# Error when running a powershell 7 script on a Windows host

**URL:** <https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769>\
**Category:** Get Help\
**Tags:** windows, aap, awx, ee\
**Created:** [May 5, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769 "2026-05-05T12:47:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/1 "2026-05-05T12:47:07Z")

</div>

I have a problem when trying to use powershell 7.x on a Windows host from Ansible. I can reproduce it at work (AAP 4.5.32) as well in my homelab (AWX 24.6.1)

In my lab I run Execution Environment [quay.io](http://quay.io) / ansible / awx-ee:24.6.1, [latest] produces the same errors  
pwsh 7.4 and 7.6 behave the same.

The error is “Failed to compile C# code:\r\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information – ‘The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: ‘diasymreader.dll’’”. Full log dumps below.

I searched the freshly new installed testmachines (Windows 2025) for diasymreader.dll and it’s only present in .\Microsoft.NET\Framework\* folders for version 2.x and 4.x  
The testmachines have only powershell 7 and vscode installed

I have this playbook:

```yaml
---
- name: Test pwsh script execution
  hosts: all
  gather_facts: false

  tasks:
    - name: Run a Powershell script
      ansible.windows.win_powershell:
        script: |
          Write-Output "This is a Powershell script running on the target host."
          Write-Output "$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.tostring())"
        executable: pwsh.exe
...

