diff --git a/run.ps1 b/run.ps1
index f3158ac..419da7d 100644
--- a/run.ps1
+++ b/run.ps1
@@ -84,16 +84,21 @@ switch ($appEnv) {
         }
         # Schema first: a branch may add a migration, and uvicorn would otherwise start
         # on the old schema and fail with 500 on the first hit of a new table.
-        # stderr goes to a file: alembic logs there, and in PowerShell 5.1 "2>&1" on a
-        # native exe wraps every line into an ErrorRecord.
+        # Start-Process, not "& python ... 2> file": alembic logs to stderr, and in
+        # Windows PowerShell 5.1 ANY stderr redirection of a native exe turns each line
+        # into a NativeCommandError - which is terminating under $ErrorActionPreference
+        # = "Stop" set at the top of this script, so the launcher died right here.
         Write-Host "Applying migrations (alembic upgrade head)..." -ForegroundColor Green
-        $migLog = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
-        Push-Location $backend
-        & $py -m alembic upgrade head 2> $migLog
-        $migCode = $LASTEXITCODE
-        Pop-Location
-        $migText = (Get-Content $migLog -Raw)
-        Remove-Item $migLog -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        $migOut = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
+        $migErr = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
+        $mig = Start-Process -FilePath $py `
+            -ArgumentList "-m", "alembic", "upgrade", "head" `
+            -WorkingDirectory $backend -NoNewWindow -Wait -PassThru `
+            -RedirectStandardOutput $migOut -RedirectStandardError $migErr
+        $migCode = $mig.ExitCode
+        $migText = ((Get-Content $migErr -Raw), (Get-Content $migOut -Raw)) -join "`n"
+        Remove-Item $migOut -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        Remove-Item $migErr -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
         if ($migCode -ne 0) {
             Write-Host $migText
             if ($migText -match "locate revision") {