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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-16T05:33:14+00:00

cpan fails with this weird error as follows Error: Unable to locate installed Perl

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cpan fails with this weird error as follows

Error: Unable to locate installed Perl libraries or Perl source code.

It is recommended that you install perl in a standard location before
building extensions. Some precompiled versions of perl do not contain
these header files, so you cannot build extensions. In such a case,
please build and install your perl from a fresh perl distribution. It
usually solves this kind of problem.

(You get this message, because MakeMaker could not find "D:\fbl_esc_bcd_tb\tools\perl\lib\CORE\perl.h")
Running make test
  Make had some problems, maybe interrupted? Won't test
Running make install
  Make had some problems, maybe interrupted? Won't install

Problem is I can’t install new active perl versions in this environment and the tool I want to coverage on does not run outside this environment.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Short answer: The ActiveState PPM repository has a precompiled version of Devel::Cover you should be able to install.

    Long answer: That’s not a normal message from MakeMaker so I’m willing to guess its an ActiveState addition, but its probably true. The problem is exactly what the error message says; your distribution is missing some important files, specifically the C header files for Perl, so it cannot compile C code necessary for modules like Devel::Cover. This is often the result of an overzealous sysadmin or packager looking to save a few dozen K of disk space. You could probably take the header files from the 5.8.7 source, copy them into the CORE directory and it will probably work. It won’t make anything worse.

    I agree with Evan that, assuming this is a Windows machine, you should switch to Strawberry Perl which plays much better with the rest of the Perl community than ActivePerl.

    Otherwise, ActiveState is a commercial company and they have paid Perl support. Give them a ring.

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