```

Below output from running the playbook on two hosts connecting through WinRM with pwsh 7.4 and 7.6. Despite the error the script is executed. Running with a PSRP connection gives the same result

```plaintext
ansible-playbook [core 2.15.12]
  config file = None
  configured module search path = ['/runner/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible
  ansible collection location = /runner/requirements_collections:/runner/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections
  executable location = /usr/local/bin/ansible-playbook
  python version = 3.9.19 (main, Jun 11 2024, 00:00:00) [GCC 11.4.1 20231218 (Red Hat 11.4.1-3)] (/usr/bin/python3)
  jinja version = 3.1.4
  libyaml = True
No config file found; using defaults
SSH password: 
setting up inventory plugins
Loading collection ansible.builtin from 
host_list declined parsing /runner/inventory/hosts as it did not pass its verify_file() method
Parsed /runner/inventory/hosts inventory source with script plugin
Loading collection ansible.windows from /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows
Loading callback plugin default of type stdout, v2.0 from /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible/plugins/callback/default.py
Loading callback plugin awx_display of type stdout, v2.0 from /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible_runner/display_callback/callback/awx_display.py
Skipping callback 'awx_display', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'default', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'minimal', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'oneline', as we already have a stdout callback.

PLAYBOOK: PwshTest.playbook.yml ************************************************
Positional arguments: playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml
verbosity: 4
remote_user: ansible@NUCLABS.NL
connection: smart
timeout: 10
ask_pass: True
become_method: sudo
tags: ('all',)
inventory: ('/runner/inventory/hosts',)
extra_vars: ('@/runner/env/extravars',)
forks: 5
1 plays in playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml

PLAY [Test pwsh script execution] **********************************************

TASK [Run a Powershell script] *************************************************
task path: /runner/project/playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml:8
Using module file /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows/plugins/modules/win_powershell.ps1
Pipelining is enabled.
Using module file /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows/plugins/modules/win_powershell.ps1
Pipelining is enabled.
<server1.nuclabs.nl> ESTABLISH WINRM CONNECTION FOR USER: ansible@NUCLABS.NL on PORT 5985 TO server1.nuclabs.nl
calling kinit with pexpect for principal ansible@NUCLABS.NL
<server2.nuclabs.nl> ESTABLISH WINRM CONNECTION FOR USER: ansible@NUCLABS.NL on PORT 5985 TO server2.nuclabs.nl
calling kinit with pexpect for principal ansible@NUCLABS.NL
EXEC (via pipeline wrapper)
EXEC (via pipeline wrapper)
changed: [server1.nuclabs.nl] => {
    "changed": true,
    "debug": [],
    "error": [
        {
            "category_info": {
                "activity": "",
                "category": "OperationStopped",
                "category_id": 14,
                "reason": "InvalidOperationException",
                "target_name": "",
                "target_type": ""
            },
            "error_details": null,
            "exception": {
                "help_link": null,
                "hresult": -2146233079,
                "inner_exception": null,
                "message": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''",
                "source": null,
                "type": "System.InvalidOperationException"
            },
            "fully_qualified_error_id": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''",
            "output": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: \\r\\n'diasymreader.dll''\\r\\nAt line:259 char:17\\r\\n+ ... throw [InvalidOperationException]\\"Failed to compile C# co ...\\r\\n+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \\r\\n + CategoryInfo : OperationStopped: (:) [], InvalidOperationException\\r\\n + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: \\r\\n'diasymreader.dll''\\r\\n \\r\\n",
            "pipeline_iteration_info": [],
            "script_stack_trace": "at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 259\\r\\nat <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 30",
            "target_object": null
        }
    ],
    "host_err": "",
    "host_out": "",
    "information": [],
    "invocation": {
        "module_args": {
            "arguments": null,
            "chdir": null,
            "creates": null,
            "depth": 2,
            "error_action": "continue",
            "executable": "pwsh.exe",
            "parameters": null,
            "removes": null,
            "script": "Write-Output \\"This is a Powershell script running on the target host.\\"\\nWrite-Output \\"The survey message is: $env:target_environment\\"\\nWrite-Output \\"$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.tostring())\\"\\n",
            "sensitive_parameters": null
        }
    },
    "output": [
        "This is a Powershell script running on the target host.",
        "The survey message is: ",
        "7.4.7"
    ],
    "result": {},
    "verbose": [],
    "warning": []
}
changed: [server2.nuclabs.nl] => {
    "changed": true,
    "debug": [],
    "error": [
        {
            "category_info": {
                "activity": "",
                "category": "OperationStopped",
                "category_id": 14,
                "reason": "InvalidOperationException",
                "target_name": "",
                "target_type": ""
            },
            "error_details": null,
            "exception": {
                "help_link": null,
                "hresult": -2146233079,
                "inner_exception": null,
                "message": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''",
                "source": null,
                "type": "System.InvalidOperationException"
            },
            "fully_qualified_error_id": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''",
            "output": "Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: \\r\\n'diasymreader.dll''\\r\\nAt line:259 char:17\\r\\n+ ... throw [InvalidOperationException]\\"Failed to compile C# co ...\\r\\n+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \\r\\n + CategoryInfo : OperationStopped: (:) [], InvalidOperationException\\r\\n + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: \\r\\n'diasymreader.dll''\\r\\n \\r\\n",
            "pipeline_iteration_info": [],
            "script_stack_trace": "at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 259\\r\\nat <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 30",
            "target_object": null
        }
    ],
    "host_err": "",
    "host_out": "",
    "information": [],
    "invocation": {
        "module_args": {
            "arguments": null,
            "chdir": null,
            "creates": null,
            "depth": 2,
            "error_action": "continue",
            "executable": "pwsh.exe",
            "parameters": null,
            "removes": null,
            "script": "Write-Output \\"This is a Powershell script running on the target host.\\"\\nWrite-Output \\"The survey message is: $env:target_environment\\"\\nWrite-Output \\"$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.tostring())\\"\\n",
            "sensitive_parameters": null
        }
    },
    "output": [
        "This is a Powershell script running on the target host.",
        "The survey message is: ",
        "7.6.1"
    ],
    "result": {},
    "verbose": [],
    "warning": []
}

PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************
server1.nuclabs.nl : ok=1 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0   
server2.nuclabs.nl : ok=1 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0   

```

Below the output of the playbook running without the **executable = pwsh.exe** setting, but the extra\_var **ansible\_psrp\_configuration\_name**  
The error is the same, but the script is not executed and the play is failed

```auto
{
  "ansible_connection": "psrp",
  "ansible_psrp_auth": "kerberos",
  "ansible_psrp_protocol": "http",
  "ansible_psrp_configuration_name": "powershell.7" 
}

