PowerShell how to handling prompt for input - powershell

I have PowerShell that run automatically by window scheduler, most of the time it completed job successfully but sometime it would stuck till window scheduler session timeout. The reason because the PowerShell prompt for input.
I want a solution that can handle this scenario, in case prompt for input then exit the powershell. Can this be done and how?
Note:
Powershell version is >=5

Related

Automatically execute .cmd file requiring user input

We have a .cmd file we want to be able to execute automatically using Powershell (from TFS Release).
The issue with using start-process in Powershell is that execution gets stuck waiting for user input (Press any key to continue...).
Is there any way that we can pass variables to this call or call it in a different way where we no longer require user input for this .cmd?
Don't use Start-Process.
"`n" | & 'C:\path\to\your.cmd'
Powershell isn't getting stuck, Start-Process is working correctly - it's running the process (assume cmd.exe) and waiting for that process to terminate before continuing.
cmd.exe is prompting for interactive user input (PAUSE) before continuing, again working as you have instructed it to.
The issue is you're running non-interactively, and aren't providing the input required to continue.
You can update the cmd file and add an optional parameter so you can 'skip' the PAUSE when running unattended:
if "%1"=="unattended" goto skippause
pause
:skippause
then run it using unattended:
CMD /c c:\folder\file.cmd unattended

Powershell close without warning user if there is a program still running

Allow me to first address this: I am not asking "powershell close when script finish running". I know a lot of people are asking about this, but that have nothing to do with this question.
In ubuntu, terminal will prompt user to confirm the close of a terminal window if something is still running, so that user will not terminate their script by mistake. I've long been benefit from this mechanism.
Does powershell have similar setting? How to enable it?
Edit: I'm using powershell as a terminal, I may running a python script, powershell script or something else other than a script.
And although powershell does not accept the alt+F4 shortcut, powershell ISE does, still with no user prompt. And the whole powershell ISE can even exit entirely by simply typing 'exit' in one powershell tab within the ISE. Is there a way to prevent this?

Script scheduled in TaskScheduler (with a .bat file) never completes

I've scheduled a batch file that has this command in a TaskScheduler and it never completes:
powershell -command "& 'C:\Test\CleanUp.ps1'"
The .ps1 file has a simple script that deletes files on different shares. The powershell script runs successfully when run in ISE or even the above mentioned command runs successfully when run at cmd prompt.
I've even tried the option below with the command and also searched a number of blogs but no luck.
-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
The task is scheduled to run with a service account and I've setup a number of identical jobs the same way and they worked fine. I have powershell version 4.0.
How do I get the job to complete? (successfully or with a failure)
I have seen this problem before and generally it turns out to be that, when running as a different user and/or with a different profile, the script hangs because it needs to prompt for input, e.g. a missing mandatory parameter, Get-Credential, or something like that.
I'll assume that you have run the command from an interactive shell running as the service account, as this could reveal whether there is something different about the service account profile, etc. that may interfere with the running of the script.
I'll also assume that you have tried setting up the scheduled task with your own account, under which you know the script will run correctly.
Next, look at some of the other command line options for powershell.exe:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/hh847736.aspx
I'm not sure whether you'll get much mileage from the -ExecutionPolicy switch, as my experience is that people tend to set the policy to Unrestricted almost as soon as the server is commissioned and then never think about it again.
You might want to look at the -NoProfile switch, as that is something I see used quite often when calling PowerShell from a .bat file or directly in the task scheduler.
Notice the -File switch, which you might consider using instead of -Command.

Powershell config to force a batch file to run within the powershell window?

I've got a powershell script that eventually passes a stack of arguments into a batch file via invoke-expression command.
However, on one server, when the powershell scripts executes that batch file, that batch file opens in a new window, but on the other server, the batch file executes within the powershell window.
What that means, is that I've got a sleep interval that is starting once the batch file begins executing in the new window, and thus screwing up my timings, unlike the other server, where the sleep interval doesn't begin until after the batch file has finished executing.
So my question is... does anybody know why the behaviours are different between the two servers, and how to get the batch file to execute in the powershell window? I'm thinking it's a configuration thing, but can't actually find anything that tells me how to make it do what I want it to do.....
Thanks!
--edit--
I'm currently just piping the line straight through like this:
E:\Software\ibm\WebSphere\AppServer\bin\wsadmin -lang jython -username $($username) -password $($password) -f "F:\Custom\dumpAllThreads.py" $($servers)
Previously, it was
$invokeString = 'E:\Software\ibm\WebSphere\AppServer\bin\wsadmin -lang jython -username $($username) -password $($password) -f "F:\Custom\dumpAllThreads.py" $($servers)'
$output = invoke-expression $invokeString
Both had the same behaviour.
So my question is... does anybody know why the behaviours are different between the two servers
Most often I've seen this sort of thing related to how a scripts is called. If the same user is logged on multiple times on the same server (i.e., console and RDP) then the window might appear in a different session. Similarly, if the script runs as a scheduled task and the user that runs the task isn't the user logged on, the window will never be visible. If the same user is logged on, it might be visible.
how to get the batch file to execute in the powershell window?
You could try Start-Process with -NoNewWindow, as #Paul mentions.
However....
What that means, is that I've got a sleep interval that is starting once the batch file begins executing in the new window, and thus screwing up my timings, unlike the other server, where the sleep interval doesn't begin until after the batch file has finished executing.
It sounds like your actual problem is that your code has a race condition. You should fix the actual problem. Use Start-Process with the -Wait parameter, or use the jobs system in PowerShell.

powershell seemingly forgets ntfssecurity module after a script finishes

the module is at http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/1abd77a5-9c0b-4a2b-acef-90dbb2b84e85
when i run a script which uses the get-ace cmdlet in a Windows Powershell enviroment and finishes, exit it using ctrl-c or using exit command in the script, i have to restart my Powershell environment to use my script again. Otherwise i end up getting errors that it doesn't know what get-ace is. yet during the whole time the script runs for the first time, it can run for days and finish fine.
any ideas on what the issue is?