Veeam Backup console requires old powershell version 2.0

[sandsturm]

Hi

Currently we start the Veeam backup console after logging onto the server via RDP directly on the server. But we want to install the console on our Backupadmin Desktops as well. Due to our companies security restrictions Powershell version 2.0 is not allowed to install on our clients any more, but the installation of the Veeam backup console requires Powershell 2.0.

My question now is the following: Is this really a hard requirement for version 2.0, or would it be possible to use a current version of powershell instead? That would mean, that the installation procedure must be modified for this requirement?

thx,
sandsturm

[MichaelCade]

Hi Sandsturm,

I think the installation file has PowerShell 2.0 installed but it can Windows PowerShell version 2.0 or later.

We recommend that you use Windows PowerShell version 4.0 as more reliable for performing actions with Veeam PowerShell cmdlets.

[sandsturm]

Okay, thats fine, but the installation routine implies powershell version 2, if a newer version is installed, the routine does not detect this....

[MichaelCade]

Oh I see so PowerShell version 4 is installed but yet when you run through installation this is still wanting to push PowerShell version 2?

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... l?ver=95u4

[MichaelCade]

This may help in unattended mode

msiexec.exe /L*v "C:\logs\log1.txt" /qn /i "E:\Veeam\Shell.x64.msi" ACCEPTEULA="YES" ACCEPT_THIRDPARTY_LICENSES="1" INSTALLDIR="C:\Backup\"

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... l?ver=95u4

[Mgamerz]

Same issue. I upgraded backup host and cannot upgrade my local console on my system, it is saying it needs Powershell 2. I have not attempted it directly through the ISO, as I thought it would be convenient to do the automatic upgrade that is detailed in the patch notes.



We have Powershell 5.1 installed here as part of a domain baseline requirement. I have Update 3 on this system and the console installed just fine, not sure why Update 4 requires this ancient version now, I assume this is a bug.

[MichaelCade]

When the console was first deployed did it not want the same PowerShell 2 installed then as it does now?

[Mgamerz]

I installed console about 6 months ago, on Update 3a. We were on Powershell 5 at the time. It installed just fine. I have used it daily for months, I installed Update 4 on the backup host and the update will not install locally. I do not recall if the old installer wanted Powershell 2, but as far as I was aware WMF is backwards compatible from 5.0 to 2.0?

We have not used Powershell 2.0 for a long time in our environment (and I do not have the ability to change this)

Installing from ISO also does not work. It shows me at this page:


Clicking "Install" shows the progress bar, followed a few seconds later by it saying this check hasn't passed, so it is stuck in a loop. I have not tried a clean installation yet, but I imagine if it is doing program prerequesites, a clean installation will not change that.

I tried silent installation, however it also did not seem to work.

I have the ISO mounted on D:\, with veeam console installed in the default directory. Running this command:

Code: Select all

D:\>msiexec.exe /L*v "C:\SoftwareLogs\log1.txt" /qn /i "D:\Backup\Shell.x64.msi" ACCEPTEULA="YES" ACCEPT_THIRDPARTY_LICENSES="1" INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication"

did not seem to do anything. MSI Exec does not run for more than about .5 seconds. Log shows same error here.

Code: Select all

...
***Veeam***  Feature 'CONSOLE' is not installed.
MSI (s) (78!70) [10:17:04:234]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding CHECKSYSTEMREQUIREMENTLIST property. Its value is 'PowerShell20'.
MSI (s) (78!70) [10:17:04:234]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding CHECKSYSTEMREQUIREMENTFAILEDLIST property. Its value is 'PowerShell20'.
***Veeam***  Feature 'CONSOLE' will be installed.
MSI (s) (78!70) [10:17:04:235]: Product: Veeam Backup & Replication Console -- Setup is unable to proceed. Please install the following prerequisites:
- Windows Management Framework Core package (KB968930)


MSI (s) (78!70) [10:17:04:236]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding CHECKSYSTEMREQUIREMENTFAILED property. Its value is '1'.
Setup is unable to proceed. Please install the following prerequisites:
- Windows Management Framework Core package (KB968930)

Action ended 10:17:04: VmaSystemRequirements. Return value 1.
CustomAction VmaCheckSystemRequirements returned actual error code 1603 (note this may not be 100% accurate if translation happened inside sandbox)
Action ended 10:17:04: VmaCheckSystemRequirements. Return value 3.
Action ended 10:17:04: INSTALL. Return value 3.
Property(S): DiskPrompt = [1]
...

