powershell 2.0 try catch how to access the exception

Try something like this:

try {
    $w = New-Object net.WebClient
    $d = $w.downloadString('http://foo')
}
catch [Net.WebException] {
    Write-Host $_.Exception.ToString()
}

The exception is in the $_ variable. You might explore $_ like this:

try {
    $w = New-Object net.WebClient
    $d = $w.downloadString('http://foo')
}
catch [Net.WebException] {
    $_ | fl * -Force
}

I think it will give you all the info you need.

My rule: if there is some data that is not displayed, try to use -force.