```

```auto
ansible-playbook [core 2.15.12]
  config file = None
  configured module search path = ['/runner/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible
  ansible collection location = /runner/requirements_collections:/runner/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections
  executable location = /usr/local/bin/ansible-playbook
  python version = 3.9.19 (main, Jun 11 2024, 00:00:00) [GCC 11.4.1 20231218 (Red Hat 11.4.1-3)] (/usr/bin/python3)
  jinja version = 3.1.4
  libyaml = True
No config file found; using defaults
SSH password: 
setting up inventory plugins
Loading collection ansible.builtin from 
host_list declined parsing /runner/inventory/hosts as it did not pass its verify_file() method
Parsed /runner/inventory/hosts inventory source with script plugin
Loading collection ansible.windows from /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows
Loading callback plugin default of type stdout, v2.0 from /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible/plugins/callback/default.py
Loading callback plugin awx_display of type stdout, v2.0 from /usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible_runner/display_callback/callback/awx_display.py
Skipping callback 'awx_display', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'default', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'minimal', as we already have a stdout callback.
Skipping callback 'oneline', as we already have a stdout callback.

PLAYBOOK: PwshTest.playbook.yml ************************************************
Positional arguments: playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml
verbosity: 4
remote_user: ansible@NUCLABS.NL
connection: smart
timeout: 10
ask_pass: True
become_method: sudo
tags: ('all',)
inventory: ('/runner/inventory/hosts',)
extra_vars: ('@/runner/env/extravars',)
forks: 5
1 plays in playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml

PLAY [Test pwsh script execution] **********************************************

TASK [Run a Powershell script] *************************************************
task path: /runner/project/playbooks/PwshTest.playbook.yml:8
Using module file /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows/plugins/modules/win_powershell.ps1
Pipelining is enabled.
<server1.nuclabs.nl> ESTABLISH PSRP CONNECTION FOR USER: ansible@NUCLABS.NL ON PORT 5985 TO server1.nuclabs.nl
Using module file /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/ansible/windows/plugins/modules/win_powershell.ps1
Pipelining is enabled.
<server2.nuclabs.nl> ESTABLISH PSRP CONNECTION FOR USER: ansible@NUCLABS.NL ON PORT 5985 TO server2.nuclabs.nl
PSRP: EXEC (via pipeline wrapper)
PSRP: EXEC (via pipeline wrapper)
The full traceback is:
Failed to compile C# code:\r
error CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''
At line:262 char:17\r
+ … throw [InvalidOperationException]"Failed to compile C# co …\r
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo : OperationStopped: (:) [], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Failed to compile C# code:\r
error CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''\r
\r
ScriptStackTrace:\r
at Add-CSharpType, <No file>: line 262\r
at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 19\r
at <ScriptBlock><End>, <No file>: line 143\r
at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 11\r
fatal: [server2.nuclabs.nl]: FAILED! => {
    "changed": false,
    "msg": "internal error: failed to run exec_wrapper action module_powershell_wrapper: Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''"
}
The full traceback is:
Failed to compile C# code:\r
error CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''
At line:262 char:17\r
+ … throw [InvalidOperationException]"Failed to compile C# co …\r
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo : OperationStopped: (:) [], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Failed to compile C# code:\r
error CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''\r
\r
ScriptStackTrace:\r
at Add-CSharpType, <No file>: line 262\r
at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 19\r
at <ScriptBlock><End>, <No file>: line 143\r
at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 11\r
fatal: [server1.nuclabs.nl]: FAILED! => {
    "changed": false,
    "msg": "internal error: failed to run exec_wrapper action module_powershell_wrapper: Failed to compile C# code:\\r\\nerror CS0041: Unexpected error writing debug information -- 'The version of Windows PDB writer is older than required: 'diasymreader.dll''"
}

PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************
server1.nuclabs.nl : ok=0 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=1 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0   
server2.nuclabs.nl : ok=0 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=1 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0   

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jborean](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/jborean/32/1525_2.png) [@jborean](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jborean)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/2 "2026-05-05T20:46:38Z")

</div>

Unfortunately I’m not sure why this particular error occurs but it sounds like maybe an env var may be causing the .NET compiler here to load an older `diasymreader.dll` causing this failure or that there is a slightly older .NET Framework version installed but I’m just guessing here.

Ultimately what is happening is the setup code for `win_powershell` calls `Add-CSharpUtil` to load some common code.

> <https://github.com/ansible-collections/ansible.windows/blob/c0975d3fddbb9e168a72816ed654b9e3c5ce89ee/plugins/modules/win_powershell.ps1#L725>

This is the `at <ScriptBlock>, <No file>: line 30` in the `script_stack_trace` (it’s line 30 in the string).

Since Ansible 2.21 we’ve stopped trying to get the PDB stream based on generic PowerShell 7.x support so this might just start working if you were to try out that version but it’s not officially out yet.

> [@NucLabs](#):
>
> but the extra\_var **ansible\_psrp\_configuration\_name**  
> The error is the same, but the script is not executed and the play is failed

Using `ansible_psrp_configuration_name` to set the PowerShell 7 configuration endpoint wasn’t officially supported but the error happens here before the module even starts which is why it’s a critical failure. The fact that this fails here even though it is not nested inside a `powershell.exe` process tells me it’s a host configuration that’s causing this underlying failure.

When testing this scenario on my own Windows 2025 target I run this `win_powershell` task to see what `diasymreader.dll` is being loaded in Ansible

