Python 3.6 Installation

[eryk sun]

On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 6:23 AM, Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu> wrote:
> Not everyone has run Windows update since the current runtime was released.

Python's installer tries (and sometimes fails) to install the
KB2999226 update, which installs an old version of the Universal CRT.
Some installers instead bundle the VC++ redistributable, which
includes KB2999226, but that would be overkill for CPython. I thought
we could phase this out in 3.6 to instead require an up-to-date OS. If
people need offline updates, as opposed to using Windows update, it's
better to get the most recent version directly from Microsoft,
KB3118401 [1]. Steve Dower disagreed, and that's the end of it.

As to the loader returning STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_FORMAT (0xC000007B), I
would run the executable/script under a debugger such as WinDbg or
cdb, with loader snaps enabled via gflags. Find the troublesome
DLL(s), and manually resolve the problem.

[1]: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3118401