[FIXED] Anaconda Navigator is Stuck on Downgrade

Issue

I am using the Data Science for Dummies book to learn data science, but I am having the following issues:

1. https://repo.anaconda.com/archive/ is supposed to have the right version with Windows Version 5.2.0, but that requires that you install an old Python edition, which is not what is used in the tutorials. Therefore, I used what they have in the screenshots in the book (March 2019 edition).
2. Once I got this version of Anaconda installed, I have to change my Jupyter notebook edition to 5.5.0. On Anaconda Navigator, I clicked the settings icon and said I wanted to change Jupyter to version 5.5.0. However, this is causing Anaconda Navigator to be stuck on the "Downgrading application" status for around half an hour...is this normal? Keep in mind that I have re-installed this numerous times, rebooted my computer, and it still does not work.

Image is attached:

Thanks

Solution

In my experience the command line interface to conda is much more reliable to use than the GUI.

If you're new to the command line it can be a bit of a steep learning curve but I assure you it's worth it.

1. Use the Anaconda Prompt on windows, not the standard command prompt
2. This link here tells you most of what you need to know, and if you have questions about the command line version of conda you'll typically find much better solutions online in my experience (just anecdotally though so YMMV)
3. The command line version actually tells you what's going on, so if you're trying to create a new environment with a specific package and it's hanging for a while you'll have a much better idea of whether it's frozen, or whether it's actually doing something that takes a long time :)

Good luck!

Answered By - stephan