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I am having trouble getting the Anaconda distribution to function properly on my Windows 10 computer (64 bit).

I downloaded the 64 bit graphical installer for Python 3.7. I installed Anaconda for all users and it lives in this path: 

C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3

(I also tried to install for “just my user” but it didn’t help.)

The issue is my computer does not recognize Anaconda. When I open my command prompt and enter in “conda” , “jupyter notebook”, or “python” - I get an error message below:

'conda/jupyter/python' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

I uninstalled and reinstalled and selected the checkbox during the setup wizard to “add Anaconda to my PATH environment variable” and I still received the same error message when using the command prompt to locate Anaconda.

I then manually attempted to add the following paths to my PATH environment variable (for both user and system variables):

C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3
C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts
C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Library\bin

That still did not work. I restarted my computer and tried it again - did not work.

I also cannot use Anaconda Prompt or Anaconda Navigator. I understand that they are supposed to be available through the start menu after installation, but they are not. I have also tried to locate them through the Command Prompt but they are not there either.

Overall, I have restarted my computer and reinstalled Anaconda numerous times and nothing has worked. I’m not sure what to do next.

ThanhPhanLe
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kev8
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  • do you have other Python installations on your PC? Other environments like Cygwin maybe? – FObersteiner Jul 29 '19 at 13:45
  • I do not. I previously installed Python by itself on my computer but I uninstalled it and deleted all of the files and folders. – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 13:47
  • Do you have an "Anaconda Prompt" in the Start Menu? Use that if you do. – darthbith Jul 29 '19 at 15:06
  • Have you searched for Anaconda Prompt in the start menu? Just type "Anaconda" in the search box in the taskbar. – GZ0 Jul 29 '19 at 15:08
  • python.exe should be in C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3 and conda.exe in C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts. Did you really still get 'not found'? The Anaconda Prompt link just calls 'conda activate C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3' or 'activate c:\ProgramData\Anaconda3' (also in Scripts) so you could try running that once you've managed to find it, or activate some other virtual environment once you've created one. – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:08
  • I do not have access to Anaconda Prompt. I searched it in the start menu and it is not there. I stated this in my original post. – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:09
  • There's still an [open issue on GitHub](https://github.com/ContinuumIO/anaconda-issues/issues/8794#issuecomment-506327513) for the prompt not installing. (FWIW it worked for me a week or two ago.) The solution there is to `conda install console_shortcut`. Or here's [the contents of the shortcut](https://stackoverflow.com/a/51736838/243245) if you want to make one yourself. – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:15
  • Rup - I checked out that GitHub link before. The reason why I can't use that solution is because I also don't have access to Anaconda Navigator (stated in the original post). I tried to create my own shortcut using the command from that other Stack post (C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts\activate.bat myenv) and I received the output: "The system cannot find the path specified." Am I creating the shortcut correctly? – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:22
  • "myenv" is the environment name the question-poster there was using. Try using the installation root, i.e. `C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts\activate.bat C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3` (which is what the default installed prompt shortcut uses). – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:24
  • Okay that makes sense. I just tried to use `C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts\activate.bat C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3` in my command prompt and received the same message: `The system cannot find the path specified.` – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:28
  • :-/ Then I'm out of ideas. Have a look in C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3 and see if you can find either conda.exe or activate.bat. I'd expect them to be in C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Scripts. It sounds like you're missing them from your install somehow, or the paths are messed up (e.g. it's really C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\Anaconda3\Scripts? Or C:\ProgramData\Continuum\Anaconda3\Scripts?) – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:30
  • Thanks for your help, Rup. My path is correct, I just verified it. Regarding the files - I see `_conda.exe` in the Anaconda3 main folder, but I do not see a Scripts folder in the main Anaconda3 folder. Upon searching the folder, it seems that there are individual Scripts subfolders for selected pkgs. – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:50

5 Answers5

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I have discovered the answer! It seems that my virus software (McAfee Endpoint Security) was blocking Anaconda from working correctly. The workaround was to install an older version of Python (I used the Dec. 2018 version) from the Continuum repo here.

kev8
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  • After this you can update the installation using https://www.anaconda.com/keeping-anaconda-date/ + https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/install/update-version/ – eduardohl Jan 30 '20 at 03:02
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open up a windows cmd prompt and try set PATH=/c/programdata\anaconda3:$PATH It is important to note that the exe file for Anaconda is _conda.exe. So to check if this was successful type which python and which _conda into the command prompt.

griffin_cosgrove
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  • I attempted this solution and it did not work. I used that command above and then used "which_conda". I received the same error message as above: 'which_conda' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:16
  • I'm fairly sure it's conda, not _conda, and you'll find the exe in Scripts not in the installation root. `which` is for git bash prompts: the normal command prompt version is `where`. – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:17
  • @Rup That's what I was thinking too but I wanted to try out which in case I haven't heard of it before. I've used `where conda` before and just tried it again now, but it still cannot locate it. – kev8 Jul 29 '19 at 15:26
  • which/where will only find it if it's already in your path, though - the idea is to show you which one you're actually calling when you type the command name. They won't locate files not in your path. – Rup Jul 29 '19 at 15:27
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I tried to install Anaconda 3.7 in windows 10 and, for some reason, only the 32bit version worked. For the 64bit I can't find the launching icons and conda commands are not recognized in the cmd.

Mariana Chamon
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Downloading a previous version of the anaconda distribution might do it.

Check out the archive to find and download your choice of preference.

Besong-Anong Ernest
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I installed the earlier anaconda32020.02 64 bit from the archive and it worked fine.

I'll update to 2020.07 at a later(debugged) date.

Phil Daly
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  • Appreciations for your intent. Please read https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-answer and edit your answer – Bussller Aug 19 '20 at 05:50