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pythonwindowswindows-installer

Unable to Find Python 3.8.17 Windows Installation Package for Windows 7

I am a beginner in Python and I recently encountered an issue while trying to find the Python 3.8 installation package on the official Python website. My target system is Windows 7, so I cannot use versions 3.9 and above. I noticed that the latest Windows version of Python 3.8.17, released on June 6, 2023, is not available for download. I'm curious to know why this is the case and how I can install the latest release, 3.8.17, on my Windows 7 system.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Solution

  • The reason you cannot download Python 3.8.17 for Windows 7 is that Python 3.8 has reached its "security fixes only" stage in its lifecycle. This means that Python 3.8 will only receive security fixes and bug fixes that are deemed critical. As a result, binary installers are no longer provided for Python 3.8.

    The latest full bugfix release of Python 3.8 with binary installers was Python 3.8.10. This release was made on May 9, 2022. If you need to install Python 3.8 on your Windows 7 system, you should download and install Python 3.8.10 from the official Python website.

    Here are the steps on how to install Python 3.8.10 on your Windows 7 system:

    1. Download the appropriate installer for your system architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) from the official Python website: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3810/
    2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
    3. Make sure to check the "Add Python 3.8 to PATH" option during installation. This will allow you to use Python from the command line without having to specify the full path to the executable.

    Once you have installed Python 3.8.10, you can verify that it is installed correctly by opening the Command Prompt and typing the following command:

    python --version

    This should print the version of Python that you have installed.