```yaml
- ansible.windows.win_powershell:
    script: |
      (Get-Process -Id $pid).Modules |
        Where-Object ModuleName -eq diasymreader.dll
    executable: pwsh.exe

```

The output on my test host is

```yaml
- BaseAddress: "140725565718528"
  Company: Microsoft Corporation
  Container: null
  Description: Dia based SymReader
  EntryPointAddress: "140725565896256"
  FileName: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\FrameworkArm64\v4.0.30319\diasymreader.dll
  FileVersion: "14.8.9032.0 built by: NET481REL1"
  FileVersionInfo: |-
    File: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\FrameworkArm64\v4.0.30319\diasymreader.dll
    InternalName: diasymreader.dll
    OriginalFilename: diasymreader.dll
    FileVersion: 14.8.9032.0 built by: NET481REL1
    FileDescription: Dia based SymReader
    Product: Microsoft® .NET Framework
    ProductVersion: 14.8.9032.0
    Debug: False
    Patched: False
    PreRelease: False
    PrivateBuild: False
    SpecialBuild: False
    Language: English (United States)
  ModuleMemorySize: 1388544
  ModuleName: diasymreader.dll
  Product: Microsoft® .NET Framework
  ProductVersion: 14.8.9032.0
  Site: null
  Size: 1356

```

This shows I’m loading the `diasymreader.dll` from the .NET Framework location. It’ll be interesting to see if you are also loading it from the `C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework*\v4*\diasymreader.dll` path and what the version is. Do you have an env var that starts with `MICROSOFT_DIASYMREADER_`?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 6:24am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/3 "2026-05-06T06:24:02Z")

</div>

Yes, for some reason the Framework 2.0 version is loaded

