Fatal Python error on Windows 10 ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'encodings'

Question

I'm installing Python on my Windows 10 laptop, and when I try to run it I get this:

Fatal Python error: Py_Initialize: unable to load the file system codec ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'encodings' Current thread 0x0000037c (most recent call first):

Answer 1

I ran into this same issue on Windows 10. Here's how I fixed it:

1. Open your 'Environment Variables' (Under 'System Properties').
2. In the window that opens, select the 'Path' row, then click the 'Edit...' button.
3. There should be two environment variables C:\Python37-32\Scripts\ and C:\Python37-32\ Then click 'OK' (Make sure to check that these path values correspond to the location and version of your Python install.)
4. Next, in the top portion of the 'Environment Variables' window, look for the PYTHONHOME variable and make sure that it is also set to C:\Python37-32