[issue37769] Windows Store installer should warn user about MAX_PATH

[Jonas Binding]

New submission from Jonas Binding <jonas.binding at gmail.com>:

The "Windows Store" installer for Python has a seemingly low entry barrier, causing people to install without reading something like https://docs.python.org/3.7/using/windows.html. 

However, due to the really long path it uses for Python (e.g. C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.3.7_qbz5n2kfra8p0\), the chances of running into issues with paths longer than 260 characters are really high. 

For example installing pytorch already fails due to this limitation, see https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues/23823 and https://www.reddit.com/r/pytorch/comments/c6cllq/issue_installing_pytorch/

Therefore, the Windows Store installer should offer to change the registry key to enable longer paths, or at least show a message to this effect.

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components: Windows
messages: 349079
nosy: Jonas Binding, paul.moore, steve.dower, tim.golden, zach.ware
priority: normal
severity: normal
status: open
title: Windows Store installer should warn user about MAX_PATH
type: enhancement
versions: Python 3.7

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Python tracker <report at bugs.python.org>
<https://bugs.python.org/issue37769>
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