Executing powershell script through c# throws “<comment> is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet” exception

Question

I am using .Net 4.6.1 for a Winform application.

I neet to execute some command to configure user settings through powershell. The powershell reference that I used is under C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Reference Assemblies\\Microsoft\\WindowsPowerShell\\3.0 , so (I guess) its version is 3.0.

I use following to execute powershell command:

System.Management.Automation.PowerShell shell = System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.Create();
shell.AddScript("Get-LocalUser -Verbose");

then check

shell.Streams.Error[0].Exception;

and see following error:

The term 'Get-LocalUser' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

I also tried executing the command through a powershell file like:

var psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
psi.CreateNoWindow = false;
psi.RedirectStandardError = true;
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
psi.Verb = "runas";
psi.FileName = @"powershell.exe";
psi.Arguments = $" -File \"<path-to-file>\\MyScript.ps1\"";
try
    {
        Process proc = new Process();
        proc.StartInfo = psi;
        proc.Start();
        string f = proc.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
        proc.WaitForExit();
        exitCode = proc.ExitCode;
    }

But I got the same error.

How can I call a powershell script or powershell within c#?

EDIT: it turns out to be 32-64 bit issue. When I switched to x64, it worked just fine.

Answer 1

You should ensure you compile your C# code to target x64 (ie 64-bit) as most PowerShell modules will only work in 64-bit mode. If your C# code runs in 32-bit mode, it will invoke a 32-bit PowerShell environment, which will cause problems.