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How to tell if your PowerShell session is remote

By on February 14, 2012 in PowerShell

I wanted to write a conditional to prevent certain things from runing if in a remote PSSession.

If you are in a standard PowerShell session the following is returned:

[Environment]::GetCommandLineArgs()[0] = C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe

If you are in a remote PSSession:

[Environment]::GetCommandLineArgs()[0] = C:\Windows\system32\wsmprovhost.exe

How to tell if your PowerShell function was called by name or by alias

By on February 2, 2012 in PowerShell

I been wanting to write functions that act differently depending on how they were called. I am not sure if this is good practice or not, but I like the idea. Turns out all you need is “$MyInvocation.InvocationName” Look at they following code:

Function Test-Calling {
if ($MyInvocation.InvocationName -eq "cows"){Write-host "This function was called by an alias ($($MyInvocation.InvocationName))"}
if ($MyInvocation.InvocationName -eq $MyInvocation.MyCommand){Write-host "This function was called by name ($($MyInvocation.MyCommand))"}
}
set-alias cows Test-Calling

If you call the function by alias you get : This function was called by an alias (cows)
If you call the function by it’s name you get: This function was called by name (Test-Calling)

I hope that helps someone.


	

	





	

	
PowerShell script to force download and install WindowsUpdates
	


By  on January 31, 2012  in PowerShell, Windows  

	


I have been using the UpdateHF.vbs vbscript for years to patch all my servers. I wrote a simple HTA to wrap it, and it gets executed by psexec. I wanted to take that script, strip it down, and convert it to PowerShell. My intension was to  run it through a PSSession but I get access denied. Maybe I will try launching it with SCCM?


I found these three scripts, that I chopped to together for a script that I wanted:


Function JBMURPHY-Install-WindowsUpdates {
PARAM([switch]$Install,[switch]$reboot)
	if($(Test-Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired")){
		if (!($reboot)){
    		write-host "There are pending reboots, please pass the reboot command"
    		return
		}
		else{
		restart-computer
		return
		}
	}

	Write-Host -nonewline " + Searching for Updates: "
	$UpdateSession = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.Session
	$Updates=$updateSession.CreateupdateSearcher().Search("IsAssigned=1 and IsHidden=0 and IsInstalled=0").Updates
	Write-Host " Found [$($Updates.count)] Updates to Download and install`n`n"

	$UpdatesCollection = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.UpdateColl
	$UpdatesDownloader = $UpdateSession.CreateUpdateDownloader()
	foreach ($Update in $Updates){

		# Add Update to Collection
		if ( $Update.EulaAccepted -eq 0 ) { $Update.AcceptEula() }
		$UpdatesCollection.Add($Update) | out-null

		# Download
		Write-Host -NoNewline " + Downloading Update $($Update.Title)"
		$UpdatesDownloader.Updates = $UpdatesCollection
		$DownloadResult = $UpdatesDownloader.Download()
		$DownloadResultResultCode = switch -exact ($DownloadResult.ResultCode)
		{
		  0   {"NotStarted"}
		  1   {"InProgress"}
		  2   {"Succeeded"}
		  3   {"SucceededWithErrors"}
		  4   {"Failed"}
		  5   {"Aborted"}
		}
		$Message = " [{0}] " -f ($DownloadResultResultCode)
		Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green $message
	}
	if (($Install) -and ($($Updates.count) -gt 0)) {
	write-host "`n`nInstalling updates"
	$Installer = $UpdateSession.CreateUpdateInstaller()
	$Installer.Updates = $UpdatesCollection
	$InstallerResult = $Installer.Install()
	$InstallerResultCode = switch -exact ($InstallerResult.ResultCode)
		{
		  0   {"NotStarted"}
		  1   {"InProgress"}
		  2   {"Succeeded"}
		  3   {"SucceededWithErrors"}
		  4   {"Failed"}
		  5   {"Aborted"}
		}
		$Message = " Installation [{0}] " -f ($InstallerResultCode)
		Write-Host $message
		Write-Host
	}
	if (($reboot) -and ($($Updates.count) -gt 0)) {
	if($(Test-Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired"))
		{
    		write-host "Rebooting"
    		restart-computer
		}
	}
}



Thanks to those that put the original scripts together

	

	





	

	
PowerShell script to “process” scripts/functions
	


By  on January 27, 2012  in PowerShell  

	


I was not happy with the code I wrote in this post. The goal was to write my functions with a “generic” naming convention, and then “process them” – change the naming convention to match my employer’s company name. For example JBMURPHY-AD-GetCurrentSite would be “processed” to Company-AD-GetCurrentSite. In the previous post, I just looped thought and created an alias for each function that matched a RegEx.


I think figured out a better way. Instead of creating aliases, I read the contents of the script line by line, replacing strings as I go, and then create a new file with the new naming conventions.


