I'm trying to control an external program that I call inside PowerShell and if this program takes more than 10s, for example, I want to terminate it. How can I accomplish that?
I have searched, but what I found was the following code. I can use this code to call calc.exe for example, and terminate it after a specific amount of time, but I can't call another program that is not from system32 or Windows folder. Why?
$ps = New-Object diagnostics.processstartinfo
$ps.FileName='c:\folder\program.exe'
$p = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start($ps)
$p.WaitForExit(10000)
$p.Kill()
A very likely problem is that the program you are trying to run is an x86 application and you are trying to run it from powershell x64. This will not work and as far as I remember powershell will not even tell you why.
Instead you need to run the x86 version. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh847733.aspx
Related
I am fairly new to writing code in Powershell. For my job I have to write multiple Powershell scripts to make changes in the Hardware and Software settings as well as the Registry and Group Policy Editor to get these applications to run. These applications are a little older. Upgrading these software applications or the hardware then run on is NOT an option. as an example, when Microsoft releases the new patches on like Patch Tuesday...when those patches are applied there is a high probability that something will be changed which is where I come in to write a script to fix the issue. I have multiple scripts that I run. When those scripts are ran they may end up terminating because of an Error Code or an Exit Code. A large part of the time I do not that the script has failed immediately.
I am trying to figure out a script that I can run in a 2nd PowerShell Console Window. I am thinking that the only purpose of this script is to just sit there on the screen and wait and monitor. Then when I execute a script or Application (the only file extensions that I am worried about are: EXE, BAT, CMD, PS1) if the script/application that I just ran ends with an exit code or an error code....then output that to the screen...in REAL TIME.
Below, I have a small piece of code that kind of works, but it is not what I am wanting.
I have researched online and read and read tons of stuff. But I just can't seem to find what I am looking for.
Could someone please help me with getting a script that will do what I am wanting.
Thank you for your help!!!!
$ExitErrorCode =
"C:\ThisFolder\ThatFolder\AnotherFolder\SomeApplication.EXE # (this
would
# either be an EXE or CMD or BAT or PS1)"
$proc = Start-Process $ExitErrorCode -PassThru
$handle = $proc.Handle # cache proc.Handle
$proc.WaitForExit();
if ($proc.ExitCode -ne 0) {
Write-Warning "$_ exited with status code $($proc.ExitCode)"
}
Possible duplicate of the approaches shown here:
Monitoring jobs in a PowerShell session from another PowerShell session
Monitoring jobs in a PowerShell session from another PowerShell session
PowerShell script to monitor a log and output progress to another
PowerShell script to monitor a log and output progress to another
SO I have surfed this site and the web and I feel as though I am missing something simple.
I find related questions but none that combine a scriptblock and remote calling of a 3rd party app (not a simply windows function or app)
I have the following string that I can copy into a command window and run without issue
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Vizient\Vizient Secure Channel v2.1\VizientSC.exe" UID=me#musc.edu PWD=XXXXXXXXX HCOID=123456 PRODTYPE=PRO-UHCSECURECHANNEL-CDB PACKAGETYPE=OTH FOLDERPATH="\\da\db5\MyFiles\Viz\20180413"
To simplify this, lets just assume I want to run this same String every time BUT with a REMOTE call.
I have written this many different ways but to no avail using
Invoke-Command -ComputerName "edwsql" -ScriptBlock { .........
I simply want to run the designated string using cmd.exe on a remote machine.
The EXE being run in the string is a 3rd party software that I do not want to install all all possible locations. Much simpler to run remote form the box it is already installed and is secure.
Can someone point me in the right direction???? Pls???? I'm new to PowerShell. I am trying to phase out some old PERL as the folks who can support that on the client site are few and far between these days.
