Skip to main content

Python on Windows 10

Last weekend I wanted to clean up my python installation on Windows 10. In the past, I used a combination of Anaconda, Python app from the Windows Store, and Python distributions from python.org. Most of these were older versions that I have not updated in a while since I spend most of my time in WSL.

I started by deleting everything and cleaning up the installs. Afterwards, I downloaded python 3.8 from python.org, and proceeded with the installation. I selected install python for everyone and adding it to the %PATH% environment variable.

After the installation completed everything worked like a charm, until I started installing packages.

I started with installing TensorFlow:

pip install tensorflow

and got a cryptic error that one of the TensorFlow files was missing.

A quick internet search revealed that it is due to a missing setting for long filenames in Windows 10.  Following the instructions in this Stackoverflow post to enable long filenames option in the local computer policy, resolved the issue, and the installation proceeded smoothly.

Then I installed keras, and jupyterlab

pip install keras jupyterlab

and tried to run jupyter lab, which failed because Jupyter was not in the %PATH%.  Instead of adding another directory to the %PATH% variable, I ran jupyterlab through:

python -m jupyterlab

 

More keystrokes but works uniformly for any python module.

Now with python and the ML frameworks installed on Windows 10, I can make use of the GPU again. But not for long, since WSL is planning on adding GPU support soon, and there will be no need to live outside of WSL anymore.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why good customer service matters?

I am not an Apple fan, but I do like their computers, and recommend them to colleagues and friends for a variety of reasons. They are well designed, and in addition to an excellent user interface, they run a flavor of Unix--which makes the life of computer programmers a lot easier. But most importantly, Apple's customer support is impeccable, that despite all the hardware issues I experienced in the past, I still recommend Apple computers. Let me explain why. A year and a half ago, I bought a Mac Book Pro for work. At the time it was the first generation unibody laptop, that had an i7 processor, lots of memory, and lots of disk space. Alas, like first generation models everywhere, it also had a lot of hardware problems. The most annoying of which was the screen randomly turning dark, with the hard drive spinning out of control. The only way to get out of this state was by forcing a reboot by holding down the power button, and losing everything I have been working on. At first
2 comments
Read more

Kindle Paperwhite

I have always been allergic to buying specialized electronic devices that do only one thing, such as the Kindle, the iPod, and fitness trackers. Why buy these when technology evolves so fast that a multi-purpose device such as the phone or a smart watch can eventually do the same thing, but with the convenience of updates that fix bugs and add functionality? So, I was shocked when this weekend I made an impulse buy and got the newest Kindle Paperwhite—a special purpose device for reading eBooks. I was walking past the Amazon store in the mall and saw that the newest Kindle Paperwhites were marked down by $40 for the holidays. The device looked good in the display, so I went in to look at it closely. The Paperwhite is small and light, with a 6” screen that is backlit and waterproof.   The text was crisp and readable, and in the ambient light, it felt like I am reading a printed book. I was sold and bought it on the spot. At home I have struggled to put it down. The books
2 comments
Read more

New ASUS RT-AX88U router

  I have been using Asus routers for many years, and have been pretty happy with them. The web interface is superb, and the firmware upgrades are timely and easy to apply, and over the last couple of years have introduced newer features that kept my old router relevant and functional.   After many years of service, my older router finally gave way, and started dropping Wifi connections randomly, especially when under heavy load. The connection drop happens whenever the kids have a Zoom meeting, or my wife and I are on work calls. Turning the laptop/iPad Wifi off and on again did not help, and we usually had to reboot the router to be able to connect again. Out of curiosity I looked at the CPU/memory stats of the router under heavy load, and could not see any issues. Even when all of us were in video calls, the CPU/memory did not rise about 50%. I could not see anything abnormal in the logs either. Online I saw that a lot of people had similar problems after upgrading to the latest rout
Post a Comment
Read more