How to Fix ImportError: DLL Load Failed in Python

We will learn, with this explanation, about ImportError: DLL load failed and see the different reasons why the DLL load failed occurs. We will also learn how to fix this issue in Python.

Fix the ImportError: DLL Load Failed in Python

We encounter this error (ImportError: DLL load failed) because we are trying to intermix a 32-bit something with a 64-bit something or vice versa. In our case, we did import pybrain and got this error.

Usually, this would mean that pybrain was the incorrect bit version; however, in our scenario, that is not the case. It is a little more complex.

The pybrain is correct, and if we come down here, we will see the last thing we were trying to import something from scipy.linalg.

When we run this command, that is from scipy.linalg import _fblas then it returns the DLL load failed error that means we are trying to access the incorrect bit version.

Since we upgraded to 64-bit Python, when we installed scipy, it was a 32-bit version; hence, an error occurs since you are trying to import something with the wrong bit value. Another thing we will add is if you are running a 64-bit version of Python, many modules are not available in 64-bit; thus, you are getting this error.

This is not only for the scipy module but will apply to all modules. If you try downloading the 32-bit version and installing it, then Python could not find it on your machine.

You can find the compatible version for many modules from here, and you can download and run this file from the terminal.

If the above solution does not work for you, then you have to reinstall Python, and you can also install Anaconda. You can try to run your script in an activated Conda environment so that this may work.

conda activate

Some libraries need Microsoft Visual C++ to run it; for example, when we import TensorFlow, we get the same error sometimes. The solution is to download Microsoft Visual C++ and install it from here and check whether the exception raises or not.