Why Does Loading a DLL with Python CTypes Throw OSError: [WinError 193] %1 is not a valid Win32 application?

Python CTypes - loading dll throws OSError: [WinError 193] %1 is not a valid Win32 application

Issue:

The error message indicates that the underlying error is ERROR_BAD_EXE_FORMAT (193, 0xC1). This is a general Win error (not related to Python). In the current case, the exception is a Python wrapper over it.

Root Cause:

The error occurs when Windows attempts to load an image (executable, .dll) that it believes is an executable image (PE) but is not valid. This can occur due to:

• Download incomplete
• Overwritten or corrupted image
• Filesystem problem

For Python-related problems, this error is most commonly caused by an architecture mismatch.

Solutions:

• Ensure the DLL's architecture matches the process architecture.
• Verify that the DLL is not corrupt or has not been modified.
• If loading from a file, check for possible issues (listed above).
• When importing an extension module (.pyd), check that it has been built for the correct architecture.
• Install and run a Python interpreter with the correct architecture (064bit is generally preferred).

The above is the detailed content of Why Does Loading a DLL with Python CTypes Throw OSError: [WinError 193] %1 is not a valid Win32 application?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!