> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://devops-collective-inc.gitbook.io/the-big-book-of-powershell-gotchas/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://devops-collective-inc.gitbook.io/the-big-book-of-powershell-gotchas/commands-that-need-a-user-profile-may-fail-when-run-remotely.md).

# Commands that Need a User Profile May Fail When Run Remotely

Many commands act against the currently logged-on user’s profile. Those commands can sometimes fail when you run them over a Remoting connection, such as by using Invoke-Command or Enter-PSSession. For example, many installers default to creating per-user icons, and those can fail when run remotely – even when run in a “silent install” mode.

The problem is that, when you connect to a remote computer, you aren’t spinning up a complete user environment. You’re technically not “logging on” to the machine in the usual sense. You’re authenticating, yes, but in much the same way that you’d authenticate to a shared folder. Your remote connection doesn’t have a complete user profile, and so anything that’s expecting one can get errors and fail (even if they don’t show those errors).

There’s no easy fix for this, unfortunately.