Microsoft has made to remove PowerShell 2.0 from Windows starting in August, eight years after declaring its deprecation and keeping it around as an optional feature.
As of July 2025, when Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27891 was made available to the Canary Channel, the 14-year-old command processor that came with Windows 7 has already been removed for Windows Insiders.
Microsoft will permanently remove PowerShell 2.0 from Windows 11 version 24H2 beginning in August and from Windows Server 2025 in September, according to a support document released on Monday.
“This change will not affect the majority of users or organisations because PowerShell 7.x and PowerShell 5.1 are still been supported and available. To avoid any interruptions, Microsoft stated that you must upgrade any outdated scripts or tools that specifically rely on PowerShell 2.0 or find a workaround.
“In a subsequent release, PowerShell 2.0 will be eliminated beginning in August 2025 for Windows 11, version 24H2, and in September 2025 for Windows Server 2025. PowerShell 2.0 will not be included in any further versions of Windows 11 or Windows Server 2025.
Microsoft claims that this action is a component of a larger initiative to eliminate legacy code, simplify the system, and enhance Windows security.
This move will directly affect Microsoft customers that use legacy applications that is softwares and scripts that rely on PowerShell 2.0 scripting, such as older Microsoft server products like Exchange, SharePoint, and SQL Server.
It is recommended that users update their systems to avoid disruptions, even if legacy scripts that try to launch PowerShell 2.0 will automatically switch to PowerShell 5.1, which is backward-compatible for the majority of commands and modules.
“Some older third-party installers may fail on newer Windows versions when attempting to enable PowerShell 2.0 during setup,” the company added, advising customers to replace outdated software that cannot function without PowerShell 2.0 support and migrate their scripts and tools to PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7.
Microsoft further stated in a new message centre article that “you can help ensure that scripts run safer by using the newer and supported PowerShell 7 or PowerShell 5.1.”
“If you have legacy scripts or software that explicitly depend on PowerShell 2.0, you’ll need to either update them or use a workaround to prevent disruptions.”