How To Enable Script Execution to Run PowerShell Scripts in Windows 11 & 10

Learn how to configure Windows 11 & 10 to enable script execution to run PowerShell scripts.

PowerShell is one of the most powerful shell programs and scripting languages for Windows. It allows you to run commands, automate tasks, and create scripts with ease. The best thing is that there are a ton of official and community-driven PowerShell scripts that can simplify and automate tasks in Windows. For example, you can auto-update apps, delete files older than a specified number of days, display a message box, change DNS settings, and more.

Although the ability to run scripts is quite useful, this functionality is blocked by default in Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you try to run scripts without enabling script execution, you will get the “cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system” error.

Fortunately, you can easily configure PowerShell to run scripts. All you have to do is enable script execution in PowerShell. In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to do it in simple steps. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• You require administrative rights to turn on script execution in PowerShell on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Enable PowerShell Script Execution in Windows 11

1. Open Settings by pressing the “Windows key + I” keyboard shortcut.
2. Go to the “System” tab on the sidebar.
3. Click the “Advanced” or “For developers” option.
4. Click and expand the “PowerShell” dropdown.
5. Turn ON the “Change execution policy to allow local PowerShell scripts to run without signing” toggle.
6. Close the Settings window.
7. Relaunch PowerShell if it is already open.
8. With that, you have enabled script execution in PowerShell and can run scripts without restrictions.

To turn off script execution, follow the same steps as above but turn OFF the toggle in step 5.

Change Execution Policy to Enable Script Execution in PowerShell

Note: The steps below are compatible with both Windows 11 and Windows 10.

In PowerShell, you need to change the execution policy from “Restricted” to “RemoteSigned” to enable script execution. Here’s how to do it.

1. Press the “Windows key” to open the Start menu.
2. Search for “PowerShell“.
3. Click the “Run as administrator” option.
4. Run the following command to change the current execution policy.
   set-executionpolicy remotesigned
5. Type “A” and press “Enter“.
   
6. With that, you’ve enabled script execution and can run PowerShell scripts.

If you want to verify or check the current execution policy, simply run the Get-ExecutionPolicy command. The command response should show “RemoteSigned”.

Note: The above command only lets you run scripts created on your computer or signed scripts downloaded from the internet or other computers. If you wish to run unsigned scripts, you must set the execution policy to “Unrestricted” instead of “RemoteSigned”.

If you wish to turn off the PowerShell script execution, follow the same steps as above but run the Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted command in step 4.

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That is all. It is that simple to enable PowerShell script execution in Windows 11 & 10. If you need any help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.

Good to know: Learn more about running PowerShell scripts from this Microsoft TechNet article.