Resolved: Running Scripts Is Disabled on This System

Cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system A great many people receive this error message when using PowerShell. If you’re also struggling to figure it out, this post from MiniTool explores effective troubleshooting methods.

Why Running Scripts Is Disabled on This System

PowerShell is a practical utility that you can run certain command lines to access various services of an operating system as an administrator. However, many Windows 10 users encounter the error message “cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system”.

This error often occurs when the PowerShell execution policy doesn’t allow sunning scripts. In addition, this error also appears when running a certain PowerShell script. To fix the “execution of scripts is disabled on this system” error, we explore the following troubleshooting methods.

Fix 1. Set the PowerShell Execution Policy to RemoteSigned

As you might know, the PowerShell execution policy is set to Restricted status by default. In order to run the PowerShell script, you need to create a PowerShell script first and then change the execution policy.

There are 4 major different execution policies and you can change it based on your demands.

Restricted: You cannot run the PowerShell script. That’s why you encounter the PowerShell running scripts is disabled on this system issue.
AllSigned: You can run only the PowerShell scripts that are signed by a trusted publisher.
RemoteSigned: You can run the downloaded scripts signed by a trusted publisher.
Unrestricted: You can run all Windows PowerShell scripts.

So, changing the execution policy can help you fix the error “running scripts is disabled on this system”. The first choice is to change the execution policy to RemoteSigned. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1. Right-click the Start menu and select the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option from the context menu.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, type the following command to get the list of Execution policies on your Windows 10 PC.

Get-ExecutionPolicy – List

Step 3. If you find the Execution Policy is set to either Undefined or Restricted status, you can type the following command and hit Enter t change it.

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Tip: You can add this PowerShell script powershell –ExecutionPolicy ByPass –File script.psl command to bypass the above command.

Step 4. You will be asked for various permissions. Hit the Y key to say Yes to all the message individually, or hit the A key to say Yes to all messages at once.

Now, restart your computer and run Windows PowerShell script to see if the issue “running scripts is disabled on this system” is resolved.

Fix 2. Set the PowerShell Execution Policy to Unrestricted

In addition to the above method, you can try changing the Execution Policy to Unrestricted to fix the error “cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system”. To do so, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Open the Windows PowerShell as an administrator by the above method.

Step 2. Then type the command Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted and hit Enter.

Step 3. Now, you can hit the Y key or the A key to change the Execution Policy.

After that, the “execution of scripts is disabled on this system” problem should be fixed. If this command line triggers an error, you can run the command Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted –Force. This command will force changing the Execution Policy.

About The Author

Ariel Follow Us

Position: Columnist

Ariel has been working as a highly professional computer-relevant technology editor at MiniTool for many years. She has a strong passion for researching all knowledge related to the computer's disk, partition, and Windows OS. Up till now, she has finished thousands of articles covering a broad range of topics and helped lots of users fix various problems. She focuses on the fields of disk management, OS backup, and PDF editing and provides her readers with insightful and informative content.