```json
{
            "BaseAddress": "140728236834816",
            "Company": "Microsoft Corporation",
            "Container": null,
            "Description": "Dia based SymReader",
            "EntryPointAddress": "140728236983680",
            "FileName": "C:\\\\Windows\\\\Microsoft.NET\\\\Framework64\\\\v2.0.50727\\\\diasymreader.dll",
            "FileVersion": "8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)",
            "FileVersionInfo": "File: C:\\\\Windows\\\\Microsoft.NET\\\\Framework64\\\\v2.0.50727\\\\diasymreader.dll\\r\\nInternalName: diasymreader.dll\\r\\nOriginalFilename: diasymreader.dll\\r\\nFileVersion: 8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)\\r\\nFileDescription: Dia based SymReader\\r\\nProduct: Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005\\r\\nProductVersion: 8.0.50727.9157\\r\\nDebug: False\\r\\nPatched: False\\r\\nPreRelease: True\\r\\nPrivateBuild: True\\r\\nSpecialBuild: False\\r\\nLanguage: English (United States)\\r\\n",
            "ModuleMemorySize": 811008,
            "ModuleName": "diasymreader.dll",
            "Product": "Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005",
            "ProductVersion": "8.0.50727.9157",
            "Site": null,
            "Size": 792
        }

```

There is no MICROSOFT\_DIASYMREADER\_\* env var.

Good to know that specifying a powershell 7 config with ansible\_psrp\_configuration\_name is not supported (yet)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:59am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/4 "2026-05-06T09:59:11Z")

</div>

Did some more testing now we know the problematic DLL comes from .NET Framework v2:

Machines with only v4 installed work fine  
After removing v3, and thus v2 as well, it works fine.

So how bad is this behavior? Is it an error we can ignore, or could it lead to more problems?

Unfortunately we can’t remove older .NET Framework versions from all our machines.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jborean](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/jborean/32/1525_2.png) [@jborean](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jborean)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 11:14am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/5 "2026-05-06T11:14:38Z")

</div>

> [@NucLabs](#):
>
> Yes, for some reason the Framework 2.0 version is loaded

That is certainly surprising but explains why the error is saying the writer is older than required. Do you see the same `diasymreader.dll` in `C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.*\diasymreader.dll`?

> [@NucLabs](#):
>
> Good to know that specifying a powershell 7 config with ansible\_psrp\_configuration\_name is not supported (yet)

The upcoming 2.21 release of Ansible will add official support for targeting PowerShell 7 interpreters both through `ansible_pwsh_interpreter` (and PSRP can set `ansible_psrp_configuration_name` to make it a bit more efficient at the same time). I still need to complete the docs for this though.

> [@NucLabs](#):
>
> So how bad is this behavior? Is it an error we can ignore, or could it lead to more problems?

In this case you can mostly ignore it, it does mean that anything sent to stdout or stderr like `[Console]::WriteLine("foo")` in the PowerShell script specified won’t be captured but any other output is going to be fine. You can safely ignore this in 99% of the cases here.

If you see the `diasymreader.dll` in the `v4*` folder can you see if this also returns the `v2` variant in a brand new `pwsh` process?

```yaml
# This should not return anything
(Get-Process -Id $pid).Modules |
        Where-Object ModuleName -eq diasymreader.dll |
        Format-List *

# This is what the underlying library is loading
$c = New-Object -ComObject CorSymWriter_SxS

# The dll should now be loaded
(Get-Process -Id $pid).Modules |
        Where-Object ModuleName -eq diasymreader.dll |
        Format-List *

```

Are you able to test the above in pwsh directly on the server outside of Ansible and potentially through a `win_command` that replicates `pwsh` running through WinRM.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/6 "2026-05-06T13:36:34Z")

</div>

Output in a new pwsh session:

```auto
PowerShell 7.4.7

   A new PowerShell stable release is available: v7.6.1
   Upgrade now, or check out the release page at:
     https://aka.ms/PowerShell-Release?tag=v7.6.1

PS C:\Users\user1> # This should not return anything
PS C:\Users\user1> (Get-Process -Id $pid).Modules |
>> Where-Object ModuleName -eq diasymreader.dll |
>> Format-List *
PS C:\Users\user1>
PS C:\Users\user1> # This is what the underlying library is loading
PS C:\Users\user1> $c = New-Object -ComObject CorSymWriter_SxS
PS C:\Users\user1>
PS C:\Users\user1> # The dll should now be loaded
PS C:\Users\user1> (Get-Process -Id $pid).Modules |
>> Where-Object ModuleName -eq diasymreader.dll |
>> Format-List *

Size : 792
Company : Microsoft Corporation
FileVersion : 8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)
ProductVersion : 8.0.50727.9157
Description : Dia based SymReader
Product : Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005
ModuleName : diasymreader.dll
FileName : C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\diasymreader.dll
BaseAddress : 140719394324480
ModuleMemorySize : 811008
EntryPointAddress : 140719394473344
FileVersionInfo : File: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\diasymreader.dll
                    InternalName: diasymreader.dll
                    OriginalFilename: diasymreader.dll
                    FileVersion: 8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)
                    FileDescription: Dia based SymReader
                    Product: Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005
                    ProductVersion: 8.0.50727.9157
                    Debug: False
                    Patched: False
                    PreRelease: True
                    PrivateBuild: True
                    SpecialBuild: False
                    Language: English (United States)

Site :
Container :

```

CorSymWriter\_SxS has CLSID 0AE2DEB0-F901-478b-BB9F-881EE8066788 and if I explore its properties I get this. The version numbers are the .NET Framework versions present on this machine. Not clear to me how this is translated to a .NET disk path btw