You don't need to try so hard. PowerShell can run commands. If the command you want to run contains spaces, enclose in " (as you have done) and invoke it with the & (call or invocation) operator. This is all you need to do:
& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Vizient\Vizient Secure Channel v2.1\VizientSC.exe" UID=me#musc.edu PWD=XXXXXXXXX HCOID=123456 PRODTYPE=PRO-UHCSECURECHANNEL-CDB PACKAGETYPE=OTH FOLDERPATH="\\da\db5\MyFiles\Viz\20180413"
If a parameter on the executable's command line contains any characters that PowerShell interprets in a special way, you will need to quote it.
I want to run an app (it does not natively support command line mode) on Windows that require 5 fields of generic data from a user. However, I want to run this app without opening/displaying the gui (a la command line like). Is this something that can be done with Powershell. If so, can someone point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance
PowerShell does not change how an application is executed versus how it is when executed at the command line or a run dialog. If the application can accept input via arguments when run then any of these methods for executing the application will work.
If you are asking if powershell can read from the console host, the appropriate cmdlet would be read-host. So you could read from the user and then run the command with the arguments you desire.
$user = read-host "Username:"
& examplecommand.exe $user
I'm a nub scripter and am trying to write a really simple script to taskkill 2 programs and then uninstall 1 of them.
I wrote it in Powershell and stuck it in SCCM for deployment...however every time I deploy it, it's not running the last line to uninstall the program.
Here's the code:
# Closing Outlook instance
#
taskkill /IM outlook.exe /F
#
# Closing Linkpoint instance
#
taskkill /IM LinkPointAssist.exe /F
#
# Uninstalling Linkpoint via uninstall string if in Program Files
#
MsiExec.exe /X {DECDCD14-DEF6-49ED-9440-CC5E562FDC41} /qn
#
# Uninstalling Linkpoint via WmiObject if installed manually in AppData
Get-WmiObject -class win32_product -Filter "Name like '%Linkpoint%'" | ForEach-Object { $_.Uninstall()}
#
Exit
Can someone help? SCCM says the script completes with no error and I know it's able to execute it since the taskkills work...but it's not uninstalling the program.
Thanks in advance for any input.
So, SCCM is running this script, and nothing in the script is going to throw an error.
If you want to throw an error which SCCM can return to know how the deployment went, you need to add an extra step.
$result = Get-WmiObject -class win32_product -Filter "Name like '%Linkpoint%'" | ForEach-Object { $_.Uninstall()}
if ($result.ReturnValue -ne 0){
[System.Environment]::Exit(1603)
}else
{
[System.Environment]::Exit(0)
}
I see a lot of these kinds of questions come through on SO and SF: Someone struggling with unexpected behavior of an application, script, or ConfigMgr and very little information about the assumptions I can make about their environment. At that stage, it would typically be days of interaction to narrow the problem to a point where a solution is possible.
I'm hoping this answer can serve as a reference for future such questions. The first question to OP should be "Which of these 9 principles are you violating?" You could think of it as a sort of Joel Test for ConfigMgr application packaging.
Nine Steps to Better ConfigMgr Application Packages
I have found that installing and uninstalling applications reliably using ConfigMgr requires carefully sticking to a bunch of principles. I learned these principles the hard way. If you're struggling to figure out why an application is not working right under ConfigMgr, odds are that you will answer "no" to one of the following questions.
1. Are you testing the entire lifecycle?
In order to have any hope of reliably managing an application you need to test the entire lifecycle of an application. This is the sequence I test:
Detect: make sure the detection script result is negative
Install: install the application using your installation script
Detect: make sure the detection script result is positive when run
Uninstall: uninstall using your uninstallation script
I run this sequence repeatedly making tweaks to each step until the whole sequence is working.
