This is my code:
set-location [PATH]
$A = Start-Process -FilePath .\refresh.bat -Wait
set-location C:\
When executed in powershell, the system opens a Command prompt window and executes the bat file without issue. The problem is that the window closes and I cannot see if there was an error if it succeeds.
I want to keep the CMD window open.
I also tried at the end of the bat file:
:END
cmd /k
but no luck.
First, unless you specifically need to run the batch file in a new window, do not use Start-Process - use direct invocation instead, which is implicitly synchronous and allows you to capture or redirect output:
# Invoke the batch file synchronously (wait for it to exit)
# and capture its (standard) output in variable $A
# To print the batch file's output to the console instead, just use:
# .\refresh.bat
$A = .\refresh.bat
See this answer for more information.
Also note Start-Process never allows you to capture the invoked program's output directly (you can only redirect it to files with -RedirectStandardOutput and -RedirectStandardOutput); your specific command captures nothing[1] in $A; adding -PassThru does return something, but not the program's output, but a process-information object (System.Diagnostics.Process).
If you do need to run the batch file in a new window and want to keep that window open:
Start-Process -Wait -FilePath cmd -ArgumentList '/k .\refresh.bat'
Relying on positional parameter binding, the above can be simplified to:
Start-Process -Wait cmd '/k .\refresh.bat'
[1] Strictly speaking, $A is assigned the [System.Management.Automation.Internal.AutomationNull]::Value singleton, which in most contexts behaves like $null.
Thank you mklement0 with your post gave me the solution I wanted. This is how I solved it.
set-location [PATH]
$A = Start-Process -FilePath .\refresh.bat -Wait -NoNewWindow
set-location C:\
-NoNewWindow allowed me to run my batch in the same powershell window getting the feedback of the bat file. That way I have errors if any and success status if no errors.
Thanks!
Related
Here is the program. I am using dell command | configure. The command-line command is as follows:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\Command Configure\X86_64>cctk.exe" --wakeonlan
In Powershell you can navigate to the folder and run:
./cctk.exe --wakeonlan
I can pipe the above command into a variable and get the information I need. This requires my shell to cd into the folder accordingly and run accordingly.
$test = ./cctk.exe --wakeonlan
This will give you an output. However when you use start-process, you get no output as this is a command-line command. A cmd screen appears and runs the command. So, I added a -nonewwindow and -wait flags. The output now appears on the screen, but I can't seem to capture it.
$test = start-process "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\Command Configure\X86_64\cctk.exe" -ArgumentList #("--wakeonlan") -NoNewWindow -Wait
At this point test is empty. I tried using the Out-File to capture the information as well. No success. The command outputs to the screen but nowhere else.
I also tried the cmd method where you pipe the information in using the /C flag.
$test = Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/C start "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\Command Configure\X86_64\cctk.exe" "--wakeonlan"' -NoNewWindow -Wait
However, I have tried many variations of this command with no luck. Some say C:\Program is not recognized. Some just open command prompt. The above says --wakeonlan is an unknown command.
Any pointers would help greatly.
There are various ways to run this without the added complication of start-process.
Add to the path temporarily:
$env:path += ';C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\Command Configure\X86_64;'
cctk
Call operator:
& 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\Command Configure\X86_64\cctk'
Backquote all spaces and parentheses:
C:\Program` Files` `(x86`)\Dell\Command` Configure\X86_64\cctk
To elaborate on js2010's helpful answer:
In short: Because your executable path is quoted, direct invocation requires use of &, the call operator, for syntactic reasons - see this answer for details.
To synchronously execute console applications or batch files and capture their output, call them directly ($output = c:\path\to\some.exe ... or $output = & $exePath ...), do not use Start-Process (or the System.Diagnostics.Process API it is based on) - see this answer for more information.
If you do use Start-Process, which may be necessary in special situations, such as needing to run with a different user identity:
The only way to capture output is in text files, via the -RedirectStandardOutput / -RedirectStandardError parameters. Note that the character encoding of the output files is determined by the encoding stored in [Console]::OutputEncoding[1], which reflects the current console output code page, which defaults to the system's active legacy OEM code page.
By contrast, even with -NoNewWindow -Wait, directly capturing output with $output = ... does not work, because the launched process writes directly to the console, bypassing PowerShell's success output stream, which is the one variable assignments capture.
[1] PowerShell uses the same encoding to decode output from external programs in direct invocations - see this answer for details.
I am trying to run an executable through powershell to run headless, to install a program onto a VM/LocalHost machine. I can get the wizard to open, but for whatever reason I cannot get it to run headless. Here is the cmd line that I run that works:
start /WAIT setup.exe /clone_wait /S /v" /qn"
This is my attempts in powershell
Start-Process .\setup.exe /S -Wait -PassThru
Start-Process .\setup.exe /S /v /qn -Wait -PassThru
Start-Process setup.exe -ArgumentList '/clone_wait /S /v /qn' -Wait
In the cmd line instance the application installs without issue - in the powershell instance the wizard opens and is on the first "Next" prompt. Any help would be appreciated!
