diff --git a/studio/backend/run.py b/studio/backend/run.py
index 18babf6229..9c3622988e 100644
--- a/studio/backend/run.py
+++ b/studio/backend/run.py
@@ -312,10 +312,10 @@ def run_server(
     if frontend_path:
         if setup_frontend(app, frontend_path):
             if not silent:
-                print(f"✅ Frontend loaded from {frontend_path}")
+                print(f"[OK] Frontend loaded from {frontend_path}")
         else:
             if not silent:
-                print(f"⚠️ Frontend not found at {frontend_path}")
+                print(f"[WARNING] Frontend not found at {frontend_path}")
 
     # Create the uvicorn server and expose it for signal handlers
     config = uvicorn.Config(
diff --git a/studio/backend/utils/datasets/format_conversion.py b/studio/backend/utils/datasets/format_conversion.py
index 39f0113fe0..289b30e55e 100644
--- a/studio/backend/utils/datasets/format_conversion.py
+++ b/studio/backend/utils/datasets/format_conversion.py
@@ -553,13 +553,9 @@ def convert_to_vlm_format(
                         batch_results[idx] = future.result()
                     except Exception as e:
                         failed_count += 1
-                        if failed_count == 1:
-                            print(
-                                f"⚠️ First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}"
-                            )
                         if failed_count == 1:
                             logger.info(
-                                f"⚠️ First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}"
+                                f"First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}"
                             )
 
             converted_list.extend(r for r in batch_results if r is not None)
@@ -583,13 +579,10 @@ def convert_to_vlm_format(
                 converted_list.append(_convert_single_sample(sample))
             except Exception as e:
                 failed_count += 1
-                if failed_count == 1:
-                    # Log the first failure to aid debugging
-                    print(f"⚠️ First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
                 if failed_count == 1:
                     # Log the first failure to aid debugging
                     logger.info(
-                        f"⚠️ First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}"
+                        f"First VLM conversion failure: {type(e).__name__}: {e}"
                     )
             pbar.set_postfix(ok = len(converted_list), failed = failed_count, refresh = False)
         pbar.close()
diff --git a/studio/setup.ps1 b/studio/setup.ps1
index 6e19fbea83..7cea60371a 100644
--- a/studio/setup.ps1
+++ b/studio/setup.ps1
@@ -1522,8 +1522,14 @@ if ($CuTag -eq "cpu") {
 # Ordered heavy dependency installation -- shared cross-platform script
 substep "running ordered dependency installation..."
 python "$PSScriptRoot\install_python_stack.py"
+$stackExit = $LASTEXITCODE
 # Restore ErrorActionPreference after pip/python work
 $ErrorActionPreference = $prevEAP
+if ($stackExit -ne 0) {
+    Write-Host "[FAILED] Python dependency installation failed (exit code $stackExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
+    Write-Host "   Re-run the installer or check the error above for details." -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
 
 # ── Pre-install transformers 5.x into .venv_t5/ ──
 # Models like GLM-4.7-Flash need transformers>=5.3.0. Instead of pip-installing