I created a simple PowerShell script to copy items from a remote location to my google drive, the script runs using the option run with PowerShell.
Get-ChildItem "\\myipaddress\Exports" -Recurse -Filter F7104016E30A0465* |
Copy-Item -Destination "G:\My Drive\storage" -Force
However I am trying to automate the script with task scheduler to run it daily and it is not copy the file into the destination folder. the task does not show an error.
in action tab I select start program and add argument: -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\test\script.ps1, there is not error on the log but it doesn't show incremental (1 file) in the google drive.
This is Intune related but could probably apply outside the scope of Intune as well.
I wrote a PowerShell script that downloads a folder from an Azure blob storage and extracts the content. Within the extracted folder is another PowerShell script that I want to run.
The PowerShell script is deployed in Intune and runs successfully all the way up to the point where the second PowerShell script runs. From the log, it's running into a permission issue.
Scripts deployed through Intune are ran as administrator/system and don't require any local policy change to allow the execution of PowerShell scripts on the device. However on the device, the user account is only a standard user so they don't have permissions to execute PowerShell scripts. In the first script, I've included the "Set-ExclusionPolicy Bypass" command already.
I need to be able to deploy the script from Intune to the local device and essential run another script as the local user (non administrator account). I thought maybe I needed the local user to be included in the local administrators group to be able to run the second script but that did not work either.
Also read somewhere that PowerShell can run PowerShell scripts from other PowerShell scripts directly. The only time you need Start-Process for that is when you want to run the called script with elevated privileges (which isn't necessary here, since your parent script is already running elevated).
^^^Is this my issue? My script does include "Start-Process" to run the next powershell script.
Script below for reference.
New-Item -Path "C:\IT Drivers" -ItemType Directory ;
Invoke-WebRequest - Uri 'https://xyz.zip' -OutFile "C:\xyz.zip" ;
Expand-Archive -Path "C:\xyz.zip" -DestinationPath "C:\";
Set-ExclusionPolicy Bypass ;
Start-Sleep -Seconds 30 ;
Start-Process powershell "C:\xyz.ps1"
Any guidance would be appreciated, thank you!
On a Windows 2012 R2 server there is a Powershell script that I can manually invoke to start a process on some EXE, this works just fine.
But when trying to trigger it via a scheduled task (invoking the same script) the start-process within the script just doesn't trigger or finish. Causing the task scheduler to terminate the task due to exceeding the timeout threshold.
Here's the core section of the script:
$exe = "c:\some\app.exe"
$arguments = "-user me -pwd secret"
$process = Start-Process $exe -ArgumentList $arguments -PassThru -Wait
return $process
Is there some way I can get some insights into what start-process is doing or why the same script works when invoked manually but not programmatically?
I want to emphasize that the way the script is invoked from the scheduled task is not a problem! The script triggers because the corresponding log file populates.
Any insights or help on this is greatly appreciated!
quick update on this since I found the problem. It turns out, it had nothing to do with either the powershell script or the scheduled task itself...
On the machine the script is running on, there is a network share that is mapped as the z:\ drive. I use it to save logs to. Now apparently that mapping/mounting is handled differently depending on whether the script is invoked interactively or programatically, because in the latter case it appears that the resoultion of the network path \\network\share\folder1 does not succeed, however there is nothing complaining about it, the process just silently does not start. If however, I point the logs to a physical local path or the explicit full network path itself, there is no problem running the script.
Lesson learned, never trust OS' drive mapping of network paths :D
Cheers
I have a script which works when it is manually executed the script works under these conditions:
1) I start start.ps1 which then elevates with admin user then executes main.ps1 script
2) the start.ps1 is being run without any rights and I am elevating it by using
Start-Process -FilePath Powershell -LoadUserProfile -Credential $credential -ArgumentList '-File', $script
Everything works fine, please note that new powershell window appear and main.ps1 is being executed there.
now, when I create a scheduled task, then run it - I can see in the task manager that main.ps1 is being executed but noting is happening apart from task being stuck in scheduler. I cant use admin user in task scheduler it has to be executed as non privileged user.
