DLL load failed

[gbear605]

I'm trying to run Python code that imports win32com.client. I installed a clean install of Python 3.6.4 and pywin32-221.win32-py3.6.exe.

I'm on 32 bit Window 10.

When I tried to run my code from IDLE, it gave the following traceback:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\gbear605\Downloads\StarShoot.py", line 4, in <module>
    import win32com.client
  File "C:\Users\gbear605\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36-32\lib\site-packages\win32com\__init__.py", line 5, in <module>
    import win32api, sys, os
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

I noticed that in File Explorer, there was also an option for "Edit with Pythonwin" when I right-clicked on my Python source file, so I tried that. It errors by saying that it is missing "VCRUNTIME140.dll," so I installed the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages. After installing that, I get the same traceback in IDLE but Pythonwin now errors with "Still can't get my hands on win32ui."

However, if I directly open Pythonwin and then run the file, it works fine.

[Avasam]

Since 71afa71, the PATH is now prepended, rather than appended. For Python >= 3.8, the PATH environment variable isn't even used. This is included in pywin32==226.

Python 3.7 has also reached EOL (meaning no security fixes/support) and I'd recommend migrating over to 3.8+ (see #2207)

.exe installers are now deprecated #1939, so you should install from PyPI (ie: pip install pywin32>=226)

Given the sheer amount of "ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found." issue duplication and old history, I'd like to consolidate the current state of these issues. So I'll close and reference back any issue that only has comments showing the issue:

• from before November 10th, 2019 (pywin32<226)
• using .exe installers
• using Python < 3.8

Please also try https://github.com/mhammond/pywin32#troubleshooting before opening a new issue, or let us, and others, know if it did resolve your issue.