Original publish date: August 11, 2025
KB ID: 5065506
Summary
Windows PowerShell 2.0, a legacy component first introduced with Windows 7, is being removed from the Windows operating system (OS) in upcoming releases. PowerShell 2.0 was officially deprecated in 2017, and it remained available as an optional feature for compatibility as described in the Windows PowerShell 2.0 Deprecation blog.
PowerShell 2.0 will be removed in a later release starting in August 2025 for Windows 11, version 24H2 and a September 2025 release for Windows Server 2025. All later releases for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 will not include PowerShell 2.0. Windows Insider preview builds already reflect this change, with the PowerShell 2.0 feature removed as of July 2025. This removal is part of a broader effort to clean up legacy code, reduce the complexity of the PowerShell ecosystem, and improve Windows security.
For most users and organizations, this change will be uneventful – newer versions of PowerShell such as PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7.x continue to be available and supported. However, if you have legacy scripts or software that explicitly depends on PowerShell 2.0, you will need to take action and update them or use a workaround to prevent any disruptions.
This article provides a timeline of the change, the impact on different user groups, and guidance on how to mitigate any issues.
Mitigation Guidance
If you do have a dependency on PowerShell 2.0 in your environment, here’s how you can mitigate issues:
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Recommended: Migrate scripts and tools to a newer PowerShell version Microsoft primary guidance is to update anything using PowerShell 2.0 to use PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7. PowerShell 5.1 introduced many improvements and is backward-compatible for almost all commands and modules. The PowerShell team blog provides a guide for this migration.
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Update or replace outdated software In some cases, the “fix” might be to upgrade the software that needed PowerShell 2.0. For example, if an old installer fails, look for a newer version of that product.
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Many Microsoft server products that once used PowerShell 2.0 (Exchange, SharePoint, SQL, and so forth) have newer versions that use modern PowerShell. Use those updated versions if you plan to run them on new versions of Windows.
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If it’s a third-party tool, check the vendor’s website for an update or a newer release that removes the PowerShell 2.0 requirement. Given the deprecation has been known for years, some vendors may have addressed it.
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Frequently asked questions
It’s an older version of PowerShell that Microsoft no longer supports.
PowerShell 2.0 was officially deprecated in 2017 and is now being removed to encourage use of newer, more secure PowerShell versions.
PowerShell 2.0 will be removed starting with Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.
PowerShell 2.0 will be removed in a later release starting in August 2025 for Windows 11, version 24H2 and a September 2025 release for Windows Server 2025. All later releases for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 will not include PowerShell 2.0. Windows Insider preview builds already reflect this change, with the PowerShell 2.0 feature removed as of July 2025 and will not be included in upcoming Insider releases.
Update the scripts or tools to run on a newer PowerShell version such as PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7.
If a script or scheduled task explicitly tries to launch PowerShell 2.0 (for example, by using a command like powershell.exe -Version 2), Windows will no longer be able to run that legacy engine. Instead, the system will launch the default PowerShell version (which is PowerShell 5.1). Most of the time, scripts will continue to work since PowerShell 5.1 is backward-compatible. However, there is a small chance that some older scripts might not run as expected if they depended on a specific behavior unique to version 2.0. The recommended solution is to update those scripts to remove the -Version 2 requirement.
Yes, but these cases are rare. If a script or scheduled task explicitly uses PowerShell 2.0 (for example, with -version 2), Windows will no longer be able to run that engine. Such scripts will use PowerShell 5.1 by default, which is compatible in most cases. A few scripts might behave differently if they rely on quirks unique to 2.0. The fix is to update those scripts to not require -Version 2. Contact Microsoft Support if you need extra help.
Some older non-Windows software may try to install or enable PowerShell 2.0 as part of the setup. On new versions of Windows where PowerShell 2.0 is missing, the installer may fail or show an error. Typically, this software is outdated and unsupported on the latest Windows. The solution is to use updated software versions that don’t depend on PowerShell 2.0.
