DLL Error When Attempting to Run SimBA

[MattKDawson]

When I attempt to run SimBAxTf in a virtual environment using the Anaconda command prompt, I receive a WinError 126 (see below for the full error readout). I did have some issues with getting SimBA to install and I think that I installed CUDA and cuDNN properly, but either of those may be causing the issues related to my error. Any help or advice you could give me would be extremely appreciated, as my coding experience is limited to basics and I am at a loss as to how to troubleshoot my error.

Thank you!

ERROR READOUT:
(simba_env) C:\Users\carol>simba
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\runpy.py", line 193, in run_module_as_main
"main", mod_spec)
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\runpy.py", line 85, in run_code
exec(code, run_globals)
File "C:\Users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\Scripts\simba.exe_main.py", line 4, in
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\simba\SimBA.py", line 48, in
from simba.ROI_freehand_draw_3 import roiFreehand
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\simba\ROI_freehand_draw_3.py", line 6, in
from shapely.geometry import Polygon
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\shapely\geometry_init.py", line 4, in
from .base import CAP_STYLE, JOIN_STYLE
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\shapely\geometry\base.py", line 18, in
from shapely.coords import CoordinateSequence
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\shapely\coords.py", line 8, in
from shapely.geos import lgeos
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\site-packages\shapely\geos.py", line 145, in
lgeos = CDLL(os.path.join(sys.prefix, 'Library', 'bin', 'geos_c.dll'))
File "c:\users\carol\anaconda3\envs\simba_env\lib\ctypes_init.py", line 348, in init
self._handle = _dlopen(self._name, mode)
OSError: [WinError 126] The specified module could not be found

[sgoldenlab]

Hi @MattKDawson - yes this is a common issue, and there should be an easy fix.

1. After activating your simba_env, type pip uninstall shapely.

2. Next, type pip install shapely.

3. Then, try booting simba again with simba. If that does not work, try conda install shapely in step 3 above and see if simba boots by typing simba. If that also does not work:

4. Go to this address https://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#shapely and download Shapely‑1.7.1‑cp36‑cp36m‑win_amd64.whl

5. Next, with your simba_env activated, navigate to your downloads folder (I presume you should type cd c:\users\carol\Downloads

6. Next, type pip install Shapely‑1.7.1‑cp36‑cp36m‑win_amd64.whl

7. Check if SimBA starts by typing simba

Let me know if that solves it for you!

[MattKDawson]

Hi @sgoldenlab !

Using conda install shapely worked! Thank you so much for your help, SimBA will be such a valuable tool for me and my lab.

Take care!