Fix: Powershell has stopped working
The error ‘Powershell has stopped working’ is caused by a virus (Poweliks) on your computer. You are likely experiencing the computer at its peak levels of slowness. Unlike other sites, I test my solutions very carefully before posting them, so I’ll present the solution now. Before you begin, please bookmark this page for easy access while you perform the steps.
1. Restart the computer and repeatedly tap the F8 key to open the “Advanced Boot Menu.” Be sure to press the F8 key before the Windows logo appears and at the post screen, continue tapping until the “Advanced Boot Menu” appears. If it doesn’t, please repeat the process.
2. Once you see the Advanced Boot Menu, select “Safe Mode with Networking”. The picture is for illustration and shows Safe Mode, but you need to select “Safe Mode with Networking”.
3. Log in to your Windows; it will be compact and limited in features, but that is what we need to do to get rid of the ‘Poweliks’ causing PowerShell errors.
4. Before proceeding to the next step, follow the steps in this guide titled, “Your current security settings do not allow this file to be downloaded,” and then return to this page to continue from step 5.
6. After it has been downloaded, install and open it. Scan your system with it, and follow the steps listed on the screen.
7. After this is done, restart the computer and enter Safe Mode again. Refer to Step 1.
8. Next, click here to obtain Malwarebytes.
9. Download, install, and run it.
10. Perform a full scan, clean the issues it has found, and then reboot back into safe mode. See Step 1.
11. Download ESET Poweliks Remover
12. Click on the downloaded file, ESETPoweliksCleaner.exe, and open it. If prompted by the system, click “Run,” and then click “Agree” to accept the terms.
13. If the ESET window informs you that it has found Poweliks, press the Y key on the keyboard to confirm removal. If not, then you’re good.
Method 2: Enabling PowerShell.
In some cases, PowerShell may be disabled in Windows’ configurations. Therefore, in this step, we will enable it from the settings. To do that:
- Press the “Windows” + “S” keys to open the search panel
- Type in “Windows Features,” and click on the “Turn Windows Features ON or OFF” option.
Clicking on the “Turn Windows Features ON or OFF” - Wait for the list to load, scroll down, and search for the “Powershell” or “Windows Powershell” option.
Selecting “Windows Powershell 2.0” option - Once found, double-click on it to expand it and check both the boxes.
Checking both boxes - Click on “OK” and check to see if the issue persists
