[powershell] The response content cannot be parsed because the Internet Explorer engine is not available, or

I need to download a channel 9 series using powershell, however the scripts I have tried have errors:

1. This script

   $url="https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/OfficeDevPnP/feed/mp4high"
   $rss=invoke-webrequest -uri $url 
   $destination="D:\Videos\OfficePnP"
   [xml]$rss.Content|foreach{ 
     $_.SelectNodes("rss/channel/item/enclosure") 
   }|foreach{ 
       "Checking $($_.url.split("/")[-1]), we will skip it if it already exists in $($destination)"
     if(!(test-path ($destination + $_.url.split("/")[-1]))){ 
       "Downloading: " + $_.url 
       start-bitstransfer $_.url $destination 
     } 
   }
   

   failed with error:

   The response content cannot be parsed because the Internet Explorer engine is not available, or Internet Explorer's first-launch configuration is not complete. Specify the UseBasicParsing parameter and try again.

2. I also tried this one

   # --- settings ---
   $feedUrl = "https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/OfficeDevPnP/feed/mp4high"
   $mediaType = "mp4high"
   $overwrite = $false
   $destinationDirectory = join-path ([Environment]::GetFolderPath("MyDocuments")) "OfficeDevPnP"
   
   # --- locals ---
   $webClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
   
   # --- functions ---
   function PromptForInput ($prompt, $default) {
    $selection = read-host "$prompt`r`n(default: $default)"
    if ($selection) {$selection} else {$default}
   }
   
   function DownloadEntries {
    param ([string]$feedUrl) 
    $feed = [xml]$webClient.DownloadString($feedUrl)
   
    $progress = 0
    $pagepercent = 0
    $entries = $feed.rss.channel.item.Length
    $invalidChars = [System.IO.Path]::GetInvalidFileNameChars()
    $feed.rss.channel.item | foreach {
       $url = New-Object System.Uri($_.enclosure.url)
       $name = $_.title
       $extension = [System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($url.Segments[-1])
       $fileName = $name + $extension
   
       $invalidchars | foreach { $filename = $filename.Replace($_, ' ') }
       $saveFileName = join-path $destinationDirectory $fileName
       $tempFilename = $saveFilename + ".tmp"
       $filename
       if ((-not $overwrite) -and (Test-Path -path $saveFileName)) 
       {
           write-progress -activity "$fileName already downloaded" -status "$pagepercent% ($progress / $entries) complete" -percentcomplete $pagepercent
       }
       else 
       {
           write-progress -activity "Downloading $fileName" -status "$pagepercent% ($progress / $entries) complete" -percentcomplete $pagepercent
          $webClient.DownloadFile($url, $tempFilename)
          rename-item $tempFilename $saveFileName
       }
       $pagepercent = [Math]::floor((++$progress)/$entries*100)
     }
   }  
   
   # --- do the actual work ---
   [string]$feedUrl = PromptForInput "Enter feed URL" $feedUrl
   [string]$mediaType = PromptForInput "Enter media type`r`n(options:Wmv,WmvHigh,mp4,mp4high,zune,mp3)" $mediaType
   $feedUrl += $mediaType
   
   [string]$destinationDirectory = PromptForInput "Enter destination directory" $destinationDirectory
   
   # if dest dir doesn't exist, create it
   if (!(Test-Path -path $destinationDirectory)) { New-Item $destinationDirectory -type directory }
   
   DownloadEntries $feedUrl
   

   with too many errors

   http://screencast.com/t/bgGd0s98Uc

In your invoke web request just use the parameter -UseBasicParsing

e.g. in your script (line 2) you should use:

$rss = Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing

According to the documentation, this parameter is necessary on systems where IE isn't installed or configured.

Uses the response object for HTML content without Document Object Model (DOM) parsing. This parameter is required when Internet Explorer is not installed on the computers, such as on a Server Core installation of a Windows Server operating system.

To make it work without modifying your scripts:

I found a solution here: http://wahlnetwork.com/2015/11/17/solving-the-first-launch-configuration-error-with-powershells-invoke-webrequest-cmdlet/

The error is probably coming up because IE has not yet been launched for the first time, bringing up the window below. Launch it and get through that screen, and then the error message will not come up any more. No need to modify any scripts.

It is sure because the Invoke-WebRequest command has a dependency on the Internet Explorer assemblies and are invoking it to parse the result as per default behaviour. As Matt suggest, you can simply launch IE and make your selection in the settings prompt which is popping up at first launch. And the error you experience will disappear.

But this is only possible if you run your powershell scripts as the same windows user as whom you launched the IE with. The IE settings are stored under your current windows profile. So if you, like me run your task in a scheduler on a server as the SYSTEM user, this will not work.

So here you will have to change your scripts and add the -UseBasicParsing argument, as ijn this example: $WebResponse = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -TimeoutSec 1800 -ErrorAction:Stop -Method:Post -Headers $headers -UseBasicParsing

Yet another method to solve: updating registry. In my case I could not alter GPO, and -UseBasicParsing breaks parts of the access to the website. Also I had a service user without log in permissions, so I could not log in as the user and run the GUI.
To fix,

1. log in as a normal user, run IE setup.
2. Then export this registry key: HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-....\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
3. In the .reg file that is saved, replace the user sid with the service account sid
4. Import the .reg file

In the file

You can disable need to run Internet Explorer's first launch configuration by running this PowerShell script, it will adjust corresponding registry property:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" -Name "DisableFirstRunCustomize" -Value 2

After this, WebClient will work without problems

I have had this issue also, and while -UseBasicParsing will work for some, if you actually need to interact with the dom it wont work. Try using a a group policy to stop the initial configuration window from ever appearing and powershell won't stop you anymore. See here https://wahlnetwork.com/2015/11/17/solving-the-first-launch-configuration-error-with-powershells-invoke-webrequest-cmdlet/

Took me just a few minutes once I found this page, once the GP is set, powershell will allow you through.