Do you have any ideas how to fix this issue?
I have tried running it under local user, with/or without execution policy set to bypass/unrestricted etc nothing helped.
Thanks in advance
I have a PowerShell script that monitors an image folder. I need to find a way to automatically run this script after the computer starts.
I already tried the following methods, but I couldn't get it working.
Use msconfig and add the PowerShell script to startup, but I cannot find the PowerShell script on that list.
Create a shortcut and drop it to startup folder. No luck.
%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
or
%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
Here's my PowerShell script:
$folder = "C:\\Doc\\Files"
$dest = "C:\\Doc\\Files\\images"
$filter = "*.jpg"
$fsw = new-object System.IO.FileSystemWatcher $folder, $filter -Property #{
IncludeSubDirectories=$false
NotifyFilter = [System.IO.NotifyFilters]'FileName, LastWrite'
}
$onCreated = Register-ObjectEvent $fsw Created -SourceIdentifier FileCreated -Action {
Start-Sleep -s 10
Move-Item -Path C:\Doc\Files\*.jpg C:\Doc\Files\images
}
I also tried to add a basic task using taskschd.msc. It is still not working.
Here's what I found, and maybe that will help to debug it.
If I open up a PowerShell window and run the script there, it works. But if I run it in a command prompt,
powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
It will not work. I am not sure it's a permission problem or something else.
BTW, I have PowerShell 3.0 installed, and if I type $host.version, it will show 3 there. But my powershell.exe seems like it is still v1.0.
%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
I finally got my PowerShell script to run automatically on every startup. You will need to create two files: the first is the Powershell script (e.g. script.ps1) and the second is a .cmd file that will contain commands that will run on the command prompt (e.g. startup.cmd).
The second file is what needs to be executed when the computer starts up, and simply copy-pasting the .ps1 to the startup folder won't work, because that doesn't actually execute the script - it only opens the file with Notepad. You need to execute the .cmd which itself will execute the .ps1 using PowerShell. Ok, enough babbling and on to the steps:
Create your .ps1 script and place it in a folder. I put it on my desktop for simplicity. The path would look something like this:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\script.ps1
Create a .cmd file and place it in
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\startup.cmd
Doing this will execute the cmd file every time on startup. Here is a link of how to create a .cmd file if you need help.
Open the .cmd file with a text editor and enter the following lines:
PowerShell -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
PowerShell %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\script.ps1 >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
This will do two things:
Set the Execution Policy of your PowerShell to Unrestricted. This is needed to run scripts or else PowerShell will not do it.
Use PowerShell to execute the .ps1 script found in the path specified.
This code is specifically for PowerShell v1.0. If you're running PowerShell v2.0 it might be a little different. In any case, check this source for the .cmd code.
Save the .cmd file
Now that you have your .ps1 and .cmd files in their respective paths and with the script for each, you are all set.
You could set it up as a Scheduled Task, and set the Task Trigger for "At Startup"
What I do is create a shortcut that I place in shell:startup.
The shortcut has the following:
Target: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -Command "C:\scripts\script.ps1"
(replacing scripts\scripts.ps1 with what you need)
Start In: C:\scripts
(replacing scripts with folder which has your script)
You could create a Scheduler Task that runs automatically on the start, even when the user is not logged in:
schtasks /create /tn "FileMonitor" /sc onstart /delay 0000:30 /rl highest /ru system /tr "powershell.exe -file C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
Run this command once from a PowerShell as Admin and it will create a schedule task for you. You can list the task like this:
schtasks /Query /TN "FileMonitor" /V /FO List
or delete it
schtasks /Delete /TN "FileMonitor"
This is really just an expansion on #mjolinor simple answer [Use Task Scheduler].
