SolcInstallationError: Downloaded binary would not execute, or returned unexpected output.

[taaha161]

Hello,
_I was previously working on windows 8.1 but recently upgraded to windows 10 so i could use the Ganache gui. The code seemed to work absolutely fine for windows 8.1 but I cannot seem to install solc on windows 10._

Here's my code:

import json

from solcx import compile_standard, install_solc


with open("./SimpleStorage.sol", "r") as file:
    simple_storage_file = file.read()

print("Installing...")
install_solc("0.6.0")

compiled_sol = compile_standard(
    {
        "language": "solidity",
        "sources": {"SimpleStorage.sol": {"content": simple_storage_file}},
        "settings": {
            "outputSelection": {
                "*": {
                    "*": ["abi", "metadata", "evm.bytecode", "evm.bytecode.sourceMap"]
                }
            }
        },
    },
    solc_version="0.6.0",
)

with open("compiled_code.json", "w") as file:
    json.dump(compiled_sol, file)


bytecode = compiled_sol["contracts"]["SimpleStorage.sol"]["SimpleStorage"]["evm"][
    "bytecode"
]["object"]

abi = json.loads(
    compiled_sol["contracts"]["SimpleStorage.sol"]["SimpleStorage"]["metadata"]
)["output"]["abi"]

print(compiled_sol)

Here's the error that shows up:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\site-packages\solcx\install.py", line 633, in _validate_installation
    installed_version = wrapper._get_solc_version(binary_path)
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\site-packages\solcx\wrapper.py", line 17, in _get_solc_version
    stdout_data = subprocess.check_output([str(solc_binary), "--version"], encoding="utf8")
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\subprocess.py", line 420, in check_output
    return run(*popenargs, stdout=PIPE, timeout=timeout, check=True,
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\subprocess.py", line 524, in run
    raise CalledProcessError(retcode, process.args,
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['C:\\Users\\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\\.solcx\\solc-v0.6.0\\solc.exe', '--version']' returned non-zero exit status 3221225595.

During the handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\demos\web3_py_simple_storage\deploy.py", line 13, in <module>
    install_solc("0.6.0")
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\site-packages\solcx\install.py", line 466, in install_solc
    raise exc
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\site-packages\solcx\install.py", line 459, in install_solc
    _validate_installation(version, solcx_binary_path)
  File "C:\Users\BIG BOSS MULTIMEDIA\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\site-packages\solcx\install.py", line 636, in _validate_installation
    raise SolcInstallationError(
solcx.exceptions.SolcInstallationError: Downloaded binary would not execute, or returned unexpected output.

[cromewar]

Hello @taaha161
Seems you python is having problems downloading Solc-x

I highly recommend you to use another python version, the best one ins Python 3.8, also use an isolated virtual env for for python smart contracts.

I hope this info might help.

[taaha161]

Hello @taaha161 Seems you python is having problems downloading Solc-x

I highly recommend you to use another python version, the best one ins Python 3.8, also use an isolated virtual env for for python smart contracts.

I hope this info might help.

I tried to run the code on Python 3.8.0 and also created an isolated virtual env but sadly the code still did not work

[cromewar]

In this case the problem is deeper, so I have some recommendations for you.

1. Try using WSL, there is a detailed guide of installation at "windows support".
2. Seems the solc compiler is not working, may be using just solc and not solcx might work.

[taaha161]

I finally figured it out with the help of another user who was facing the same issue. Turns out installing node js and using npm to install solc fixes the issue.
Many Thanks for the help!

[cromewar]

I'm glad is solved now!

[cromewar]

@Jawadirshad seems the solution was to install solc using npm.
npm i -g solc should work.