14 DAY TRIAL // Following the advent of Windows 7 and PowerShell 2.0, Microsoft has backported the command-line shell and scripting language on older releases of Windows, including Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3. However, admins looking to take advantage of the evolution in terms of automation for Windows tasks are not able to grab PowerShell 2.0 as a standalone download. Instead, they have access to Windows Management Framework. According to the Redmond company, the Windows Management Framework Core package brings to the table the following components: Windows PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0.
Xin Li, Windows PowerShell Team, revealed that some customers had been reporting installation issues related to Windows Management Framework and down-level operating systems. Li indicates that the vast majority of deployment features are reported to produce the following error message “The update does not apply to your system.”
“It is a blocking issue for some customers since they cannot get WMF successfully installed and the error message does not help much with a fix,” Li stated. However, not even Microsoft is offering a fix. Apparently, the installation failures and associated error message is caused by actions taken from the end users, rather than an actual bug in the package.
“Reinstall. In some cases WMF(KB968930) had already been deployed on the machine by the system administrators through Windows Server Update Services, but the customers were not aware of it. A more accurate error message here should be “The update already installed”. Therefore, it is a good idea to check if the computer has this KB installed before manual installation,” Li advised.
According to Li, the second most prominent cause for install problems is the fact that customers are trying to match a certain release of Windows Management Framework with an unsupported version of Windows. “In this case, the error message is precisely the cause for install failure. On our download page, there is a list of WMF supported OSes. In addition, you need pick the right download package for your OS and processor architecture. Few months ago, we had a PowerShell expert complaining to us about not being able to install WMF in his Vista machine. We found the root cause was that the OS, Windows Vista without any SP (Service Package), is not supported. After SP got installed, WMF can install without any problem,” Li noted.
The Windows Management Framework Core package (Windows PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0) is available for download here.