update-help failure

PowerShell Help
1

I purchased Don Jones’ and Jeffery Hicks’ book and this is the site Jeff highly recommends, as I stumble through my learning! Please let me know if I should post this question in a different forum?

I have launched the PowerShell ISE console as Administrator:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> update-help

update-help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) ‘WindowsUpdateProvider’ 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: (:slight_smile: [Update-Help], Exception

  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnableToRetrieveHelpInfoXml,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

 

 

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> $psversiontable

PSVersion 5.1.17134.228

PSEdition Desktop

PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}

BuildVersion 10.0.17134.228

CLRVersion 4.0.30319.42000

WSManStackVersion 3.0

PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3

SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1

2

Welcome to the PS community, family and this one of many PS forum sites you’ll come to know.

Even with the above, this happens from time to time.

Not all the help files, update as expected for various reasons, most of the time its do to the update link associated. As shown in your error message.

Many module either have no online updateable help or the URL has been removed.

These sorts of error can be safely ignored. They do not impact PS functionality or use.

Get-Module -ListAvailable | Where HelpInfoUri | Update-Help

Yet, you can give …

Update-Help -Force

… or, if you need a local language, then this…

Update-Help -UICulture en-US –Force

# Results

Update-Help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) 'AnyBox' with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Unable to connect to Help content. The server on which Help content is stored might not 
be available. Verify that the server is available, or wait until the server is back online, and then try the command again.
At line:1 char:49
+ Get-Module -ListAvailable | Where HelpInfoUri | Update-Help
+                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnableToConnect,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand
 
Update-Help : Failed to update Help for the module(s) 'HostNetworkingService, WindowsUpdateProvider' 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:49
+ Get-Module -ListAvailable | Where HelpInfoUri | Update-Help
+                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ResourceUnavailable: (:) [Update-Help], Exception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnableToRetrieveHelpInfoXml,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.UpdateHelpCommand

… a shot, though if the URL is not there it will fail anyway for the one.
If you don’t want to see these errors, because they will happen, you can just do this…

Update-Help -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

If you want to see the full error message in a more human readable for, do this…

Update-Help -Force -Ea 0 -Ev ErrMsgDetail
$ErrorMsgDetail.Exception

Failed to update Help for the module(s) 'AnyBox' with UI culture(s) {en-US} : Unable to connect to Help content. The server on which Help content is stored might not be available. 
Verify that the server is available, or wait until the server is back online, and then try the command again.

Failed to update Help for the module(s) 'HostNetworkingService, WindowsUpdateProvider' 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.

If you want to see what is actually being called during the update, do this…

Update-Help -Force -Verbose -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# Results

VERBOSE: Resolving URI: "http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=390758"
VERBOSE: Your connection has been redirected to the following URI: "http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/1/C/01CCC594-2F13-40E8-98FE-185486228BF4/"
VERBOSE: Performing the operation "Update-Help" on target "CimCmdlets, Current Version: 5.0.0.0, Available Version: 5.0.0.0, UICulture: en-US".
3

Thank you so much! I ran update-help -force and it went through a lot of action… same error in the end even though it appeared to be working and updating. Maybe related to my firewall?? I guess I won’t worry about it. Thank you!

4

No worries.

Sure you can run into FW issues, in a corp environment, but usually not in a home environment.

Anyways, this happens, and has happened since PS has existed, and now that it is Open Source, well, v6 is, you should expect this to happen. Just ignore it as you can always get whatever help is on your system, and for what is not there just jump online to MSDocs site to get at it.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell
5

I appreciate you holding my hand.

Rereading your explanation: helps me know how to read and understand the error messages.

Thank you!