
entering extended mode
(./esempio.tex
LaTeX2e <2009/09/24>
…ecc
`
come vedi esce il messaggio “entering extended mode” quindi etex dovrebbe essere caricato. Forse MiKTeX non lo prevede o forse serve caricare etex comunque.
bye
Cercati il log pdflatex.log e guarda dentro:
nel mio caso le prime righe dicono:
`This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-1.40.10 (TeX Live 2009) (INITEX) 17 NOV 2009 09:52
entering extended mode
%&-line parsing enabled.
(/opt/TeXLive2009/tl2009/texmf/web2c/cp227.tcx)
***pdflatex.ini
(/opt/TeXLive2009/tl2009/texmf-dist/tex/latex/latexconfig/pdflatex.ini
`
Se poi guardi
/opt/TeXLive2009/tl2009/texmf-dist/tex/latex/latexconfig/pdflatex.ini
vedi
`
% Thomas Esser, 1998. public domain.
\input pdftexconfig.tex
\scrollmode
\input latex.ltx
\endinput
`
Se c’è etex, bene, altrimenti se non ti piace puoi sempre modificare il formato:
`
% latex-tds.ini
% 2008/08/08 v1.1
% Copyright 2007, 2008 Heiko Oberdiek
%
% This file is part of project `latex-tds'.
%
% It may be distributed and/or modified under the
% conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, either version 1.3
% of this license or (at your option) any later version.
% The latest version of this license is in
% http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
% and version 1.3c or later is part of all distributions of LaTeX
% version 2005/12/01 or later.
%
% This work has the LPPL maintenance status `maintained'.
%
% The Current Maintainer of this work is Heiko Oberdiek.
%
% See `readme.txt' for a list of all files belonging to the
% project `latex-tds' and additional information.
%
% 2007/10/17 v1.0
% 2008/08/08 v1.1: Packages `ifvtex', `ifxetex', and `pdfescape' added.
%
\input pdftexconfig %
\pdfoutput=1 %
\scrollmode
\let\SavedDump\dump
\let\dump\relax
\input latex.ltx %
\errorcontextlines=\maxdimen
\RequirePackage{keyval}
\RequirePackage{url}
\RequirePackage{infwarerr}[2007/09/09]
\RequirePackage{atbegshi}[2007/09/09]
\RequirePackage{auxhook}[2007/04/06]
\RequirePackage{etexcmds}[2007/09/09]
\RequirePackage{ifpdf}[2007/09/09]
\RequirePackage{ifvtex}[2007/09/09]
\RequirePackage{ifxetex}
\RequirePackage{intcalc}[2007/09/27]
\RequirePackage{bigintcalc}[2007/09/27]
\RequirePackage{kvoptions}[2007/10/11]
\RequirePackage{kvsetkeys}[2007/09/29]
\RequirePackage{bitset}[2007/09/28]
\RequirePackage{refcount}[2006/02/20]
\RequirePackage{pdfescape}[2007/11/11]
\expandafter\def\csname ver@thumbpdf.sty\endcsname{0000/00/00}
\let\dump\SavedDump
\let\SavedDump\UNDEFINED
\dump
\endinput
`