unable to update pip or install anything in pip. using anaconda

Question

I am using anaconda on windows 10. and having problem install anything in pip. I feel like stuck in a loop. When I try to install anything I get message about Permission error

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\Shared\\Anaconda3_64\\Lib\\site-packages\\virtualenv.py'

and a message to update pip. But when I try to update pip I again get a permission error

PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'c:\\program files (x86)\\microsoft visual studio\\shared\\anaconda3_64\\lib\\site-packages\\pip\\basecommand.py'

---

for example I am trying to install virtualenv by pip install virtualenv I got:

  Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/b6/30/96a02b2287098b23b875bc8c2f58071c35d2efe84f747b64d523721dc2b5/virtualenv-16.0.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl
Installing collected packages: virtualenv
Exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\basecommand.py", line 215, in main
    status = self.run(options, args)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\commands\install.py", line 342, in run
    prefix=options.prefix_path,
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_set.py", line 784, in install
    **kwargs
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_install.py", line 851, in install
    self.move_wheel_files(self.source_dir, root=root, prefix=prefix)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_install.py", line 1064, in move_wheel_files
    isolated=self.isolated,
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\wheel.py", line 345, in move_wheel_files
    clobber(source, lib_dir, True)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\wheel.py", line 323, in clobber
    shutil.copyfile(srcfile, destfile)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 121, in copyfile
    with open(dst, 'wb') as fdst:
PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\Shared\\Anaconda3_64\\Lib\\site-packages\\virtualenv.py'
You are using pip version 9.0.1, however version 10.0.1 is available.

when I tried to update pip by

python -m pip install --upgrade pip

I get:

Collecting pip
  Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/0f/74/ecd13431bcc456ed390b44c8a6e917c1820365cbebcb6a8974d1cd045ab4/pip-10.0.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
Installing collected packages: pip
  Found existing installation: pip 9.0.1
    Uninstalling pip-9.0.1:
Exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 544, in move
    os.rename(src, real_dst)
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'c:\\program files (x86)\\microsoft visual studio\\shared\\anaconda3_64\\lib\\site-packages\\pip' -> 'C:\\Users\\dsandhu\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-1ef03cka-uninstall\\program files (x86)\\microsoft visual studio\\shared\\anaconda3_64\\lib\\site-packages\\pip'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\basecommand.py", line 215, in main
    status = self.run(options, args)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\commands\install.py", line 342, in run
    prefix=options.prefix_path,
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_set.py", line 778, in install
    requirement.uninstall(auto_confirm=True)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_install.py", line 754, in uninstall
    paths_to_remove.remove(auto_confirm)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_uninstall.py", line 115, in remove
    renames(path, new_path)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\site-packages\pip\utils\__init__.py", line 267, in renames
    shutil.move(old, new)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 556, in move
    rmtree(src)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 494, in rmtree
    return _rmtree_unsafe(path, onerror)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 389, in _rmtree_unsafe
    onerror(os.unlink, fullname, sys.exc_info())
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Shared\Anaconda3_64\lib\shutil.py", line 387, in _rmtree_unsafe
    os.unlink(fullname)
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'c:\\program files (x86)\\microsoft visual studio\\shared\\anaconda3_64\\lib\\site-packages\\pip\\basecommand.py'
You are using pip version 9.0.1, however version 10.0.1 is available.
You should consider upgrading via the 'python -m pip install --upgrade pip' command.

Answer 1

In addition to running anaconda as admin, you can alternatively try to Conda install in Anaconda Prompt itself

Answer 2

Anaconda may be installed as the System Administrator user. In this case, start your console window as Administrator (right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as administrator) and you should be able to update and install packages as expected.

Answer 3

Your anaconda is installed under program files, which requires admin permissions to write. Run cmd as administrator and try pip again, or alternatively, install anaconda to Users/username/Anaconda

Answer 4

Try using a command prompt with admin rights.

Follow these steps:

1. Type cmd in Start search.
2. In the results, you will see "cmd".
3. Right-click on it and from the context menu select Run as Administrator.

Then try to upgrade pip by running:

python -m pip install --upgrade pip