How to prevent a black pop up window that says C:\windows\system32\windowspowershell\v1.0\powershell.exe?

Hi,

The symptoms you describe, the black powershell.exe pop-up and the sleep timer not working, It seems some background task or scheduled process waking the system or running repeatedly. Here’s how to start narrowing it down:

Check if a scheduled task might be behind it Sometimes Windows or another app sets up a scheduled job that quietly runs a PowerShell script in the background — which can explain that quick black window flashing up.

You can take a peek in the Task Scheduler (just hit Windows + R, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter). Once it opens, expand through Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows and have a look around folders like UpdateOrchestrator, Maintenance, Windows Defender, or PowerShell.

If you spot a task that lists powershell.exe under its Program/script field, that’s likely what’s popping up. It’s usually harmless, but if you’re curious or unsure about a specific one, you can mention its name here, folks can help check whether it’s a normal system task or something leftover from an app.

See if any apps are quietly launching PowerShell It’s pretty common for antivirus tools, system cleaners, or backup software to trigger PowerShell scripts in the background, sometimes you’ll catch a quick flash of that black window when they do.

If you’re curious, open up Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and check the Startup tab. You might see a few programs set to run right when Windows starts, try turning off anything that looks unfamiliar or unnecessary just to test whether the pop-ups stop. Don’t worry, you can always turn them back on later.

While you’re there, peek at the Details tab and see if powershell.exe shows up. If it does, right-click it and choose Open file location, that’ll usually reveal which app or script is actually calling it.

Double-check if wake timers are keeping your PC awake Even if you’ve set your screen to sleep after 5 minutes, Windows sometimes lets certain background tasks or "wake timers" override that , which can quietly keep your PC awake even when it looks idle.

It’s worth a quick peek in your Power Options. You can get there from the Control Panel, then go into your current power plan’s advanced settings and look for the Sleep >Allow wake timers option. If it’s set to Enable, try switching it to Disable just to rule that out.

You can also open Command Prompt and run this handy little command:

powercfg /requests

It’ll show what’s currently stopping your system from sleeping. If you see something like powershell.exe listed there, that’s probably the process keeping your monitor awake.

Run a quick malware check just to be safe It’s probably nothing serious, but it never hurts to double-check. Sometimes a looping script or sneaky background process can trigger those random PowerShell pop-ups.

You can run a full scan with Windows Security, which is already built into Windows 11, and if you want an extra layer of reassurance, try the Microsoft Safety Scanner, it’s a free tool straight from Microsoft. Between the two, they’re pretty good at catching any unwanted scripts or tasks that might be running quietly in the background.

Kind regards,