```auto
PS C:\Users\user1> gci 'registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0AE2DEB0-F901-478b-BB9F-881EE8066788}' -Recurse

    Hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0AE2DEB0-F901-478b-BB9F-881EE8066788}

Name Property
---- --------
InprocServer32 (default) : C:\Windows\System32\mscoree.dll
                               ThreadingModel : Both

    Hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0AE2DEB0-F901-478b-BB9F-881EE8066788}\InprocServer32

Name Property
---- --------
2.0.50727 (default) : 2.0.50727
                               ImplementedInThisVersion :
4.0.30319 (default) : 4.0.30319
                               ImplementedInThisVersion :

    Hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0AE2DEB0-F901-478b-BB9F-881EE8066788}

Name Property
---- --------
ProgID (default) : CorSymWriter_SxS
Server (default) : diasymreader.dll

```

Output when run from a playbook with win\_command:

```auto
{
  "changed": true,
  "invocation": {
    "module_args": {
      "removes": null,
      "_raw_params": "pwsh.exe -file C:\\Temp\\DiaSymReadertest.ps1",
      "chdir": null,
      "creates": null,
      "output_encoding_override": null,
      "cmd": null,
      "argv": null,
      "stdin": null
    }
  },
  "cmd": "pwsh.exe -file C:\\Temp\\DiaSymReadertest.ps1",
  "rc": 0,
  "stdout": "\r\n\u001b[32;1mSize : \u001b[0m792\r\n\u001b[32;1mCompany : \u001b[0mMicrosoft Corporation\r\n\u001b[32;1mFileVersion : \u001b[0m8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)\r\n\u001b[32;1mProductVersion : \u001b[0m8.0.50727.9157\r\n\u001b[32;1mDescription : \u001b[0mDia based SymReader\r\n\u001b[32;1mProduct : \u001b[0mMicrosoft® Visual Studio® 2005\r\n\u001b[32;1mModuleName : \u001b[0mdiasymreader.dll\r\n\u001b[32;1mFileName : \u001b[0mC:\\Windows\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework64\\v2.0.50727\\diasymreader.dll\r\n\u001b[32;1mBaseAddress : \u001b[0m140719394324480\r\n\u001b[32;1mModuleMemorySize : \u001b[0m811008\r\n\u001b[32;1mEntryPointAddress : \u001b[0m140719394473344\r\n\u001b[32;1mFileVersionInfo : \u001b[0mFile: C:\\Windows\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework64\\v2.0.50727\\diasymreader.dll\r\n InternalName: diasymreader.dll\r\n OriginalFilename: diasymreader.dll\r\n FileVersion: 8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)\r\n FileDescription: Dia based SymReader\r\n Product: Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005\r\n ProductVersion: 8.0.50727.9157\r\n Debug: False\r\n Patched: False\r\n PreRelease: True\r\n PrivateBuild: True\r\n SpecialBuild: False\r\n Language: English (United States)\r\n \r\n\u001b[32;1mSite : \u001b[0m\r\n\u001b[32;1mContainer : \u001b[0m\r\n\r\n",
  "stderr": "",
  "start": "2026-05-06 13:19:08.322066",
  "end": "2026-05-06 13:19:08.938309",
  "delta": "0:00:00.616242",
  "stdout_lines": [
    "",
    "\u001b[32;1mSize : \u001b[0m792",
    "\u001b[32;1mCompany : \u001b[0mMicrosoft Corporation",
    "\u001b[32;1mFileVersion : \u001b[0m8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)",
    "\u001b[32;1mProductVersion : \u001b[0m8.0.50727.9157",
    "\u001b[32;1mDescription : \u001b[0mDia based SymReader",
    "\u001b[32;1mProduct : \u001b[0mMicrosoft® Visual Studio® 2005",
    "\u001b[32;1mModuleName : \u001b[0mdiasymreader.dll",
    "\u001b[32;1mFileName : \u001b[0mC:\\Windows\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework64\\v2.0.50727\\diasymreader.dll",
    "\u001b[32;1mBaseAddress : \u001b[0m140719394324480",
    "\u001b[32;1mModuleMemorySize : \u001b[0m811008",
    "\u001b[32;1mEntryPointAddress : \u001b[0m140719394473344",
    "\u001b[32;1mFileVersionInfo : \u001b[0mFile: C:\\Windows\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework64\\v2.0.50727\\diasymreader.dll",
    " InternalName: diasymreader.dll",
    " OriginalFilename: diasymreader.dll",
    " FileVersion: 8.0.50727.9157 (WinRelRS6.050727-9100)",
    " FileDescription: Dia based SymReader",
    " Product: Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005",
    " ProductVersion: 8.0.50727.9157",
    " Debug: False",
    " Patched: False",
    " PreRelease: True",
    " PrivateBuild: True",
    " SpecialBuild: False",
    " Language: English (United States)",
    " ",
    "\u001b[32;1mSite : \u001b[0m",
    "\u001b[32;1mContainer : \u001b[0m",
    ""
  ],
  "stderr_lines": [],
  "_ansible_no_log": false
}

