When I tried to compile the python, I always get compile issue as following: ------------ ... File "C:\Python26\lib\ distutils\msvc9compiler.py ", line 358, in initialize vc_env = query_vcvarsall(VERSION, plat_spec) File "C:\Python26\lib\ distutils\msvc9compiler.py ", line 274, in query_vcvarsall raise ValueError(str(list(result.keys()))) ValueError: [u'path'] --------------------- Python community discussed a lot but no solution: http://bugs.python.org/issue7511 The root cause is because the latest visual studio change the *.bat file a lot especially on 64bit env. The python 2.7 didn't update the path accordingly. Based on the assumption above, the following solution worked for me. To install Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition with all required components: 1. Install Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition. The main Visual Studio 2008 Express installer is available from (the C++ installer name is vcsetup.exe): https://ww