As such it seems I can no longer use the Veeam console on my Windows 10 1803 system.

Old console can still run, but since I can no longer connect, doesn't do anything.

[Dima P.]

Hello folks,

While we are looking into this issue please raise the support case (debug log is is worth more than a thousand words) and share the case ID in this thread. Thanks!

[Mgamerz]

Case #03390163 made by me for this thread

[Gostev]

We're planning to remove PowerShell 2.0 requirement in the next release. Actually, we did consider to do this in Update 4, but it was too risky given the remaining time left.

[Dima P.]

Issue: Windows PowerShell v2.0 is required when setting up Veeam B&R/Veeam Remote Console to Microsoft Windows 8/Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or above (Windows Server 2019 users are not affected).

Workaround: To pretend that Windows PowerShell v2 components are installed (and, what's most important, fool our pre-flight checks) add the following registry keys

For Veeam B&R

Code: Select all

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\PowerShellEngine\
KeyName PowerShellVersion
KeyType REG_SZ
KeyValue 2.0

For Veeam Active Directory Explorer

Code: Select all

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\PowerShellEngine\
KeyName PowerShellVersion
KeyType REG_SZ
KeyValue 2.0

Once the product is set, it is safe to delete those keys.

Notes:

1. You might need to add your account to 'all application packages' security group to resolve the permission issues while adding the above mentioned keys to the registry hives.
2. Please keep in mind that we strongly recommend to install the PowerShell v2 components if you plan to run PowerShell scripts from this machine.

[Mgamerz]

It seems like it doesn't check for the newer registry keys?:


It seems powershell has been implemented in windows for years at higher versions? According to this page powershell 5 is the default on windows 10 these days, with 2 being minimum on Windows 7.
https://4sysops.com/wiki/differences-be ... -versions/

[SlinkingAnt]

Still the same issue when upgrading from v9 to v10. Would be nice if the installer was smart enough to detect any compatible version being present, especially as it's best to have PowerShell v2.0 for security reasons...

[Gostev]

We're planning to part with PowerShell 2.0 in v11.

[ajab20202]

The quick solution to this is to just enable PSV2.0
Open a powershell in admin mode, and run:
get-windowsfeature -name "powershell"

You should see that "windows Powershell 2.0 Engine" is available but enabled/installed

run:
install-windowsfeature -name Powershell-V2

This will enable V2 and VEEAM installer will pass the check.
Note this will work on server 2012R2/2016. I have not done this on any other OS.

[Mgamerz]

I had this issue even though we have powershell 5. It's cause veeam doesn't seem to bother to look beyond the v1 key if it finds it, even though the v2 key (which seems to hold the info for v2 and above) exists.

[knurmia]

I know this is a quite old post, but since the issue still persists, does anybody know if this will be fixed anytime soon. We shouldn't be required to enable Windows PowerShell 2.0 to install Veeam B&R v10 when the rest of the world is getting ready to start using PowerShell v7.

[Gostev]

See my previous post.

[SlinkingAnt]

Issue: Windows PowerShell v2.0 is required when setting up Veeam B&R/Veeam Remote Console to Microsoft Windows 8/Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or above (Windows Server 2019 users are not affected).
Once the product is set, it is safe to delete those keys.

Upgrading to the latest version (10.0.0.4461 -> 10.0.1.4854) and it now simply crashes if those keys are not present.

Clicking continue will hang the installer, exiting with the X works though.

Adding the key mentioned above, and the installer continues successfully.

[veremin]

Kindly, reach our support team for further investigation. Thanks!

[meelisn]

PowerShell v2.0 engine is considered deprecated by Microsoft (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/powershe ... precation/). Newer versions of Windows and Windows Server come with it disabled.

In addition, as v2.0 engine does not support AMSI, ScriptBlock Logging and other security-related features of Powershell 5.0, it is considered to be a security risk. And it is recommended to have it disabled.

Please consider removing that requirement from prerequisite checks. It is easy to reinstall and uninstall after setup, but if it's actually not necessary, please make our lives easier ...

Meelis

[oleg.feoktistov]

@meelisn, then I think you'll like v11