I also attempted to add the additional parameters "/v" and "/qn" which return an error : Start-Process : A positional parameter cannot be found that accepts argument '/v'
The bottom attempt runs but it's not waiting for the installation to complete
You may be overthinking it. Remember that PowerShell is a shell. One of the purposes of a shell is to run commands that you type.
Thus: You don't need Start-Process. Just type the command to run and press Enter.
PS C:\> .\setup.exe /clone_wait /S /v /qn
Now if the executable (or script) you want to run contains spaces in the path or name, then use the call/invocation operator (&) and specify the quotes; for example:
PS C:\> & "\package files\setup.exe" /clone_wait /S /v /qn
(This behavior is the same no matter whether you are at the PowerShell prompt or if you put the command in a script.)
This worked for me. You need to quote the whole argumentlist, plus embed double quotes to pass what you want to /v.
start-process -wait SetupStata16.exe -ArgumentList '/s /v"/qb ADDLOCAL=core,StataMP64"'
Running the command normally and then using wait-process after might be a simpler alternative, if you're sure there's only one process with that name:
notepad
wait-process notepad
To follow-up to all that you have been given thus far. Running executables via PowerShell is a well-documented use case.
PowerShell: Running Executables
Solve Problems with External Command Lines in PowerShell
Top 5 tips for running external commands in Powershell
Using Windows PowerShell to run old command-line tools (and their
weirdest parameters)
So, from the first link provides more validation of what you've been given.
5. The Call Operator &
Why: Used to treat a string as a SINGLE command. Useful for dealing with spaces.
In PowerShell V2.0, if you are running 7z.exe (7-Zip.exe) or another command that starts with a number, you have to use the command invocation operator &.
The PowerShell V3.0 parser do it now smarter, in this case you don’t need the & anymore.
Details: Runs a command, script, or script block. The call operator, also known as the "invocation operator," lets you run commands that are stored in variables and represented by strings. Because the call operator does not parse the command, it cannot interpret command parameters
Example:
& 'C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe' "c:\videos\my home video.avi" /fullscreen
Things can get tricky when an external command has a lot of parameters or there are spaces in the arguments or paths!
With spaces you have to nest Quotation marks and the result it is not always clear!
In this case it is better to separate everything like so:
$CMD = 'SuperApp.exe'
$arg1 = 'filename1'
$arg2 = '-someswitch'
$arg3 = 'C:\documents and settings\user\desktop\some other file.txt'
$arg4 = '-yetanotherswitch'
& $CMD $arg1 $arg2 $arg3 $arg4
# or same like that:
$AllArgs = #('filename1', '-someswitch', 'C:\documents and settings\user\desktop\some other file.txt', '-yetanotherswitch')
& 'SuperApp.exe' $AllArgs
6. cmd /c - Using the old cmd shell
** This method should no longer be used with V3
Why: Bypasses PowerShell and runs the command from a cmd shell. Often times used with a DIR which runs faster in the cmd shell than in PowerShell (NOTE: This was an issue with PowerShell v2 and its use of .Net 2.0, this is not an issue with V3).
Details: Opens a CMD prompt from within powershell and then executes the command and returns the text of that command. The /c tells CMD that it should terminate after the command has completed. There is little to no reason to use this with V3.
Example:
#runs DIR from a cmd shell, DIR in PowerShell is an alias to GCI. This will return the directory listing as a string but returns much faster than a GCI
cmd /c dir c:\windows
7. Start-Process (start/saps)
Why: Starts a process and returns the .Net process object Jump if -PassThru is provided. It also allows you to control the environment in which the process is started (user profile, output redirection etc). You can also use the Verb parameter (right click on a file, that list of actions) so that you can, for example, play a wav file.
Details: Executes a program returning the process object of the application. Allows you to control the action on a file (verb mentioned above) and control the environment in which the app is run. You also have the ability to wait on the process to end. You can also subscribe to the processes Exited event.
Example:
#starts a process, waits for it to finish and then checks the exit code.
$p = Start-Process ping -ArgumentList "invalidhost" -wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru
$p.HasExited
$p.ExitCode
#to find available Verbs use the following code.
$startExe = new-object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo -args PowerShell.exe
$startExe.verbs
I have a curious case that I cannot fathom the reason for...
Please know I am a novice to PowerShell.
I am working on a PowerShell menu system to help automate building out new computers in my environment. I have a PS1 file that holds the script for an app install. When I use the script to reference this I am able to run it and have no issue. However, when I try inserting this into a function and referencing it does not.
