Update-Help Access Denied

PowerShell Help
1

I have a problem very similar (not quite identical) to this one: https://powershell.org/forums/topic/update-help-access-denied-on-domain-controller/

Mine is on a workstation instead of a DC. I run Update-Help on it and I get this:

PS C:\userscripts\powershell> update-help
update-help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) ‘GroupPolicy’ with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Access to the path
‘C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\GroupPolicy\en-US\Microsoft.GroupPolicy.Commands.dll-help.xml’ is denied.
At line:1 char:1

  • update-help
  •   + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnknownErrorId,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

update-help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) ‘Provisioning’ with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Unable to retrieve the HelpInfo XML file
for UI culture en-US. Make sure the HelpInfoUri property in the module manifest is valid or check your network connection and then try the
command again.
At line:1 char:1

  • update-help
  •   + CategoryInfo          : ResourceUnavailable: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnableToRetrieveHelpInfoXml,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

The suggestions in the post I linked to didn’t help. Can anyone tell me why I am unable to update those two modules please and how to fix it?

2

My post got deleted…Trying again…

I have a problem very similar (not quite identical) to this one: https://powershell.org/forums/topic/update-help-access-denied-on-domain-controller/

Mine is on a workstation instead of a DC. I run Update-Help on it and I get this:

PS C:\userscripts\powershell> update-help
update-help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) ‘GroupPolicy’ with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Access to the path
‘C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\GroupPolicy\en-US\Microsoft.GroupPolicy.Commands.dll-help.xml’ is denied.
At line:1 char:1

  • update-help
  •   + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnknownErrorId,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

update-help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) ‘Provisioning’ with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Unable to retrieve the HelpInfo XML file
for UI culture en-US. Make sure the HelpInfoUri property in the module manifest is valid or check your network connection and then try the
command again.
At line:1 char:1

  • update-help
  •   + CategoryInfo          : ResourceUnavailable: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnableToRetrieveHelpInfoXml,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

The suggestions in the post I linked to didn’t help. Can anyone tell me why I am unable to update those two modules please and how to fix it?

3

The first instance is an Access Denied; check the permissions on the file itself, and ensure you’re running As Administrator.

The second instance is because the module’s authors haven’t provided online, updateable help. There’s nothing you can do about that.

4

[edit]I was running an elevated prompt when I got the error. The file permissions on that file appear the same as others in the folder. Nothing seems amiss…

I thought I had put that in my post. Apologies.

5

Hmm. Try this, as a diagnostic: Move (not copy) the failing XML file to another location someplace. See if that helps clear it up. The second attempt, if the first fails, would be to move the entire containing folder somewhere else.

Also, what version of Windows are you using?

6

Moving the xml file fails w/ access denied
Microsoft Windows Enterprise [Version 10.0.15063]

7

I got it fixed. Turns out that there was an xml file in the module folder missing. It was similar to the case I quoted but not the same module. Thanks to Don Jones for pointing out the error on the 2nd module wasn’t fixable and why!