PowerShell Install-Language fails

Question

I've been trying to put together a PowerShell script to automate Windows setup, and among the things I want to configure is the system language. I've been using a VM to test things but unfortunately I've been hitting a roadblock pretty early on on this avenue since the Install-Language isn't managing to complete properly. Specifically, after running it and waiting a good few minutes for it to complete (which I hear is normal—why does it take so long, anyway?) I get hit with the following error:

Install-Language : Language pack or features could only be partially installed.
ErrorCode: -2146498159. Please try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Install-Language en-CA
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotInstalled: (:) [Install-Language], Exception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : FailedToInstallLanguage,Microsoft.LanguagePackManagement.Powershell.Commands.InstallLanguage

I've been trying on fresh installations of Windows 11 Pro Edition, 24H2, English International ISO on Hyper-V (But I've also tried on VirtualBox to make sure it wasn't an issue on the hypervisor—it wasn't). A peak at CBS.log brings up a "missing payload", but it's hard to imagine why that could be an issue (the machine is connected to the internet and all, and I've tried making sure it's up to date as well).

As mentioned, I've tried on multiple VMs, fresh installations, even tried redownloading the ISO from the official website. I've also tried with different languages. No dice. Really more confused that anything here since it's not like I'm doing anything out of the book here, the function is just not working.

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Input and language ***

Answer 1

Hi,

Can the language packs be installed through the settings app?

Open Services.msc as administator, restart the SMS Agent Host (CcmExec) and Windows Update (Wuauserv) services.

Try adjusting the Wuauserv settings in the registry. Open registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU.

Create a new DWORD (32-bit) entry named UseServer and set its value to 0.

Additionally, see if the DISM tool can help. Open Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following commands

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

sfc /scannow

Answer 2

Hi, yes I forgot to mention but language installation does work perfectly fine through the Settings GUI, which is part of why I'm so confused. As mentioned, the ISO is straight from Microsoft's website so it shouldn't have any issues, but I can test to see what DISM returns in a bit.

Answer 3

Alright, I just finished running some tests. I tried all of the DISM commands as well as SFC, none of the health checks reported any issues but the repair operations ran. Unfortunately, they didn't have any effect on the result, and the language still failed to fully install. I did, however, find something else interesting.

I decided to try using an en-US ISO to see if that made any effect, and strangely enough... it did? The language installed without a hitch, besides taking what feels like an unreasonable amount of time for a modern system. This is definitely quite bizarre, is it possible there's an issue with the English International ISO being distributed by Microsoft?

Answer 4

I'm not sure what happened, maybe there was an update, but I think the issue has been resolved? Testing the other day I had the command return with no problems.