PSA: Installing Venus 4.5 on Windows 11 Post-PowerShell 2.0 Deprecation

Hamilton (Venus)
1

Hi Y’all,

I just lost some time getting Venus 4.5.0.5217 up and running on a Windows 11 machine, so I thought a short PSA might be helpful.

In brief, the problem is:

  • Venus 4.5 requires Microsoft SQL Server 2014
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2014 requires PowerShell 2.0
  • PowerShell 2.0 was deprecated in Windows 11 version 24H2 in August 2025

Hence: if you try to install Venus 4.5 on a current (as of November 2025) Windows 11 PC, it won’t work. There are error messages that point you to part of the solution but I figured I’d sum up the solution here in a few quick steps:

Caveat: I have no sense of the security risks of re-enabling PowerShell 2.0; proceed at your own risk

  1. Download and extract ps2DLC.zip from this Microsoft Support thread. (Backup link for the file here in case Microsoft stops supporting it: ps2DLC.zip)
  2. Open PowerShell as Administrator
  3. Run Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
  4. In PowerShell, navigate to the previously extracted ps2DLC folder
  5. Run .\loadGAC.ps1
  6. Run Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted

Now the SQL Server 2014 installer bundled with Venus 4.5 should work.

10 Likes
Venus 4.5 on Windows 11 - Known Problems?
2

These kinds of posts are so helpful. Thank you for posting, @dibidave . It’s rare that someone finds a solution and writes about it. You’ve saved cumulative hours.

3

My solution was to just install Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express and point Venus 4.5 to this server. It’s slightly more complicated on the setup, since you’ll need to perform a manual setup/installation of the server, but it’s not as bad as living without an “undo” button on a certain program.

You’ll want to use the Hamilton SQL Server Database Manual Installation v1 1 document as reference.

3 Likes
4

Thanks @gregthelee. I couldn’t re-enable PowerShell 2.0 on my machine and had to go with your solution instead. Works perfectly!

1 Like
5

Just in case anyone needs the “SQL Server Database Manual Installation v1” pdf; Eric posted it in the “Hamilton Guides” found here.

And when you install SQL Server 2019 Express Edition, be sure to choose “Custom”.

6

Hello, I wanted to check in on this thread and see how everyone’s experience has been running Venus 4 on a Windows 11 machine. Have you encountered any strange behavior from the software or the hardware?

The IT team at my company really wants us to upgrade to Windows 11 but the Hamilton application specialist I have been talking with keeps emphasizing that it will be a lot of work to make the switch from Venus 4 to Venus 6, so I’m trying to research how best to do this. Thanks in advance for any feedback.