Using Python Image Library with VirtualEnv on Windows
Rename from PIL-1.1.7-py2.6-win32.egg to PIL in site-packages dir.
OK this appears to be a VirtualEnv problem.
Despite making a new VirtualEnv with the --no-site-packages argument, my Django site is fetching the django files from the root install C:/Python26/Lib/site-packages/ rather than locally.
Django then attempts to fetch PIL in the root site-packages which it cannot find and results in an error.
I have no idea why this is occurring. If I open the python interpreter the root django files do not appear on the path.
Once remedied easy_install PIL should work.
Do you have (the latest version of) Visual Studio installed?
That's where vcvarsall.bat comes from, and what building any Python extension from C sources on Windows would prefer to use (there are ways of using mingw instead, if that's your actual problem).
(I'm saying "the latest version" because I believe that's what the python.org distribution of Python 2.6 for Windows is built with).