I originally posted in answers.microsoft but was told to post here instead:

This is a long story, so bear with me. I am not a windows dev. I am a python dev. but Python 3.4.2, which i just installed on my new dell xps running win 8.1, needs a file called vcvarsall.bat, which in turn is supposed to be found in visual studio c++ 2010. that's when it gets complicated. most links for vs 2010 have been updated to vs 2013, making the correct file hard to find even when you get a post that lays it all put for you. plus, it seems there are an endless variety of versions: vanilla, redistributable, x86, express, and so on, not to mention that vs c++  is apparently only one aspect of vs 2010. in short, if i could just get this one file and be done with it, that would be fine with me,so if you have or know that shortcut, please help.

back to my story. i found a blog post from this past october that seemed both recent and on point, and claimed success with this issue. it suggested getting the sdk, and had a graphic showing which parts to get and which ones to skip. howevr, my install generated an error which in turn referred me to 'samples\setup\html\configdetails.htm' for further information. bonus points to you if you can see the problem here already: if the install failed, who's to say this config file is there to be read, and further, why don't they give a full path?

so yes, of course, this configdetail file is nowhere to be found, even though there is an sdk folder under programs. but there isn't even a 'samples' subfolder there. so now what?  thank you.