Electrum 4.2.0 strange dll errors

[Skyzon]

Hello all,

My wallet version 4.1.5 told me there is a new version 4.2.0.
So as allways i copied the link directly from the wallet and paste it in my browser, downloaded the windows installer version as always.
Installed it with no problems or errors and wanted to start the new install and there comes the first error:

api-ms-win-core-path-l1-1-0.dll is missing or cant be found.

I click on ok and the next error is:

python39.dll is missing or cant be found at the electrum install location.

I never had this problem with any electrum installation and i dont know what to do.
Just to be safe i tried to reinstall it but same errors

My OS is Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit (6.1 Build 7601)
I7 8700k
16Gb ram
GTX 1070

[1714032366]

1714032366

[BitMaxz]

Where do you get or download the Electrum 4.2.0 version? Make sure it was from electrum.org

Also, try to reinstall the latest Electrum just make sure that you already have wallet file backup before you uninstall Electrum and install the latest one.

If you have any installed Anti Virus I suggest you disable it first before you install Electrum.

[Skyzon]

Where do you get or download the Electrum 4.2.0 version? Make sure it was from electrum.org

Also, try to reinstall the latest Electrum just make sure that you already have wallet file backup before you uninstall Electrum and install the latest one.

If you have any installed Anti Virus I suggest you disable it first before you install Electrum.

electrum.org than downloads etc.

i did reinstall it same errors.

i will try the idea with disabled anti virus.


I redownloaded it again from electrum.org just to be sure.

Disabled the anti virus but sadly the same errors.

If i have to guess by the release notes of electrum 4.2.0 it has something to do with python. In 4.2.0 they increase the python version to 3.8.
Im not a coder or programmer but, isn´t it normal if you increase a version libary of python that you include that required version libary for a bit of time in the new releases, so that older versions can be updated with the installation of the newest electrum release?

[o_e_l_e_o]

Probably due to the fact you are running a horrendously outdated version of Windows.

The release notes for 4.2.0 state that the minimum Python version is now 3.8. The Python for Windows download page (https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/) does state that 3.8.13 should still work on Windows 7. I would try downloading and installing this first, and then reinstalling Electrum, and seeing if that gets you anywhere.

You really should stop storing bitcoin on a computer with such an insecure and outdated OS though. You are asking for trouble by doing this.

[BitMaxz]

Try the suggested above by installing the latest version of python but if it still does not work I suggest you raise your problem directly on their Github page so that they can release a new version that supports Windows 7 or a patch that could fix your issue.

Also, would you mind to try using the standalone or the portable Electrum? try them and maybe it will work than using the Electrum installer or you can stay using 4.1.5 Electrum and wait for another Electrum release.

[Skyzon]

Probably due to the fact you are running a horrendously outdated version of Windows.

The release notes for 4.2.0 state that the minimum Python version is now 3.8. The Python for Windows download page (https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/) does state that 3.8.13 should still work on Windows 7. I would try downloading and installing this first, and then reinstalling Electrum, and seeing if that gets you anywhere.

You really should stop storing bitcoin on a computer with such an insecure and outdated OS though. You are asking for trouble by doing this.

The only .exe of the newest python version i found on thier website is 3.8.10.

The version with 3.8.13 is zipped with a container format i never heard of, but i could unzip it and i did not found any .exe in all those folders to install it or am i just blind?

[logfiles]

Looks like it's a problem with your operating system, and it seems to be common with Windows 7. Can you please confirm what the title on the dialogue box is? So that we are sure it's not due to Electrum.

Like this dialogue box shows a pop-up error by Internet Explorer



Better still, you can screen capture the error messages and post them so we can help find a possible solution

There is also a note for Windows users on the download page (https://electrum.org/#download)

Notes for Windows users
.....

Old versions of Windows might need to install the KB2999226 Windows update.

Might be worth trying

[nc50lc]

api-ms-win-core-path-l1-1-0.dll is missing or cant be found.
-snip-
My OS is Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit (6.1 Build 7601)

Can you try Window's "System File Checker tool": support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files

python39.dll is missing or cant be found at the electrum install location.

