How can prevent a PowerShell window from closing so I can see the error

Question

I m creating a local PowerShell module downloader script   The module and the script are held on a network share   The script is invoke using    amp     net DSFShare Shared Data Powershell Modules Install-MyModuleManager ps1    It copies the script to the standard profile modules folder  then runs Install ps1 from the module folder   Install ps1 elevates itself  if needed   Just before the elevated window closes  a red error pops up but the window closes too quickly for me to see the error   How can I find out what the error is   The downloader script invokes the installer using    installerPath    IO Path   Combine  LocalModulePath   Install ps1   Write-Host  Installer path   installerPath  if  Test-Path  installerPath        Write-Host  Install ps1 exists   Running Install ps1       amp   installerPath     Note  if from PowerShell  I populate  installerPath and call it using  amp   installerPath  I don t see the error   I ve checked the Application  System  Windows PowerShell and Security event logs and there aren t any errors relating to this   All the script does is create an event source   If you want to run it  you can use   Remove-EventLog -Source  My Module Manager    afterwards  to remove it   Here s the script   Write-Host  Installing module      eventSource    My Module Manager   try        sourceExists    System Diagnostics EventLog   SourceExists  eventSource    catch  Security SecurityException        Write-Verbose  Caught  SecurityException      Exception Message      if   sourceExists        Write-Host     installation complete        else         region ----- Ensure-ProcessIsElevated -----      if   Verbose             VerbosePreference    Continue            if   Debug             DebugPreference    Continue             Write-Debug  Command line is       MyInvocation Line          Write-Verbose  Entering script body       if   ScriptPath            Set-Location  ScriptPath         Write-Verbose  Working directory   pwd             If  -Not   Security Principal WindowsPrincipal   Security Principal WindowsIdentity   GetCurrent    IsInRole  Security Principal WindowsBuiltInRole   Administrator              Write-Warning  This script must be run with elevated privileges           Write-Warning  Restarting as an elevated process           Write-Warning  You will be prompted for authorization           Write-Warning  You may click  No  and re-run manually  if you prefer            If   Get-WmiObject Win32 OperatingSystem   select BuildNumber  BuildNumber -ge 6000                Write-Verbose  This is a UAC-enabled system  Elevating                   CommandLine       MyInvocation Line Replace  MyInvocation InvocationName   MyInvocation MyCommand Definition   -ScriptPath  pwd              Write-Verbose  CommandLine   CommandLine               Start-Process -FilePath PowerShell exe -Verb Runas -ArgumentList   CommandLine             else               Write-Verbose  The system does not support UAC  an elevated process cannot be started               Write-Warning  This script requires administrative privileges  Please re-run with administrative account                      Break            Write-Verbose  The script is now running with elevated privileges         endregion ----- Ensure-ProcessIsElevated -----      New-EventLog -LogName Application -Source  eventSource      Write-Host     installation complete         I m using PowerShell 4 0 but there s no tag for it

User · Accepted Answer

You basically have 3 options to prevent the PowerShell Console window from closing, that I describe in more detail on my blog post.

One-time Fix: Run your script from the PowerShell Console, or launch the PowerShell process using the -NoExit switch. e.g. PowerShell -NoExit "C:\SomeFolder\SomeScript.ps1"
Per-script Fix: Add a prompt for input to the end of your script file. e.g. Read-Host -Prompt "Press Enter to exit"
Global Fix: Change your registry key to always leave the PowerShell Console window open after the script finishes running. Here's the 2 registry keys that would need to be changed:

? Open With ? Windows PowerShell
When you right-click a .ps1 file and choose Open With

Registry Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\powershell.exe\shell\open\command

Default Value:
```
"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" "%1"
```
Desired Value:
```
"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" "& \"%1\""
```
? Run with PowerShell
When you right-click a .ps1 file and choose Run with PowerShell (shows up depending on which Windows OS and Updates you have installed).

Registry Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Microsoft.PowerShellScript.1\Shell\0\Command

Default Value:
```
"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" "-Command" "if((Get-ExecutionPolicy ) -ne 'AllSigned') { Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass }; & '%1'"
```
Desired Value:
```
"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoExit "-Command" "if((Get-ExecutionPolicy ) -ne 'AllSigned') { Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass }; & \"%1\""
```

You can download a .reg file from my blog to modify the registry keys for you if you don't want to do it manually.

It sounds like you likely want to use option #2. You could even wrap your whole script in a try block, and only prompt for input if an error occurred, like so:

try
{
    # Do your script's stuff
}
catch
{
    Write-Error $_.Exception.ToString()
    Read-Host -Prompt "The above error occurred. Press Enter to exit."
}

User · Answer

this will make the powershell window to wait until you press any key   pause   Update One  Thanks to Stein  it is the Enter key not any key

User · Answer

The simplest and easiest way is to execute your particular script with -NoExit param   1 Open run box by pressing          Win   R   2 Then type into input prompt   PowerShell -NoExit  C  folder script ps1    and execute

User · Answer

Also simple and easy   Start-Sleep 10

[powershell] How can prevent a PowerShell window from closing so I can see the error?

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