[Python-Dev] Python 3.4.2 MSI fails to install and run on Windows For Devices (original) (raw)

Paul Sokolovsky pmiscml at gmail.com
Thu Nov 27 03:42:01 CET 2014

Hello,

Following recent discussion of keeping Windows matters to the main dev list, I hope this message will be found useful. Please note that this is not a bug report, mostly a FYI.

So, I tried to install Python 3.4.2 on an Intel Galileo board shipped with Windows For Devices. Actually, I don't know if that's correct name for this version of Windows, or rather it's Windows On Devices or Windows IoT. Either way it's essentially a headless Windows, with landing page at http://windowsondevices.com/ .

So, I couldn't install python-3.4.2.msi, because that Windows comes without msiexec. Trying to install it via a redistributable (WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe) fails without any error. At which point I started to think that it may be because running any GUI apps there is not supported.

I then installed the MSI with wine (I'm using Linux host), uploaded the installed tree to the board via FTP, and also collected any dependent DLLs from the system folder. python.exe exits immediately in start, just as WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe.

Ironically, that board was gotten to test and better support Windows port of MicroPython. It starts up and executes quick manual command fine, and the reason I needed CPython there is to run MicroPython's testsuite which depends on it.

As I mentioned, I don't consider this bug in CPython Windows build, it's rather bug in the discussed Windows version, and I'll try to figure out where to report it properly. But somehow I feel that resolving the underlying issue (running msiexec, [arbitrary] other applications) may take a while, and until then, Python is not usable on this board ;-I.

So, until this issue is figured out, MicroPython already supports this embedded Windows version better than CPython ;-).

-- Best regards, Paul mailto:pmiscml at gmail.com

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