The Electrum installer should have that dll in the installation folder after install.

Check the folder where you've installed Electrum and if it's there, the issue is the former.
If it's not, reinstall Electrum but make sure that it's not running in the background (check the task manager for electrum processes or restart the PC).

[Charles-Tim]

I have the lastest version of Windows 10,  I checked for the update on Electrum, it showed me a clickable link to the download which I know is correct, I click on it and checked the url again on my browser to be certain it is correct. It brought up error but I changed the installation folder and it installed successfully.

Windows support for Windows 7 has been discontinued since January 14, 2020, whichs means no security update since early month of 2020. I do not think it is safe to have a wallet on Windows 7 because of this. User should know they are using it at their own risk.

Edit:
Electrum 4.2.0 do not support windows 7

[NotATether]

This is a problem from your Python installation, which is missing a certain "Universals C Runtime update" for Windows 7 boxes. You can download and install it from here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/update-for-universal-c-runtime-in-windows-c0514201-7fe6-95a3-b0a5-287930f3560c

After that, uninstall and reinstall Electrum (no further action needed if you're using the portable version).

Also make sure you're on Python 3.8, as Python 3.9 and later does not support Windows 7.

[evapowah]

Please tell the truth. Support for Windows 7 has been dropped in Electrum 4.2.0. The new programming language tools being used have dropped support for Windows 7.

Standalone version tested. I too am user of 4.1.5.
Now it is requiring NT 6.2.xxx files. Windows 7 latest service pack is NT 6.1.xxx. Windows 6.2.xxx is Windows 8. New build of Electrum requires windows 8.
https://ibb.co/x8t5Jbn

Now it requires phyton 39, which is not compatible with windows 7.
https://ibb.co/3Fx5CXj

Is it really being required to use a new programming language tool? Or is it to keep the bits in fashion? I hate when they did that, for example, with MSN messenger. Or dropping the whole support for windows XP in microsoft compilers. New version of the compiler required windows 7 just to print "hello world". (BTW: This is side effect of centralized finance, this is absolutely undesirable in decentralized finance.)

edit: Windows6.1-KB2999226-x64 patch makes no effect, it is probably an issue with compiler build options, but not of electrum, but of phyton interpreter!

(I'm tired of soldering ASIC chips for this. I cannot afford new computers just for a bitcoin wallet or node. Can you afford new miners when just one solder joint fails?)

[Skyzon]

The first error box reads:

electrum-4.2.0.exe - systemerror

The programm cant start because api-ms-win-core-path-I1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer.
try reinstalling to fix this problem.

Than after clicking ok the next box reads:

Fatal error detected

Error loading Python DLL C:\Program Files(x86)\Electrum\python39.dll


I checked the electrum folder after installing 4.2.0 agian the missing python39.dll was indeed in the folder.

[BitMaxz]

It seems that they do not support windows 7 as of now so you can't able to use the latest version of Electrum.
And it seems there is a new pull request they are going to add the latest python version.

Your only option if you stay want to use Electrum then use the older version just like what I said above or try to contact or raise your issue on the Electrum Github page.
Or your last hope upgrades your OS to at least Windows 8 or 10.

[nc50lc]

electrum-4.2.0.exe - systemerror

The programm cant start because api-ms-win-core-path-I1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer.
try reinstalling to fix this problem.
-snip-
I checked the electrum folder after installing 4.2.0 agian the missing python39.dll was indeed in the folder.

Have you tried "System File Checker tool" already?
It's a built-in tool in Windows that uses 'Windows Update' to fix/replace corrupted system files, you don't have to download anything with your browser.

Specifically, this command:

Code:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Enter it in your elevated cmd: right-click "Start" and select "Command Prompt (Admin)".
Or refer to the link in my previous post for the usage and other info.

[NotATether]

Please tell the truth. Support for Windows 7 has been dropped in Electrum 4.2.0. The new programming language tools being used have dropped support for Windows 7.

