virtualenv fails with Python 3.5 on Windows

Created on 15 Sep 2015 · 16Comments · Source: pypa/virtualenv

Install Python 3.5 using the official Windows installer
Get a shell
python -m ensurepip (because the installer didn't install pip for me for some reason)
python -m pip install virtualenv (gets me version 13.1.2)
python -m virtualenv env

I expect: a virtualenv in ./env

I get: a GUI error dialog saying "The program can't start because VCRUNTIME140.dll is missing from your computer."

Apparently virtualenv needs to copy vcruntime140.dll into the new virtualenv for Python 3.5 to work on Windows.

Originally filed at http://bugs.python.org/issue25119

Source

mgedmin

👍1

Most helpful comment

Similarily, it doesn't copy python3.dll which means some extension modules (like PyQt5) will fail with ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

The-Compiler on 2 Apr 2017

👍4

All 16 comments

@zooba do you have any advice on how best virtualenv should be proceeding here? Copying a dll to every 3.5 virtualenv?

Ivoz on 20 Sep 2015

Yeah, that's going to be necessary.

On Windows, I'd suggest copying every vcruntime*.dll file from sys.prefix and join(sys.prefix, 'DLLs'). At some point we will move vcruntime140.dll into DLLs for back-compat with older extension modules, but no telling when that will be (I'm not yet convinced it will have to be in a major release).

zooba on 23 Sep 2015

Do you also get this error with https://pypi.python.org/pypi/virtualenv-rewrite ?

matthew-brett on 23 Nov 2015

No, virtualenv-rewrite works fine with Python 3.5. (I've tested virtualenv-rewrite 14.1.0 a while ago, it still works fine on my Jenkins.)

mgedmin on 24 Nov 2015

I'm having the same issue on Windows and copying the dll is not enough as it has not really finished setting up the scripts.

I have python 2.7 and 3.5 on the same windows (both installed for all users) and it fails with all the following commands.

> virtualenv --python="C:\Python35\python.exe" env

(with virtualenvwrapper) > mkvirtualenv --python="C:\Python35\python.exe" env

> C:\Python35\Scripts\virtualenv-3.4.exe  --python="C:\Python35\python.exe" env

carlosperate on 8 Dec 2015

confirm this bug with Python 3.5.1 under windows 10 with virtualenv v13.1.2 :(

jedie on 7 Jan 2016

Btw, I had to revert to 3.4 to get it to work.

carlosperate on 7 Jan 2016

I confirm this with Python 3.5.2 under Windows 10 with virtualenv 15.0.3

aivarannamaa on 11 Aug 2016

👍1

confirm this with Python 3.5.2 under Windows 8.1 with virtualenv 15.0.3

eromoe on 26 Aug 2016

Confirm bug with Python 3.5.2 on Windows 7 with virtualenv 15.0.3

jmitz on 27 Sep 2016

Ok guyz. I had the same problem. I installed "pywin32" from https://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/.
I didnt get the error after that. pywin32 has python extension for windows.
Install it for your version of python.
Make sure you get the correct version (matches Python version, 32bit/64bit, etc).
Hope it helps.

mayank1495 on 30 Nov 2016

For Windows 7 Python 3.5.2 copy http://www.opendll.com/index.php?file-download=vcruntime140.dll&arch=64Bit&version=14.0.22816.0&dsc=Microsoft%AE-C-Runtime-Library# to C:\Windows

Amytipple on 16 Dec 2016

❤1 👍1

Thank you, Amytipple! BTW no need to download DLL files from untrusted random Internet sites, just copy the one from c:/Python3.5/ (or wherever you installed Python 3.5) into any directory on your %PATH%.

mgedmin on 29 Dec 2016

👍3

Similarily, it doesn't copy python3.dll which means some extension modules (like PyQt5) will fail with ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

The-Compiler on 2 Apr 2017

👍4

There is a simple workaround. Just update the path to include the specific Python version, e.g.:

set "PATH=C:\Program Files (x86)\Python36-32;%PATH%"

schlamar on 11 May 2017

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