Install mod_wsgi with Python 2.7 on Windows 64 bit

Question

I'm trying to deploy my Django website, which is written using Python 2.7, on a windows 64 bit machine (Windows Server 2008 R2). I installed the pre-compiled version of Apache (Apache 2.4.16 x64) from https://www.apachehaus.com/cgi-bin/download.plx (due to lack of option provided by Apache Lounge***), and have checked that Python 2.7 runs on 64 bit and compiles with VC9. I wasn't able to find a pre-built binary for mod_wsgi (for Windows 64 bit and compiled with VC9), so I downloaded the source code for mod_wsgi from https://github.com/GrahamDumpleton/mod_wsgi/releases/tag/4.4.13 and followed the direction from https://github.com/GrahamDumpleton/mod_wsgi/blob/develop/win32/README.rst, changing the ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk file to point at the right directories for APACHE_ROOTDIR and PYTHON_ROOTDIR, and using C++ 2008 64-bit Command Prompt to run the command nmake -f ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk clean. However, this gave me the error:

wsgi_memory.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol GetProcessMemoryInfo referenced
  in function getPeakRSS
mod_wsgi.so : fatal error LINK1120: 1 unresolved externals
NMAKE : fatal error U1077: `"...\Visual C++ for Python\9.0\VC\Bin\amd64\c1.EXE"` :
  return code `0x2`
Stop.

I have read the installation and configuration documents for mod_wsgi multiple times and have searched the web including SO for the past few hours to no avail. What am I doing wrong here and how could I fix it?

***I know the official document for installing mod_wsgi warns against using binaries from other sources than Apache Lounge but I don't seem to be able to find the right compiled version (for VC9 and Windows 64 bit) from the site. Could this be a problem and if so, how could I fix it?

Update: following Adelin's suggestion, I was able to get namke -f ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk clean to run. However, when I try running namke -f ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk or namke -f ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk install, I get pages of warnings that say: warning C4820: '...' : '...' bytes padding added after data member '...' until the compiler quits with

fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'Python.h': No such file or directory
...\mod_wsgi-4.4.13\src\server\wsgi_memory.c<124> : warning C4711: function 'getCurrentRSS' selected for automatic inline expansion
NMAKE: fatal error U1077: '"C:\...\Microsoft\Visual C++ for Python\9.0\VC\Bin\amd64\c1.EXE"' : return code '0x2'
Stop.

Does anyone have any idea why this might be and how I should go about fixing it?

Answer 1

I had this same error.

The problem is that the cl.exe doesn't find the psapi.lib. This lib includes the function referenced in wsgi_memory.c - GetProcessMemoryInfo.

To fix this, you should follow these steps:

1. Locate psapi.lib (run a search on C:\)
2. Open the ap24py27-win64-VC9.mk file you are using to compile, with any text editor
3. See what other .mk file it includes. Most probably common-VC9.mk
4. Open that file (common-VC9.mk) with any text editor
5. Under LDFLAGS, append yet another line of /LIBPATH:"PATH_FOUND_AT_STEP_1"\
6. Save changes and retry

What a pain in the ass this was for me too :)

P.S. If you don't find psapi.lib anywhere, it's because you don't have the Windows SDK. I installed both Windows 7 and Windows 8 SDKs and eventually had the psapi.lib located here C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Lib\winv6.3\um\x64

Edit: To give you a solution for your newest errors in a somewhat general way, whenever nmake throws "No such file" errors, the location for the file is not properly referenced in common-VC9.mk file.

There are two types of files nmake will look for: .h or .lib.

If a .h is not found, the corresponding path should be properly referenced under the CPPFLAGS variable of common-VC9.mk file. If a .lib is not found, you need to update LDFLAGS path accordingly.

How? The same way you included the path for psapi.lib: locate the file and append the corresponding path to the proper variable: CPPFLAGS or LDFLAGS.