Why does powershell fail when run from registry open/command

Question

I'm trying to register a PowerShell script to run when I click on a URL in a Windows app (such as Outlook). (I want to be able to open URLs in different browsers/apps based on different URL patterns).

I've added

"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -file c:\win\bin\url-handler.ps1 "%1"

to HKEY_CLaSSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command (replacing Google Chrome, my default).

The command works fine when in I run it from a CMD console. However, when I click a URL in Outlook, a console window opens, a red error message appears, then the console closes too quickly for me to read it.

The only error logs I can find in Event Viewer (for application PowerShell) shows

Engine state is changed from Available to Stopped. 

Details: 
NewEngineState=Stopped
PreviousEngineState=Available

SequenceNumber=10

HostName=ConsoleHost
HostVersion=2.0
HostId=7ca63c36-fcc1-4fbe-9488-dfc505a80141
EngineVersion=2.0
RunspaceId=a28185bd-f8da-4648-99aa-86066d199e04
PipelineId=
CommandName=
CommandType=
ScriptName=
CommandPath=
CommandLine=

Setting policy to Unrestricted did not solve this.

How can I track down what the error might be and how to fix it?

Can you put a pause at the end of your script to keep the console open? Might put you one step closer... — Jon Sampson
– Jon Sampson, Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 16:41
I had tried a pause, or simpler things such as just creating a file, but Powershell never even starts running my script. I'm not even sure if powershell.exe is actually launched. — djb
– djb, Commented Apr 14, 2017 at 16:46

iRon · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-20 15:16:25Z

1

add -noexit to your command line to prevent that the PowerShell console immediately closes.

edited Apr 20, 2017 at 15:16

answered Apr 18, 2017 at 12:27

iRon

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1 Comment

djb Over a year ago

Thank you @iRon! With this, I was able to view the error, File U:\win\bin\url-handler.ps1 cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system. Please see "get-help about_signing" for more details. With that, I should be able to solve my problem via stackoverflow.com/questions/4037939/…

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