Here we can see, “powershell commands”
PowerShell is an object-oriented automation engine and scripting language with an interactive command-line shell that Microsoft developed to assist IT professionals configure systems and automate administrative tasks.
PowerShell, built on the .NET framework, works with objects, whereas most command-line shells are supported text. PowerShell is an automation tool for system administrators employed in IT departments and external entities, like managed service providers, due to its scripting capabilities.
PowerShell originated as a propriety offering that was only available on Windows. In 2016, Microsoft open-sourced PowerShell and made it available on Linux and macOS.
How to launch PowerShell
9 ways to launch PowerShell in Windows (including as admin)
Many IT professionals use PowerShell to manage Windows computers and devices and execute administrative tasks of all types. However, before you use PowerShell, you initially got to skills to start it. That’s why we made an extended list of all the methods available for starting this tool, including admin rights. Read on and see them all:
1. Start PowerShell using search (all Windows versions)
In Windows 10, one of the fastest ways to launch PowerShell is to use search. Inside the search field from the taskbar, enter Powershell. Then, click or tap the Windows PowerShell result.
If you would like to run PowerShell as administrator, right-click (or tap and hold, if you employ a touchscreen) on the Windows PowerShell search result, then click or tap “Run as administrator.”
If you employ Windows 7, open the beginning Menu, type PowerShell within the search field, then press Enter or click the Windows PowerShell result.
When you want to run PowerShell as administrator, right-click on the Windows PowerShell search result and choose “Run as administrator.”
In Windows 8.1, switch to the beginning screen and begin typing Powershell. Then, once the search results are displayed, press Enter on your keyboard or press the Windows PowerShell result.
When you want to run PowerShell as administrator, right-click on the Windows PowerShell search result and choose “Run as administrator” within the menu that’s displayed.
2. Start the PowerShell using the Run window (all Windows versions)
One of the quickest ways to start PowerShell in any modern version of Windows is to use the Run window. A quick thanks to launching this window is to press the Win + R keys on your keyboard. Then, type PowerShell and press Enter or click OK.
3. Launch the PowerShell from the Start Menu (in Windows 10 and Windows 7) or the Start Screen (in Windows 8.1)
In Windows 10, open the beginning Menu and attend the Windows PowerShell shortcuts folder. There, you’ll find a shortcut for Windows PowerShell.
If you employ Windows 7, open the beginning Menu and attend All Programs. Then, open Accessories, then the Windows PowerShell folder. There, click the Windows PowerShell shortcut.
In Windows 8.1, attend the beginning screen. Next, open the Apps View and scroll right until you discover the Windows System folder. There, click or tap the Windows PowerShell shortcut.
Note: To run it as administrator, right-click on the Windows PowerShell shortcut, then click the “Run as administrator” option.
4. Run PowerShell using its executable file (all Windows versions)
You can also open File Explorer (in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1) or Windows Explorer (in Windows 7). If you’re employing a 32-bit version of Windows, browse to: “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0.” There you discover the powershell.exe file on 32-bits.
If you employ a 64-bit version of Windows, browse to: “C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0.” There you discover the powershell.exe file on 64-bits.
5. Start PowerShell using the WinX power user menu (Windows 10 only)
Windows 10 includes a hidden menu for power users named the WinX menu. The quickest thanks to launching it’s to press the Win + X keys on your keyboard, but you’ll also roll in the hay with right-click (or tap and hold) on the Windows logo from the bottom-left corner of your desktop. Here you discover shortcuts for starting PowerShell, both with limited permissions and with admin rights.
Use the Windows PowerShell shortcut you favour for starting it.
6. Create a shortcut for PowerShell on your desktop (all Windows versions)
If you favour using shortcuts, then don’t hesitate to make a shortcut to PowerShell. However, if you are not skilled and wish help with creating shortcuts, read this guide: the way to create shortcuts for apps, files, folders and sites in Windows. the sole thing you’ve got to recollect is to type PowerShell because of the location of the item you create the shortcut for, a bit like within the screenshot below.
You can also use the direct path to the powershell.exe file, shared at method four from this guide.
7. Use Task Manager to start PowerShell (all Windows versions)
Another way of opening PowerShell is to use the Task Manager:
- Launch Task Manager: a fast thanks to roll in the hay is to press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on your keyboard.
- If you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 and therefore the Task Manager exposes in its compact mode, click or tap on “More details.”
- Altogether Windows versions, open the File menu and click on or tap on “Run new task.” within the “Create new task” window, type PowerShell and press Enter or OK.
8. Open PowerShell by using the shortcut from our collection (all Windows versions)
We assembled an in-depth collection of shortcuts for Windows. Download it, extract it, and you’ll find the Windows PowerShell shortcut within the Windows PowerShell subfolder for your Windows version.
9. Open PowerShell from the Command Prompt (all Windows versions)
A geeky method that works involves starting PowerShell from the prompt. If you’ve opened the prompt, type “start powershell” (without the quotation marks) and press Enter on your keyboard.
