ImportError: DLL load failed : - when trying to import psycopg2 library

Question

>>> import psycopg2
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 1, in 
  File "C:\Python26\lib\site-packages\psycopg2\__init__.py", line 60, in 
    from _psycopg import BINARY, NUMBER, STRING, DATETIME, ROWID
ImportError: DLL load failed: The application has failed to start because its si
de-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log for
more detail.

I get this error when trying to import psycopg2.. I've searched for days, and found no solutions. I've tried installing the Visual C++ 2008 Package, but I still get the same error.

Answer 1

It is a problem with virtualenv and psycopg2. I have copied _psycopg.cp38-win_amd64.pyd from global python to \venv\Lib\site-packages\psycopg2 This worked for me.

Answer 2

Try to run the following command:

pip install psycopg2-binary

Answer 3

On Windows, make sure your path includes the Postgres bin directory. In my machine it's c:\Programs\PostgreSQL\9.3\bin.

Answer 4

You can also try installing win-psycopg from here

Answer 5

According to this thread you need to install an earlier version since there were problems with the latest build.

Simply install an earlier version, (2.0.10 works great), even with PostgreSQL 8.4.x series.