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pythonpython-3.xinstallationanacondaanaconda3

anaconda 3 directory remains after uninstall

EDIT

Please note I deleted ANACONDA3\envs and ANACONDA3\pkgs as per anaconda docs linked in main answer. Contents of Anaconda directory:

C:\Users\u03132tk>cd C:\ANACONDA3

C:\ANACONDA3>dir
 Volume in drive C is OS
 Volume Serial Number is 0C73-2057

 Directory of C:\ANACONDA3

15/06/2023  11:23    <DIR>          .
15/06/2023  11:23    <DIR>          ..
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          conda-meta
15/06/2023  11:09    <DIR>          DLLs
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          etc
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          include
15/06/2023  11:09    <DIR>          Lib
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          Library
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          libs
08/09/2020  18:10            27,936 msvcp140_codecvt_ids.dll
08/03/2023  18:51         4,490,240 python39.dll
08/03/2023  18:51        13,668,352 python39.pdb
15/06/2023  11:12    <DIR>          Scripts
24/05/2023  13:51    <DIR>          share
15/06/2023  11:23    <DIR>          tcl
24/05/2023  13:10    <DIR>          Tools
08/09/2020  18:10            44,328 vcruntime140_1.dll
08/03/2023  18:40           524,800 venvlauncher.exe
08/03/2023  18:40           524,288 venvwlauncher.exe
24/10/2022  15:04            87,552 zlib.dll
               7 File(s)     19,367,496 bytes
              13 Dir(s)  14,452,559,872 bytes free

Original message:

After having dependency issues, I decided to delete and re-install anaconda3. I followed the instructions here (full uninstall --> simple remove - I am on Windows 10). In add or remove programs, I uninstalled both anaconda 3 and then Python 3 (I had installed python 3 externally to conda - I now know this was a terrible idea). I also uninstalled Python Launcher. I now want to re-install anaconda 3, but the anaconda 3 directory is still on my computer (C:\ANACONDA3 - it is 1.62 GB).

I am not sure why it was not removed - is it safe to simply delete it? I suspect that having two copies of Anaconda3 hanging around would be even worse than having multiple Python versions, so would like to be sure before I do anything.

Thanks! Tim

Solution

  • Removing the ANACONDA3 folder is generally safe as conda installs isolated environments to your system

    To ensure conda is completely removed from your system, you will need to make sure its removed from your PATH environment variables

    To do so, follow these steps:

    1. right-click on the Computer or This PC icon on the desktop and select Properties
    2. Advanced system settings link which should appear on the left-hand side.
    3. System Properties > Advanced > Environment Variables enter image description here
    4. Delete any conda related Variable:Value pair

    If OP still runs into issue with anaconda installation, you can choose to install a minimal version via MiniForge for the community version replacement of Anaconda, the minimal installer skips packages which come with Anaconda.

    After installation, run:

    conda create -n firstEnv python=3.11 ipython to install python 3.11

    • replace firstEnv with your environment name and 3.11 to desired python version

    And install necessary packages via pip install and conda install

    Happy coding!