Why does a DLL error appear when importing tensorflow? - python-3.x

Question

I recently got a new 64-bit windows 10 and installed pycharm. The pycharm I am using is Python 3.8.
When I installed tensorflow by running the command line, it worked fine. However, when I imported on my pycharm file (i.e. import tensorflow as tf), it produced an error as such:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py", line 64, in <module>
from tensorflow.python._pywrap_tensorflow_internal import *
ImportError: DLL load failed while importing _pywrap_tensorflow_internal: The specified module could not be found.
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:/Users/leode/PycharmProjects/Science Fair/project.py", line 1, in <module>
import tensorflow as tf
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\__init__.py", line 41, in <module>
from tensorflow.python.tools import module_util as _module_util
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\__init__.py", line 40, in <module>
from tensorflow.python.eager import context
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\eager\context.py", line 35, in <module>
from tensorflow.python import pywrap_tfe
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tfe.py", line 28, in <module>
from tensorflow.python import pywrap_tensorflow
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py", line 83, in <module>
raise ImportError(msg)
ImportError: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\leode\anaconda3\envs\Science Fair\lib\site-packages\tensorflow\python\pywrap_tensorflow.py", line 64, in <module>
from tensorflow.python._pywrap_tensorflow_internal import *
ImportError: DLL load failed while importing _pywrap_tensorflow_internal: The specified module could not be found.
Failed to load the native TensorFlow runtime.
However when I import tensorboard_plugin_wit:
import tensorboard_plugin_wit
It works fine.
What went wrong? If any of you need any further clarification, please comment- I'm not much of an expert on handling computers so I will do my best to answer:)

Answer 1

I figured out what the problem was. Unlike many third-party modules in python, installing tensorflow requires more than simply pip install . The way I installed tensorflow was by creating and activating a conda environment. For more information on how to install tensorflow via Pycharm, here is a helpful Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ym-dOS9ssA&t=327s