This works:
4 # Microsoft Office 32-bit
{
Write-Host "`nMicrosoft Office 32-bit..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
# {installMS32Bit}
Invoke-Expression "cmd /c start powershell -NoExit -File '\\**SERVERPATH**\menuItems\ms_office\32-bit\install.ps1'"
Start-Sleep -seconds 2
}
This does not:
function installMS32Bit(){
Invoke-Expression "cmd /c start powershell -NoExit -File '\\**SERVERPATH**\menuItems\ms_office\32-bit\install.ps1'"
}
}
4 # Microsoft Office 32-bit
{
Write-Host "`nMicrosoft Office 32-bit..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
{installMS32Bit}
Start-Sleep -seconds 2}
install.ps1 file:
# Copy MS Office uninstall and setup to local then run and install 32-bit Office
Copy-Item -Path '\\**SERVERPATH**\menuItems\ms_office\setup.exe' -Destination 'C:\temp\' -Force
Copy-Item -Path '\\**SERVERPATH**\menuItems\ms_office\uninstall.xml' -Destination 'C:\temp\' -Force
Copy-Item -Path '\\**SERVERPATH**\menuItems\ms_office\32-bit\Setup.exe' -Destination 'C:\temp' -Force
Invoke-Expression ("cmd /c 'C:\temp\setup.exe' /configure 'C:\temp\uninstall.xml'")
Start-Process -FilePath 'C:\temp\Setup.exe'
Secondary question and a little explanation for Invoke-Expression...
I like to see progress and like to have secondary windows open to monitor the new process being run. I was unable to find a solution with a persistent window that worked for me to do this without Invoke-Expression.
If there is a better way to do this in PowerShell I am all ears!
{installMS32Bit}
As Mathias points out in a comment on the question, this statement doesn't call your function, it wraps it in a script block ({ ... })[1], which is a piece of reusable code (like a function pointer, loosely speaking), for later execution via &, the call (execute) operator.
To call your function, just use its name (by itself here, given that there are no arguments to pass): installMS32Bit
Invoke-Expression should generally be avoided; definitely don't use it to invoke an external program, as in your attempts.
Additionally, there's generally no need to call an external program via cmd.exe (cmd /c ...), just invoke it directly.
For instance, replace the last Invoke-Epression call from your question with:
# If the EXE path weren't quoted, you wouldn't need the &
& 'C:\temp\setup.exe' /configure 'C:\temp\uninstall.xml'
I like to see progress and like to have secondary windows open to monitor the new process being run. I was unable to find a solution with a persistent window that worked for me to do this without Invoke-Expression.
(On Windows), Start-Process by default executes a console application in a new window (unless you specify -NoNewWindow), asynchronously (unless you specify -Wait).
You cannot pass a .ps1 script directly to Start-Process (it will be treated like a document to open rather than an executable to call), but you can pass it to PowerShell's CLI via the -File parameter:
Start-Process powershell.exe '-File install.ps1'
The above is short for:
Start-Process -FilePath powershell.exe -ArgumentList '-File install.ps1'
That is, PowerShell will execute the following in a new window:
powershell.exe -File install.ps1
[1] Since you're not assigning the script block being created to a variable, it is implicitly output (printed to the display, in the absence of a redirection); a script block stringifies by its literal contents, excluding the enclosing { and }, so string installMS32Bit will print to the display.
Yesterday I read about the invoke-expression
from
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd347550.aspx
invoke-expression -command "c:\batfile.bat"
It works very well, but how can I get the results and also , how to add args for .bat file?
Invoke-Expression is to Call up the EXpression,And '.Bat' is not an expression.
So if you want to call .Bat File Justc:\batfile.bat Could Do the trick.
Or if you want to explore on the invoke-expression Copy the commands in Batch file into a variable to see the code being executed.
There was similar instance where I had to do something similar,And I had used it as
$prog="cmd.exe"
$TARGETDIR = 'd:\temp'
$x='C:\Users\v-chetak\Desktop\1.bat'
$params=#("/C";"$x";" >d:\temp\result17.txt")
Start-Process -Verb runas $prog +$params
The $params Will Hold all the arguments you want to pass.
I created a small aws.bat script and then in PowerShell I navigated to the script directory.
But when I type aws then I get an error message and it does not execute the script. Is there a special thing I should be doing?
Here's what I have tried:
PS C:\G> .\aws.bat
C:\G>$BucketName = "ab-user"
'$BucketName' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
The very first and every othre command has a similar message.
You can't just enter the name on its own, with or without file extension, you first have to tell powershell what to do with it.
You can call it as follows:
& .\aws.bat
If you need the LastExitCode returned in powershell to check if the bat file worked (0 usually means it worked, anything else usually means it didn't), use Start-Process as follows:
$batch = Start-Process -FilePath .\aws.bat -Wait -passthru;$batch.ExitCode
And if you want the batch file to be hidden when it is run by powershell do this:
$batch = Start-Process -FilePath .\aws.bat -Wait -passthru -WindowStyle Hidden;$batch.ExitCode