ImportError: DLL load failed with error code 3221225501 tensorflow

Question

I get the above mentioned error code when importing tensorflow the used version is 1.14 in a separate environment the installation is succesful, through pip install in anaconda, windows 7, installing cudam toolkit, but yet unable to import tensorflow successfully i get this error

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py in <module>
     57 
---> 58   from tensorflow.python.pywrap_tensorflow_internal import *
     59   from tensorflow.python.pywrap_tensorflow_internal import __version__

~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow_internal.py in <module>
     27             return _mod
---> 28     _pywrap_tensorflow_internal = swig_import_helper()
     29     del swig_import_helper

~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow_internal.py in swig_import_helper()
     23             try:
---> 24                 _mod = imp.load_module('_pywrap_tensorflow_internal', fp, pathname, description)
     25             finally:

~\Anaconda3\lib\imp.py in load_module(name, file, filename, details)
    241         else:
--> 242             return load_dynamic(name, filename, file)
    243     elif type_ == PKG_DIRECTORY:

~\Anaconda3\lib\imp.py in load_dynamic(name, path, file)
    341             name=name, loader=loader, origin=path)
--> 342         return _load(spec)
    343 

ImportError: DLL load failed with error code 3221225501

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-1-64156d691fe5> in <module>
----> 1 import tensorflow as tf

~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\__init__.py in <module>
     26 
     27 # pylint: disable=g-bad-import-order
---> 28 from tensorflow.python import pywrap_tensorflow  # pylint: disable=unused-import
     29 from tensorflow.python.tools import module_util as _module_util
     30 

~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\__init__.py in <module>
     47 import numpy as np
     48 
---> 49 from tensorflow.python import pywrap_tensorflow
     50 
     51 # Protocol buffers

~\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py in <module>
     72 for some common reasons and solutions.  Include the entire stack trace
     73 above this error message when asking for help.""" % traceback.format_exc()
---> 74   raise ImportError(msg)
     75 
     76 # pylint: enable=wildcard-import,g-import-not-at-top,unused-import,line-too-long

ImportError: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Neuralserver\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py", line 58, in <module>
    from tensorflow.python.pywrap_tensorflow_internal import *
  File "C:\Users\Neuralserver\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow_internal.py", line 28, in <module>
    _pywrap_tensorflow_internal = swig_import_helper()
  File "C:\Users\Neuralserver\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow_internal.py", line 24, in swig_import_helper
    _mod = imp.load_module('_pywrap_tensorflow_internal', fp, pathname, description)
  File "C:\Users\Neuralserver\Anaconda3\lib\imp.py", line 242, in load_module
    return load_dynamic(name, filename, file)
  File "C:\Users\Neuralserver\Anaconda3\lib\imp.py", line 342, in load_dynamic
    return _load(spec)
ImportError: DLL load failed with error code 3221225501

Answer 1

I encountered this error while installing Tensorflow 2.x in a conda environment without CUDA on windows 7.

Ultimately, I managed to install Tensorflow as part of setting up a new conda environment. This was my environment file which managed the install:

# This file defines a conda environment.
# Run as: conda env create -f dev_environment.yml
# Remove old environment using: conda env remove --name dev
name: dev
channels:
  - conda-forge
dependencies:
  - python=3.7
  - notebook
  - numpy
  - pandas
  - tensorflow-mkl=2.1  # <-
  - tensorflow-estimator==2.1  # <- (Needed to avoid AttributeError)

I also installed the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, as mentioned in the installation docs as part of my search to get things workings, but I am unsure whether this is vital or not.

Some further remarks:

• At the time of writing, tensorflow 2.2 was already available on conda, but gave a AttributeError when importing
• Using pip always gave the error described by OP (pip install tensorflow or pip install tensorflow-cpu). I am unsure what the difference is between the pip and conda versions.
• Tensorflow hardware requirements mention TF uses AVX cpu instructions starting from version 1.6. However, I was able to install TF using the above method on a machine with an intel i9 cpu, which does not support AVX instructions.

Answer 2

Try to access after installing proper CUDA Reference 1, Reference 2