2. Are you testing independently of ConfigMgr first?
Using ConfigMgr to test your application's lifecycle is slow and has its own ways of failing that can mask problems with your application package. The goal, then, is to be able to test an application's installation, detection, and uninstallation separate from but equivalent to the ConfigMgr client. In order to achieve that goal you end up with three separate scripts for each application:
Install-Application.bat - the entry point for your installation script
Detect-Application.ps1 - the script that detects whether the application is install
Uninstall-Application.bat - the entry point for your uninstallation script
Each of these three scripts can be invoked directly by either you or the ConfigMgr client. For applications installed as system you need to use psexec -s to invoke scripts in the same context as ConfigMgr (caveat).
3. Are you aware of context?
Installers can behave rather differently depending on the context they are invoked in. You need to consider whether an application is installed for a user or the system. If it is installed for the system, when you test independently of ConfigMgr, use psexec -s to invoke your script.
4. Are you aware of user interaction?
An installer can also behave rather differently depending on whether a user can interact with it. To test a script as system with user interaction, use psexec -i -s.
5. Did you match ConfigMgr to the tested context and user interaction?
Once you have the full lifecycle working, make sure you select the correct corresponding options for context (installed for user vs. system) and interaction (user can interact with application, or not). If you don't do this, the ConfigMgr client will be installing the application different from the way you tested, so you really can't expect success.
6. Are you aware of the possibility of application detection context mismatch?
The context that detection scripts run in depends on whether the application is deployed to users or systems. This means that in some cases the installation and detection contexts won't matched. Keep this in mind when you write your detection scripts.
7. Have you structured your scripts so that exit codes work?
ConfigMgr needs to see exit codes from your installation and uninstallation scripts in order to do the right thing. Installers signal failure or the need to reboot using exit codes. In order for exit codes to get to the ConfigMgr client you need to ensure that your install and uninstall scripts are structured correctly.
for batch scripts, use exit /b %errorlevel% to pass the exit code of your executable out to the ConfigMgr client
for PowerShell scripts, this is the only way I have seen work reliably
8. Are you using PowerShell scripts for detection?
ConfigMgr has a nice user interface for checking things like the presence of files, registry keys, etc as a proxy for whether an application is installed. The problem with that scheme is that there is no way to test application detection separately from and equivalent to the ConfigMgr client. If you want to test the application lifecycle independent of the ConfigMgr client (trust me, you want that), all your detection must occur using PowerShell scripts.
9. Have you structured your PowerShell detection scripts correctly?
The rules ConfigMgr uses to interpret the output of a PowerShell detection script are arcane. Thankfully, they are documented.
Wrote the following in PowersHell as a quick iTunes demonstration:
$iTunes = New-Object -ComObject iTunes.Application
$LibrarySource = $iTunes.LibrarySource
foreach ($PList in $LibrarySource.Playlists)
{
write-host $PList.name
}
This works well and pulls back a list of playlist names.
However on trying to close iTunes a warning appears
One or more applications are using the iTunes scripting interface. Are you sure you want to quit?
Obviously I can just ignore the message and press [Quit] or just wait the 20 seconds or so, but is there a clean way to tell iTunes that I've finished working with it?
Itunes 7.7.1, Windows XP
Here is one thing that I did on my a Powershell script that adds podcasts to iTunes. I use Juice on a server to download all the podcasts that I listen to. The script uses .Net methods to release the COM objects. When I wrote my iTunes script I had read a couple of articles that stated you should release your COM objects using .NET.
[void][System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject([System.__ComObject]$LibrarySource)
[void][System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject([System.__ComObject]$iTunes)
I also run my scripts the majority of time from a shortcut, not from the powershell prompt.
Based on your comments, I did some testing and I determined that I would get the message when running against iTunes, if I ran my script in a way that leaves powershell running. iTunes seems to keep track of that. Running the script in a manner that exits it's process after running, eliminated the message.
One method of running your script from powershell, is to prefix your script with powershell.
powershell .\scriptname.ps1
The above command will launch your script and then exit the process that was used to run it, but still leaving you at the powershell prompt.
You should be able to set $itunes to $null. Alternatively, $itunes should have a quit method you can call. $itunes.quit()