I knew "Task Scheduler" was the correct way, but it took a bit of effort to get it running the way I wanted and thought I'd post my finding for others.
Issues including:
Redirecting output to logs
Hiding the PowerShell window
Note: You must have permission to run script see ExecutionPolicy
Then in Task Scheduler, the most important/tricky part is the Action
It should be Start a Program
Program/Script:
powershell
Add arguments (optional) :
-windowstyle hidden -command full\path\script.ps1 >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
Note:
If you see -File on the internet, it will work, but understand nothing can be after -File except the File Path, IE: The redirect is taken to be part of the file path and it fails, you must use -command in conjunction with redirect, but you can prepend additional commands/arguments such as -windowstyle hidden to not show PowerShell window.
I had to adjust all Write-Host to Write-Output in my script as well.
Try this: create a shortcut in startup folder and input
PowerShell "& 'PathToFile\script.ps1'"
This is the easiest way.
Prerequisite:
1. Start powershell with the "Run as Administrator" option
2. Enable running unsigned scripts with:
set-executionpolicy remotesigned
3. prepare your powershell script and know its path:
$path = "C:\Users\myname\myscript.ps1"
Steps:
1. setup a trigger, see also New-JobTrigger (PSScheduledJob) - PowerShell | Microsoft Docs
$trigger = New-JobTrigger -AtStartup -RandomDelay 00:00:30
2. register a scheduled job, see also Register-ScheduledJob (PSScheduledJob) - PowerShell | Microsoft Docs
Register-ScheduledJob -Trigger $trigger -FilePath $path -Name MyScheduledJob
you can check it with Get-ScheduledJob -Name MyScheduledJob
3. Reboot Windows (restart /r) and check the result with:
Get-Job -name MyScheduledJob
see also Get-Job (Microsoft.PowerShell.Core) - PowerShell | Microsoft Docs
References:
How to enable execution of PowerShell scripts? - Super User
Use PowerShell to Create Job that Runs at Startup | Scripting Blog
Copy ps1 into this folder, and create it if necessary. It will run at every start-up (before user logon occurs).
C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicy\Machine\Scripts\Startup
Also it can be done through GPEDIT.msc if available on your OS build (lower level OS maybe not).
Be sure, whenever you want PowerShell to run automatically / in the background / non-interactive, it’s a good idea to specify the parameters
-ExecutionPolicy Bypass to PowerShell.exe
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
I have a script that starts a file system watcher as well, but once the script window is closed the watcher dies. It will run all day if I start it from a powershell window and leave it open, but the minute I close it the script stops doing what it is supposed to.
You need to start the script and have it keep powershell open.
I tried numerous ways to do this, but the one that actually worked was from http://www.methos-it.com/blogs/keep-your-powershell-script-open-when-executed
param ( $Show )
if ( !$Show )
{
PowerShell -NoExit -File $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path 1
return
}
Pasting that to the top of the script is what made it work.
I start the script from command line with
powershell.exe -noexit -command "& \path\to\script.ps1"
A relatively short path to specifying a Powershell script to execute at startup in Windows could be:
Click the Windows-button (Windows-button + r)
Enter this:
shell:startup
Create a new shortcut by rightclick and in context menu choose menu item: New=>Shortcut
Create a shortcut to your script, e.g:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "C:\Users\someuser\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Scripts\somesscript.ps1"
Note the use of -NoProfile
In case you put a lot of initializing in your $profile file, it is inefficient to load this up to just run a Powershell script. The -NoProfile will skip loading your profile file and is smart to specify, if it is not necessary to run it before the Powershell script is to be executed.
Here you see such a shortcut created (.lnk file with a Powershell icon with shortcut glyph):
This worked for me. Created a Scheduled task with below details:
Trigger : At startup
Actions:
Program/script : powershell.exe
Arguments : -file
You can see scripts and more scheduled for startup inside Task Manager in the Startup tab. Here is how to add a new item to the scheduled startup items.
