diff --git a/src/integrations/terminal/TerminalProcess.ts b/src/integrations/terminal/TerminalProcess.ts
index d202191b95..117ffc469a 100644
--- a/src/integrations/terminal/TerminalProcess.ts
+++ b/src/integrations/terminal/TerminalProcess.ts
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ export class TerminalProcess extends BaseTerminalProcess {
 
 		// Execute command
 		const defaultWindowsShellProfile = vscode.workspace
-			.getConfiguration("terminal.integrated.defaultProfile")
-			.get("windows")
+			.getConfiguration("terminal.integrated")
+			.get<string>("defaultProfile.windows")
 
 		const isPowerShell =
 			process.platform === "win32" &&
diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/shell.spec.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/shell.spec.ts
index 8f370e4d7f..5882fdc0a4 100644
--- a/src/utils/__tests__/shell.spec.ts
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/shell.spec.ts
@@ -139,11 +139,11 @@ describe("Shell Detection Tests", () => {
 			expect(getShell()).toBe("C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe")
 		})
 
-		it("falls back to legacy PowerShell if profile includes 'powershell' but no path/source", () => {
+		it("falls back to PowerShell 7 if profile includes 'powershell' but no path/source", () => {
 			mockVsCodeConfig("windows", "PowerShell", {
 				PowerShell: {},
 			})
-			expect(getShell()).toBe("C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe")
+			expect(getShell()).toBe("C:\\Program Files\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe")
 		})
 
 		it("uses WSL bash when profile indicates WSL source", () => {
diff --git a/src/utils/shell.ts b/src/utils/shell.ts
index 45253c31b0..cd718aaad3 100644
--- a/src/utils/shell.ts
+++ b/src/utils/shell.ts
@@ -205,8 +205,9 @@ function getWindowsShellFromVSCode(): string | null {
 			// If the profile is sourced from PowerShell, assume the newest
 			return SHELL_PATHS.POWERSHELL_7
 		}
-		// Otherwise, assume legacy Windows PowerShell
-		return SHELL_PATHS.POWERSHELL_LEGACY
+		// Otherwise, default to PowerShell 7 (modern) since VS Code auto-discovers
+		// PS7 profiles without setting an explicit path or source property
+		return SHELL_PATHS.POWERSHELL_7
 	}
 
 	// If there's a specific path, return that immediately