Python - PIP install trouble shooting - PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied

Question

I get the following error when using PIP to either install new packages or even upgrade pip itself to the latest version. I am running pip on a windows 8.1 machine with Python 3.4.

The message is telling me I don't have Administrative Permission on the files (my account is an Administrator Account).

I would appreciate any thoughts on how to resolve this, as it is getting in the way of installing packages and progressing with Python.

Error message:

Installing collected packages: pip
  Found existing installation: pip 6.0.8
    Uninstalling pip-6.0.8:
      Removing file or directory c:\program files (x86)\python\python34\lib\site-packages\pip-6.0.8.dist-info\description.rst
      Cleaning up...
Exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\shutil.py", line 523, in move
    os.rename(src, real_dst)
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'c:\\program files (x86)\\python\\python34\\lib\\site-packages\\pip-6.0.8.dist-info\\description.rst' -> 'C:\\Users\\User\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-uze_sc4k-uninstall\\program files (x86)\\python\\python34\\lib\\site-packages\\pip-6.0.8.dist-info\\description.rst'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\basecommand.py", line 232, in main
    status = self.run(options, args)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\commands\install.py", line 347, in run
    root=options.root_path,
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_set.py", line 543, in install
    requirement.uninstall(auto_confirm=True)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_install.py", line 667, in uninstall
    paths_to_remove.remove(auto_confirm)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\req\req_uninstall.py", line 126, in remove
    renames(path, new_path)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\site-packages\pip\utils\__init__.py", line 316, in renames
    shutil.move(old, new)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Python\Python34\lib\shutil.py", line 536, in move
    os.unlink(src)
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'c:\\program files (x86)\\python\\python34\\lib\\site-packages\\pip-6.0.8.dist-info\\description.rst'

Answer 1

E: Since this answer seems to have gained some popularity, I will add: doing things globally is most of the time not a great idea. Almost always the correct answer is: use a project environment where you're not installing things globally, e.g. with virtualenv.

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For those that may run into the same issue:

Run the command prompt as administrator. Having administrator permissions in the account is not always enough. In Windows, things can be run as administrator by right-clicking the executable and selecting "Run as Administrator". So, type "cmd" to the Start menu, right click cmd.exe, and run it as administrator.