First, open up explorer to shell:startup location via start-button => run:
explorer shell:startup
Right click in that folder and in the context menu select a new shortcut. Enter the following:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile
-Command "C:\myfolder\somescript.ps1"
This will startup a Powershell script without starting up your $profile scripts for faster execution. This will make sure that the powershell script is started up.
The shell:startup folder is in:
$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows
And then into the folder:
Start Menu\Programs\Startup
As usual, Microsoft makes things a bit cumbersome for us when a path contains spaces, so you have to put quotes around the full path or just hit tab inside Powershell to autocomplete in this case.
If you do not want to worry about execution policy, you can use the following and put into a batch script. I use this a lot when having techs at sites run my scripts since half the time they say script didnt work but really it's cause execution policy was undefined our restricted. This will run script even if execution policy would normally block a script to run.
If you want it to run at startup. Then you can place in either shell:startup for a single user or shell:common startup for all users who log into the PC.
cmd.exe /c Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File "c:\path\to\script.ps1"
Obviously, making a GPO is your best method if you have a domain and place in Scripts (Startup/Shutdown); under either Computer or User Configurations\Windows Settings\Scripts (Startup/Shutdown).
If you go that way make a directory called Startup or something under **
\\yourdomain.com\netlogon\
and put it there to reference in the GPO. This way you know the DC has rights to execute it. When you browse for the script on the DC you will find it under
C:\Windows\SYSVOL\domain\scripts\Startup\
since this is the local path of netlogon.
Execute PowerShell command below to run the PowerShell script .ps1 through the task scheduler at user login.
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "SOME TASKNAME" -Trigger (New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogon) -Action (New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "${Env:WinDir}\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -Argument "-WindowStyle Hidden -Command `"& 'C:\PATH\TO\FILE.ps1'`"") -RunLevel Highest -Force;
-AtLogOn - indicates that a trigger starts a task when a user logs on.
-AtStartup - indicates that a trigger starts a task when the system is started.
-WindowStyle Hidden - don't show PowerShell window at startup. Remove if not required.
-RunLevel Highest - run PowerShell as administrator. Remove if not required.
P.S.
If necessary execute PowerShell command below to enable PowerShell scripts execution.
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope LocalMachine -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force;
Bypass - nothing is blocked and there are no warnings or prompts.
Unrestricted - loads all configuration files and runs all scripts. If you run an unsigned script that was downloaded from the internet, you're prompted for permission before it runs.
I 'm aware that people around here don't need a tool like this. But I think it will be useful especially for novice users. Auto start tool It is a Portable freeware which designed to simplify the process to automatically launch an App or script when you login to Windows. It offers 3 different options for autostart
Task Scheduler
Startup folder
Registry run key
The best part of the tool is supports powershell scripts (.Ps1) . this means that you can run a Powershell script automatically at system startup with all 3 methods.
Download
https://disk.yandex.com.tr/d/dFzyB2Fu4lC-Ww
Source:
https://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25761
One thing I found. if you are using Write-Host within your PowerShell scripts, and are also using Task Scheduler (as shown in the posts above), you don't get all the output from the command line.
powershell.exe -command C:\scripts\script.ps1 >> "C:\scripts\logfile.log"
In my case, I was only seeing output from commands that ran successfully from the PowerShell script.
My conclusion so far is PowerShell uses Out-File to output to another command or in this case a log file.
So if you use *> instead of >> you get all the output from the CLI for your PowerShell script, and you can keep using Write-Host within your script.
powershell.exe -command C:\scripts\script.ps1 *> "C:\scripts\logfile.log"
https://lazyadmin.nl/powershell/output-to-file/
You can also run the script in the background, regardless of user login.
Within your task in Task Scheduler set "Run whether user is logged on or not", and then in the password prompt type your hostname\username then your password (In my case an account with Admin permissions).
I used Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser to get around the script execution problem. I still would have preferred to run it on a per-process basis though. A problem for another time.