Help/Support No module named '_ctypes' - IDA Pro 7.6

Rook · October 27, 2023

Hello!

I recently formatted my computer & updated to the latest IDA 7.6 and every time I try open IDA I receive the message below:

C:\Program Files\IDA Pro 7.6\loaders\uimage.py: No module named '_ctypes'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files\IDA Pro 7.6\python\3\ida_idaapi.py", line 616, in IDAPython_ExecScript
    exec(code, g)
  File "C:/Program Files/IDA Pro 7.6/loaders/uimage.py", line 79, in <module>
    import ctypes
  File "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python311\Lib\ctypes\__init__.py", line 8, in <module>
    from _ctypes import Union, Structure, Array
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named '_ctypes'

It doesn't seem to block or break anything in IDA, but it has become annoying.

Anyone know what's causing it or how to resolve the issue?

Shiny Shizou · October 27, 2023

It looks like python got messed up, have you tried reinstalling your python version?

Or can yo check the DLLs folder in your python directory?
Like if this is present:

Python???\DLLs\_ctypes.pyd

Maybe you just need to fix your PATH in your environment vars.

Updated October 27, 2023 by Shiny Shizou

AnonyN · October 27, 2023

Maybe you just need to reinstall IDA. Everytime i got issue about ida i just reinstall it and all done

Rook · October 30, 2023

@Shiny Shizou @AnonyN Thank you for your help!

I managed to figure it out. Seems like IDA Pro 7.6 supports up to Python 3.9 as maximum version. So I uninstalled 3.11 that I had installed and installed 3.8 from python.org and seems the issue is fixed and everything is working!