diff --git a/install.ps1 b/install.ps1
index 2ba6e8c..e4e7f12 100644
--- a/install.ps1
+++ b/install.ps1
@@ -127,17 +127,23 @@ $wrapperTarget = Join-Path $claude 'cship-statusline.ps1'
 Copy-Item (Join-Path $assets 'cship-statusline.ps1') $wrapperTarget -Force
 Write-Ok "cship-statusline.ps1 -> $claude"
 
-# --- 4. Locate pwsh ---------------------------------------------------------
+# --- 4. Locate a PowerShell host --------------------------------------------
+# Prefer PowerShell 7 (pwsh). If it isn't installed, fall back to Windows
+# PowerShell 5.1 (powershell.exe) which ships with every Windows install and
+# runs the wrapper correctly - so the statusline works out of the box instead
+# of pointing at a non-existent pwsh.exe and silently rendering nothing.
 $pwsh = (Get-Command pwsh -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Source
+if (-not $pwsh -and (Test-Path 'C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe')) {
+    $pwsh = 'C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe'
+}
 if (-not $pwsh) {
-    $fallback = 'C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe'
-    if (Test-Path $fallback) {
-        $pwsh = $fallback
-    } else {
-        Write-Warn "PowerShell 7 (pwsh) not found. Install it, then re-run this script."
-        Write-Warn "  winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell -e"
-        $pwsh = $fallback   # write the conventional path so it works once pwsh is installed
+    $pwsh = (Get-Command powershell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Source
+    if (-not $pwsh) {
+        $pwsh = Join-Path $env:SystemRoot 'System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe'
     }
+    Write-Warn "PowerShell 7 (pwsh) not found - using Windows PowerShell 5.1."
+    Write-Warn "  For sharper rendering, install PS7 and re-run this script:"
+    Write-Warn "  winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell -e"
 }
 $pwshFwd    = $pwsh.Replace('\', '/')
 $wrapperFwd = $wrapperTarget.Replace('\', '/')
@@ -160,7 +166,27 @@ if ($settings.PSObject.Properties.Name -contains 'statusLine') {
 }
 
 $settings | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 20 | Set-Content $settingsPath -Encoding UTF8
-Write-Ok "settings.json statusLine wired to detected pwsh"
+Write-Ok "settings.json statusLine wired to $([IO.Path]::GetFileName($pwsh))"
+
+# --- 5b. End-to-end self-test -----------------------------------------------
+# Actually run the configured host + wrapper against a sample Status payload so
+# a broken host path (the classic "no statusline appears" failure) is caught
+# here rather than silently at runtime, where Claude Code just shows nothing.
+$sample = '{"hook_event_name":"Status","model":{"display_name":"Opus"},' +
+          '"workspace":{"current_dir":"' + ($claude -replace '\\','/') + '",' +
+          '"project_dir":"' + ($claude -replace '\\','/') + '"},' +
+          '"context_window":{"used_tokens":1000}}'
+try {
+    $probe = $sample | & $pwsh -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $wrapperTarget 2>$null
+    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace(($probe -join ''))) {
+        Write-Warn "Self-test produced no output - the statusline may not render."
+        Write-Warn "  Check that '$pwsh' runs and that cship.exe is present."
+    } else {
+        Write-Ok "Self-test passed - statusline renders."
+    }
+} catch {
+    Write-Warn "Self-test could not run the host: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+}
 
 # --- 6. Nerd Font (safety net, per-user) ------------------------------------
 if ($SkipFont) {