Windows Update accidentally breaks PowerShell

Issues with updates for Microsoft's Windows continue, earlier this month it was reported that Windows 10 Anniversary Update left many users unable to use their USB webcams, and now the company rolled out a patch that accidentally breaks parts of one of the key administrator features of the operating system.

As The Register wrote, Microsoft issued KB 3176934 on Tuesday to fix a number of bugs in Windows 10 Version 1607. Unfortunately, the update broke PowerShell's Desired State Configuration (DSC), a feature useful for managing and controlling networks of PCs and systems in an automated way. The software giant apologizes for the problem, but isn't expected to roll out a patch until August 30.

"Due to a missing .MOF file in the build package, the update breaks DSC. All DSC operations will result in an 'Invalid Property' error," an advisory from the PowerShell team reads.

"In addition, due to a missing binary in the build package the update breaks PowerShell implicit remoting. Implicit remoting is a PowerShell feature where PowerShell commands work on a remote session instead of locally. Specifically, importing a remote session no longer works."

Microsoft says it won't be issuing an update to fix the matter until August 30, and states, apparently without a hint of irony, that "we apologize for any inconvenience that this might cause."

In the meantime, users can uninstall the patch by running the following command in PowerShell:

wusa /uninstall /kb:3176934