If you would like to start PowerShell from the prompt as administrator, confirm that you first open the prompt as administrator.
Following is a list of important PowerShell Commands:
Basic PowerShell Commands
Get Execution Policy
get-executionpolicy
Set Execution Policy to Unrestricted
set-executionpolicy unrestricted
Show PowerShell Version
$PSVersionTable
Get help for a command
Use this to urge the assistance information for a command.
get-help command-name
Search Get Help
Use this to look at the assistance files. This is often useful if you don’t know the command or want to ascertain if one exists.
get-help *keyword*
Get Installed Modules
Use this command to display all the installed modules on a computer.
get-installedmodule
List All Available Modules
This will list all available modules on the pc.
Get-Module -ListAvailable
Exporting results to CSV
Add export-CSV to the top of commands
Get-ADUser username -Properties * | Select name, department, title | export-csv c:user.csv
Display available commands
This will display all commands that are available supported the modules that are loaded.
get-command
Find New Modules
Replace *NTFS* with the keyword you would like to look for. For example, this searches modules at https://www.powershellgallery.com/.
Find-Module *ntfs*
Install a New Module
Installs modules from https://www.powershellgallery.com/
I found a module called NTFSSecurity. To put in it, I run this command.
install-module NTFSSecurity
Windows Server & Client Commands
Get all Services
get-service
Get all Processes
get-process
Display Network Adapters
Gets detailed about the network adapter installed like name, status, speed and mac address.
get-netadapater
Restart Remote Computers
Restart-Computer -ComputerName "Server01", "Server02", "localhost"
Get the Last Boot Time
This takes a couple of lines
$os = Get-WmiObject win32_operatingsystem $uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.ConvertToDateTime($os.LastBootUpTime) Write-Output ("Last boot: " + $os.ConvertToDateTime($os.LastBootUpTime))
You can also run this single line to urge last boot time.
systeminfo | more
Start a Remote Session
Use this to start an interactive session with a foreign computer.
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName
Read the Content of a File (Open a file)
This example shows the way to read the content of the windows firewall log file.
Get-Content -Path "c:windowssystem32logfilesfirewallpfirewall.log"
Copy Files & Folders
Use this command to repeat a whole folder to a different folder. This may copy the folder and every one the subfolder/files. The -verbose command will display the results to the console.
copy-item E:\WindowsImageBackup\exchange -destination \\server1\Backups\Exchange -recurse -verbose
Active Directory PowerShell Commands
View all Active Directory commands
get-command -Module ActiveDirectory
Display Basic Domain Information
Get-ADDomain
Get all Domain Controllers by Hostname and Operating
Get-ADDomainController -filter * | select hostname, operatingsystem
Get all Fine Grained Password Policies
Get-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy -filter *
Get Domain Default Password Policy
Gets the password policy from the logged-in domain
Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy
Backup Active Directory System State Remotely
This will copy the domain controllers system state data. Change DC-Name to your server name and alter the Backup-Path. The backup path are often an area disk or a UNC path.
invoke-command -ComputerName DC-Name -scriptblock {wbadmin start systemstateback up -backupTarget:"Backup-Path" -quiet}
AD User PowerShell Commands
This section is all Active Directory user commands.
Get User and List All Properties (attributes)
Change username to the samAccountName of the account
Get-ADUser username -Properties *
Get User and List Specific Properties
Just add whatever you would like to display after select.
Get-ADUser username -Properties * | Select name, department, title
Get All Active Directory Users in Domain
Get-ADUser -Filter *
Get All Users From a Specific OU
OU = the distinguished path of the OU
Get-ADUser -SearchBase “OU=ADPRO Users,dc=ad,dc=activedirectorypro.com” -Filter *
Get AD Users by Name
This command will find all users that have the word Robert within the name. Just change Robert to the word you would like to look for.
get-Aduser -Filter {name -like "*robert*"}
Get All Disable User Accounts
Search-ADAccount -AccountDisabled | select name
Disable User Account
Disable-ADAccount -Identity rallen
Enable User Account
Enable-ADAccount -Identity rallen
Get All Accounts with Password Set to Never Expire
get-aduser -filter * -properties Name, PasswordNeverExpires | where {$_.passwordNeverExpires -eq "true" } | Select-Object DistinguishedName,Name,Enabled
Find All Locked User Accounts
Search-ADAccount -LockedOut
Unlock User Account
Unlock-ADAccount –Identity john.smith
List all Disabled User Accounts
Search-ADAccount -AccountDisabled
Force Password Change at Next Login
Set-ADUser -Identity username -ChangePasswordAtLogon $true
Move a Single User to a New OU
You will need the distinguishedName of the user and, therefore, the target OU
Move-ADObject -Identity "CN=Test User (0001),OU=ADPRO Users,DC=ad,DC=activedirectorypro,DC=com" -TargetPath "OU=HR,OU=ADPRO Users,DC=ad,DC=activedirectorypro,DC=com"
Move Users to an OU from a CSV
Setup a CSV with a reputation field and an inventory of the users sAmAccountNames. Then change the target OU path.
