Updating Anaconda's root Python to newer minor version on Windows does nothing

Question

I have an Anaconda (not miniconda) Python 2.7 install on Windows. I would like to update the version of Python installed to the latest minor version (2.7.9), which I see is

Answer 1

You are right that Windows won't let conda update Python in the root environment. The only option is to create a new environment with conda create. Otherwise, for now, you will have to reinstall Anaconda to update the root environment Python. We are working on a way to update Python in the root environment, but it isn't finished yet.