I have a 100-page document (my Ph.D. dissertation) that I created in the 1984-1985 time frame that I need to create a PDF from. I have not used TeX since about 1990 so my TeX knowledge is extremely rusty.
I installed MikTeX 2.9 on Win10 Pro 1909. I installed it for myself only as installing it for everyone fails at the very end, and the recommendation was to install it for a single user to get around that problem.
I need the AMSTeX fonts, as my 35 year old document uses those fonts (lots and lots of equations). From the MikTeX console, I was able to install the amstex package. But I am still unable to compile my document.
According to the instructions in this thread (How to configure the environment for AMS-tex?), I need to build an amstex format (not done by default). The instructions say to right-click on amstex in the Settings --> Formats tab, and select include. But even the screenshot provided shows no "Include". If I select Format properties, I get a pop-up for Format Definition, where there is a check box for "Exclude this format when updating all format files." The box is currently checked. If I uncheck the box and click Ok, I get an error that says "Built-in format definitions may not be changed."
So what I am supposed to do to include it? Running the console in Admin mode does not help since this is a single user installation (and the console shows nothing in admin mode).
I am able to "Build format" for amstex. But it only takes a second or two so I am not convinced anything got done, probably because amstex is excluded.
And I still cannot compile my document as it's looking for fonts that are not there.
Any help would be much appreciated. Please be specific since, as I mentioned above, my TeX knowledge is 30 years old.
Thanks in advance.