title: Error on import matplotlib.pyplot (on Anaconda3 for Windows 10 Home 64-bit PC)
body: <p>I recently installed "Anaconda3 for Windows v2.4.0" on my Windows 10 Home (64 bit) machine.</p>
  
  <p>(I downloaded the Windows 64-bit Graphical Installer "Anaconda3-2.4.0-Windows-x86_64.exe" (392 MB) from <a href="https://www.continuum.io/downloads">https://www.continuum.io/downloads</a>.)</p>
  
  <p>In a Command Prompt window, I did the conda "Test Drive", including "conda update conda", etc. In the end, I see the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>C:\Users\Anshul\Downloads\Python&gt;conda update conda
  Fetching package metadata: ....
  # All requested packages already installed.
  # packages in environment at C:\Anaconda3:
  #
  conda                     3.18.6                   py35_0    defaults
  
  C:\Users\Anshul\Downloads\Python&gt;conda list matplotlib
  # packages in environment at C:\Anaconda3:
  #
  matplotlib                1.5.0               np110py35_0    defaults
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The installation seems to have been successful - for example:</p>
  
  <pre><code>C:\Users\Anshul\Downloads\Python&gt;python
  Python 3.5.0 |Anaconda 2.4.0 (64-bit)| (default, Nov  7 2015, 13:15:24) [MSC v.1900 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
  Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
  &gt;&gt;&gt; print("Hello World")
  Hello World
  &gt;&gt;&gt; import os
  &gt;&gt;&gt; os.getcwd()
  'C:\\Users\\Anshul\\Downloads\\Python'
  &gt;&gt;&gt; import matplotlib as mpl
  &gt;&gt;&gt; print(mpl.__version__)
  1.5.0
  &gt;&gt;&gt; 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Note that matplotlib was imported fine above.  However, I get an error message when I try to import "matplotlib.pyplot" as shown below:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; import matplotlib.pyplot as pp
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 1412, in &lt;module&gt;
      fontManager = pickle_load(_fmcache)
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 963, in pickle_load
      with open(filename, 'rb') as fh:
  FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'C:\\Users\\Anshul\\.matplotlib\\fontList.py3k.cache'
  
  During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
  
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "&lt;stdin&gt;", line 1, in &lt;module&gt;
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\pyplot.py", line 29, in &lt;module&gt;
      import matplotlib.colorbar
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\colorbar.py", line 34, in &lt;module&gt;
      import matplotlib.collections as collections
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\collections.py", line 27, in &lt;module&gt;
      import matplotlib.backend_bases as backend_bases
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\backend_bases.py", line 62, in &lt;module&gt;
      import matplotlib.textpath as textpath
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\textpath.py", line 15, in &lt;module&gt;
      import matplotlib.font_manager as font_manager
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 1420, in &lt;module&gt;
      _rebuild()
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 1405, in _rebuild
      fontManager = FontManager()
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 1043, in __init__
      self.ttffiles = findSystemFonts(paths) + findSystemFonts()
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 312, in findSystemFonts
      for f in win32InstalledFonts(fontdir):
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py", line 231, in win32InstalledFonts
      direc = os.path.abspath(direc).lower()
    File "C:\Anaconda3\lib\ntpath.py", line 535, in abspath
      path = _getfullpathname(path)
  ValueError: _getfullpathname: embedded null character
  &gt;&gt;&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I opened "C:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\font_manager.py" in a text editor and tried to look for the source of the error. I think this is where things are going wrong:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; mpl.get_cachedir()
  'C:\\Users\\Anshul\\.matplotlib'
  &gt;&gt;&gt; mpl.get_configdir()
  'C:\\Users\\Anshul\\.matplotlib'
  &gt;&gt;&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>In Windows Explorer, I see that the "C:\Users\Anshul.matplotlib" folder is empty, hence the <code>FileNotFoundError</code> for the "fontList.py3k.cache" file (which I don't see anywhere in the "C:\Anaconda3" directory either).  It seems to be a problem with the installer (I think), but I don't know how to fix it. I'd appreciate any help or pointers.</p>
  
  <p>(BTW, I've already tried googling this issue.  The one that came closest was reported back in 2013: <a href="https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib/issues/2320/">fail to import matplotlib.pyplot #2320</a>.  It involved a WinPython-64bit-3.3.2.2 installation on a Windows 7 64-bit machine.  The thread was closed with the comment: "Closing. Already fixed in master.", but it appears the issue has resurfaced. I hope there is a simple fix or workaround.)</p>
  
  <p>Thanks,<br>
  Anshul</p>