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jborean](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/jborean/32/1525_2.png) [@jborean](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jborean)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/7 "2026-05-07T01:05:44Z")

</div>

Thanks for that last bit of information. This is a weird one but from my understanding this is what is happening:

- The C# compiler in PowerShell 7 is creating the COM object `CorSymWriter_SxS`
- The COM registration for this will open the DLL `mscoree.dll`
- This dll is basically loading the .NET Framework CLR and uses the subkeys version under `InprocServer32` to determine the CLRs the COM server supports
- Normally it would choose the CLR version already loaded but for PowerShell 7.x there is no Framework CLR
- It seems like unless the main executable manifest (`pwsh.exe's`) specifies an explicit version or loading policy it’ll default to the v2 one when present for compatibility reasons (how ironic)
- `pwsh.exe` doesn’t specify the loading policy so it chooses the 2.0 version which is incompatible with this PDB writer

Luckily there are a few things you can do here:

1. Ignore the error as it only affects capturing stdout/stderr written in the scripts
2. Upgrade to Ansible 2.21 when it is released as it doesn’t use this codepath anymore
3. Uninstall the .NET 2.0/3.5 features so only v4.0.x is present and will be selected
4. Set the env var `COMPLUS_Version: v4.0` on the Ansible task to force it to choose the v4.0 components
5. Create `pwsh.exe.config` (next to `pwsh.exe`) on the Windows host with the following

```xml
<configuration>
  <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
    <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" />
  </startup>
</configuration>

```

Hope this helps!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/8 "2026-05-07T14:33:44Z")

</div>

This sure helped. Suggestions 4 and 5 work like a charm. Thanks Jordan!

One last, slightly off-topic, question. Triggered by your remark not all forms of output will be logged when the wrong version of .net is addressed (and fails) I added a Write-Host statement to my test playbook and the log tells me that Write-Host is not found. Not that I am worried: thou shall not use write-host in non-interactive scripts. But just out of curiosity: is write-host removed by ansible here?

```json
"exception": {
        "inner_exception": null,
        "message": "The term 'Write-Host:' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.\r\nCheck the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.",
        "source": "System.Management.Automation",
        "help_link": null,
        "type": "System.Management.Automation.CommandNotFoundException",
        "hresult": -2146233087
      }

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jborean](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/jborean/32/1525_2.png) [@jborean](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jborean)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/9 "2026-05-07T18:36:15Z")

</div>

That I cannot explain sorry, we aren’t restricting anything here and even doing a test locally seems to work fine with the `Write-Host` appearing under the `host_out` and as an `information` record as expected.

Looking at your error it is saying `Write-Host:` and not `Write-Host`. Did you have a stray colon when you tested it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NucLabs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/nuclabs/32/9905_2.png) [@NucLabs](https://forum.ansible.com/u/NucLabs)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:15am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/error-when-running-a-powershell-7-script-on-a-windows-host/45769/10 "2026-05-08T06:15:45Z")

</div>

It was 🫩 Easy to not see when combining yml and powershell including a class method call within 3 lines…  
Thanks again!

```yaml
tasks:
    - name: Run a Powershell script
      ansible.windows.win_powershell:
        script: |
          Write-Host: "Output from Write-Host"
          [Console]::WriteLine("Output from [Console]::WriteLine")
          Write-Output "This is a Powershell script running on the target host."

```