# Specify target OU. $TargetOU = "OU=HR,OU=ADPRO Users,DC=ad,DC=activedirectorypro,DC=com" # Read user sAMAccountNames from csv file (field labeled "Name"). Import-Csv -Path Users.csv | ForEach-Object { # Retrieve DN of User. $UserDN = (Get-ADUser -Identity $_.Name).distinguishedName # Move user to target OU. Move-ADObject -Identity $UserDN -TargetPath $TargetOU }
AD Group Commands
Get All members Of A Security group
Get-ADGroupMember -identity “HR Full”
Get All Security Groups
This will list all security groups during a domain.
Get-ADGroup -filter *
Add User to Group
Change group-name to the AD group you want to add users to
Add-ADGroupMember -Identity group-name -Members Sser1, user2
Export Users From a Group
This will export group members to a CSV, change group-name to the group you want to export.
Get-ADGroupMember -identity “Group-name” | select name | Export-csv -path C:OutputGroupmembers.csv -NoTypeInformation
Get Group by keyword
Find a group by keyword. Helpful if you are not sure of the name, change group-name.
get-adgroup -filter * | Where-Object {$_.name -like "*group-name*"}
Import a List of Users to a Group
$members = Import-CSV c:itadd-to-group.csv | Select-Object -ExpandProperty samaccountname Add-ADGroupMember -Identity hr-n-drive-rw -Members $members
AD Computer Commands
Get All Computers
This will list all computers in the domain
Get-AdComputer -filter *
Get All Computers by Name
This will list all the computers in the domain and only display the hostname
Get-ADComputer -filter * | select name
Get All Computers from an OU
Get-ADComputer -SearchBase "OU=DN" -Filter *
Get a Count of All Computers in Domain
Get-ADComputer -filter * | measure
Get all Windows 10 Computers
Change Windows 10 to any OS you want to search for
Get-ADComputer -filter {OperatingSystem -Like '*Windows 10*'} -property * | select name, operatingsystem
Get a Count of All computers by Operating System
This will provide a count of all computers and group them by the operating system. A great command to give you a quick inventory of computers in AD.
Get-ADComputer -Filter "name -like '*'" -Properties operatingSystem | group -Property operatingSystem | Select Name,Count
Delete a single Computer
Remove-ADComputer -Identity "USER04-SRV4"
Delete a List of Computer Accounts
Add the hostnames to a text file and run the command below.
Get-Content -Path C:ComputerList.txt | Remove-ADComputer
Delete Computers From an OU
Get-ADComputer -SearchBase "OU=DN" -Filter * | Remote-ADComputer
Group Policy Section
Get all GPO related commands
get-command -Module grouppolicy
Get all GPOs by status
get-GPO -all | select DisplayName, gpostatus
Backup all GPOs in the Domain
Backup-Gpo -All -Path E:GPObackup
Office 365 PowerShell Commands
Connect To Exchange Online
This will pop up and ask for credentials
$UserCredential = Get-Credential $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell/ -Credential $LiveCred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection Import-PSSession $Session
Force Azure Sync
This is for the azure ad sync client.
Force delta sync (only sync changes
Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Delta Force a full sync Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Initial
Get A List of All Office 365 Users
Get-MsolUser | Select DisplayName, City, Department, ObjectID
Get Full mailbox details
Get-Mailbox email-address | fl
Get Calendar Permissions
Get-MailboxFolderPermission username:calendar
Enable Remote Mailbox (Hybrid Environment)
Use this command if you have an existing on-premise user that needs an office 365 mailbox. There are other ways to do this but this creates all the attributes in the AD account.
Replace the username and the tenant fields
Enable-RemoteMailbox username -RemoteRoutingAddress "username@tenant.mail.onmicrosoft.com"
User Questions:
1.What can you do with PowerShell?
The uses of PowerShell include adding and deleting accounts, editing groups, and creating listings to view specific types of users or groups. You can also choose to use the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), a graphic user interface that lets you run commands and create or test scripts.
2.Which is better cmd or PowerShell?
PowerShell is a more advanced version of the cmd used to run external programs like ping or copy and automate many different system administration tasks which are not accessible from cmd.exe. It’s quite similar to cmd except it’s more powerful and uses different commands altogether.
3.Why is PowerShell popping up?
The reason PowerShell open on Startup is likely because you mistakenly added Windows PowerShell shortcut to the Start-up folder. If you also look at the Start-up tab of Task Manager, Windows PowerShell will be listed and status displayed as Enabled. Moreover, there may be other reasons PowerShell may open on startup.
4.Windows PowerShell Scripting Tutorial for Beginners
Windows PowerShell Scripting Tutorial for Beginners from Netwrix
5.The only PowerShell Command you will ever need to find out who did what in Active Directory
The only PowerShell Command you will ever need to find out who did what in Active Directory from sysadmin