Standalone version tested. I too am user of 4.1.5.
Now it is requiring NT 6.2.xxx files. Windows 7 latest service pack is NT 6.1.xxx. Windows 6.2.xxx is Windows 8. New build of Electrum requires windows 8.

Now it requires phyton 39, which is not compatible with windows 7.

OK, so it seems that even the Universal C Runtime update will not fix this problem anymore.

But this issue should only be affecting the portable binary and installer, because these are built using pyinstaller which appears to be pulling in Python 3.9.

However, it should still be possible to run Electrum from source after downloading and installing an older version of Python manually (The electrum codebase itself still seems to require Python 3.8, but maybe this is not for long). I might fork the Electrum project to maintain the Python 3.8 dependency if this requirement does go up to 3.9 in the future.

So anyway, after you install Python 3.8 manually, you clone the project form Github and then run:

Code:

pip install -r contrib/requirements/requirements.txt # Ensure that pip is installed first
pip install pyqt5 # On Windows, you might have to install qt5 libraries from https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer first.
./run_electrum # or just 'electrum'

This will open up the Electrum GUI wallet as usual.


(This is not actually my wallet, I just imported a random address from blockchain.info for demonstration purposes.)

[Skyzon]

It seems that they do not support windows 7 as of now so you can't able to use the latest version of Electrum.
And it seems there is a new pull request they are going to add the latest python version.

Your only option if you stay want to use Electrum then use the older version just like what I said above or try to contact or raise your issue on the Electrum Github page.
Or your last hope upgrades your OS to at least Windows 8 or 10.

Well as long 4.1.5 works and is accepted by the network i will just use it further. I hope that this pull request solves the problem sooner than later that i i finally can update to the newest version and be happy. Instead of fearing to be left out.

electrum-4.2.0.exe - systemerror

The programm cant start because api-ms-win-core-path-I1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer.
try reinstalling to fix this problem.
-snip-
I checked the electrum folder after installing 4.2.0 agian the missing python39.dll was indeed in the folder.

Have you tried "System File Checker tool" already?
It's a built-in tool in Windows that uses 'Windows Update' to fix/replace corrupted system files, you don't have to download anything with your browser.

Specifically, this command:

Code:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Enter it in your elevated cmd: right-click "Start" and select "Command Prompt (Admin)".
Or refer to the link in my previous post for the usage and other info.

Since the windows update forced windows 10 installation i dont trust windows update at all and i wont use an official program that depends on it.

Please tell the truth. Support for Windows 7 has been dropped in Electrum 4.2.0. The new programming language tools being used have dropped support for Windows 7.

Standalone version tested. I too am user of 4.1.5.
Now it is requiring NT 6.2.xxx files. Windows 7 latest service pack is NT 6.1.xxx. Windows 6.2.xxx is Windows 8. New build of Electrum requires windows 8.

Now it requires phyton 39, which is not compatible with windows 7.

OK, so it seems that even the Universal C Runtime update will not fix this problem anymore.

But this issue should only be affecting the portable binary and installer, because these are built using pyinstaller which appears to be pulling in Python 3.9.

However, it should still be possible to run Electrum from source after downloading and installing an older version of Python manually (The electrum codebase itself still seems to require Python 3.8, but maybe this is not for long). I might fork the Electrum project to maintain the Python 3.8 dependency if this requirement does go up to 3.9 in the future.

So anyway, after you install Python 3.8 manually, you clone the project form Github and then run:

Code:

pip install -r contrib/requirements/requirements.txt # Ensure that pip is installed first
pip install pyqt5 # On Windows, you might have to install qt5 libraries from https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer first.
./run_electrum # or just 'electrum'

This will open up the Electrum GUI wallet as usual.

https://i.imgur.com/mv6Lqoh.png
(This is not actually my wallet, I just imported a random address from blockchain.info for demonstration purposes.)

Thank you very much for this detailed inside look/information and you are indeed correct, installing the old version which i luckily saved made my wallet work again.

That clone thing is way to high for me to execute and as i know myself i would mostly fuck it up