First I created a hash table with my search and replace strings:


	$SearchAndReplace = @{
	"JBMURPHY-" = "COMPANY-";
	"server.domain.com" = "realservername.company.com";
	}



Next I loop through the files, get their content line by line, loop through the hash table replacing the matching text and output to a temp file.


      foreach ($file in $(gci $SourcePath)) {
    	$tempFile = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
    	get-content $file | %{
    	$OutPut=$_
    	ForEach ($key in $SearchAndReplace.Keys) {
    	  $OutPut=$OutPut -Replace $key,$SearchAndReplace[$key]
    	}
    	$OutPut >> $tempFile
    	}
    	move-item $tempFile $destination -force
    	}



Much cleaner, and I can keep adding search and replace terms to my hash table.

	

	





	

	
PowerShell script to make a WinPE USB drive
	


By  on January 24, 2012  in PowerShell  

	


I wanted to take my previous set of scripts to create a WinPE environment  a step further. I wanted a script to create a bootable WinPE USB drive (UFD).


Here is that script (again it is numbered to indicate the order in which to run things). I borrowed the diskpart stuff from here:


Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-7MakeUFD{
        Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$RootDirectory="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO")
$UFD=Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_LogicalDisk | Where-Object {($_.DriveType -eq 2) -and ($_.DeviceID -ne "A:")}
If ($UFD.Count -eq 0){
Write-host "Can't find any UFDs"
return
}
"list disk" | diskpart
$DriveToUse=read-host "`nWhat disk do you want to use (just the number)"
If (!($DriveToUse)){exit}

$command= @"
select disk $DriveToUse
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
format fs=fat32 quick
active
assign LETTER=K
"@

$command|
DiskPart |
Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 0 } |
Foreach-Object { Write-Progress -Activity "Creating New UFD" -Status $_ -Id 1}

copy-item -verbose "$RootDirectory\*" "K:\" -recurse
}


	

	





	

	
PowerShell to create Aliases for all your functions
	


By  on January 23, 2012  in PowerShell  

	


I have a naming convention for all the function that I write, for example: JBMURPHY-AD-GetGroup. I wanted to create aliases for all my functions with my employers’s name, for example CompanyName-AD-GetGroup. I created the following function to “grep” all the function names and create an “Alias” file. This file would have all the set-alias commands that would be sourced on PowerShell start up. This function contains Regular Expressions (my weakness), which I borrowed from here.


FUNCTION JBMURPHY-CreateAliases{
PARAM($OLDNAME="JBMURPHY-",$NEWNAME="CompanyName-")
$tempFile = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()

Select-String -Pattern "function\s+(\w+-\w+-\w+)\b" *.ps1 | %{
$FUNCTIONS=$_.Matches | %{$_.groups[0].Value -Replace "Function ",""}
Write-host "set-alias $($FUNCTIONS -Replace $OLDNAME,$NEWNAME) $FUNCTIONS -Option AllScope"
Out-File $tempFile -encoding ascii -append -inputobject "set-alias $($FUNCTIONS -Replace $OLDNAME,$NEWNAME) $FUNCTIONS -Option AllScope"
}
move-item $tempFile "$($NEWNAME)ALIASES.ps1" -force
}


	

	





	

	
PowerShell, Active Setup and running a SCCM package “before log on”
	


By  on January 20, 2012  in PowerShell, SCCM  

	


I have been struggling with the following idea for a while: How to run a package before before a person logs on using SCCM. There is a setting in SCCM that runs when no one is logged on, but if a person reboots and logs on before SCCM fires, the package will never run. Basically I wanted the ability to make SCCM work like Software Deployment in AD (AD prevents you from logging on until software is completely installed).


The missing piece, for me, was “Active Setup”. Active Setup is pretty well documented here. Combining Active Setup with PowerShell and SCCM, I believe I can run packages before people log on (or at least before they launch any programs).


Here are my steps


    

  • Step 1 : I need to create an Active Setup registry entry on everyone’s machine that will run a PowerShell script
    • 

      

    • I created this PowerShell script to create the Active Setup registry entries. This will put a StubPath that launches the PowerShell script.
      • 

    

  • Step 2 : Pop up an info message telling the user we are doing some work before the finish logging in.
    • 


  • Step 3 : Launch the SCCM Advertised program that you want. Since Active Setup is running as the user, you have to use SCCM to run anything that needs “administrative privileges”. The following code is used inside a PowerShell script to launch an advertisement on the local machine (you need to know the ProgramID and the PackageID):
    • 



Function JBMURPHY-SCCM-UIExecuteProgram {
 Param([parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$ProgramID,
       [parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$PackageID)
 $UIResource = New-Object -ComObject UIResource.UIResourceMgr
 $UIResource.ExecuteProgram($ProgramID, $PackageID,$true)
}



Kinda complicated, but I think it will work. Have you used these methods?

	

	





	

	
PowerShell Query to find a users computer name in SCCM
	


By  on January 17, 2012  in PowerShell, SCCM  

	


We rely on Remote Assistance. Usually, I just type “msra /offerra” in to my PowerShell session and lookup a the user’s computer name in the SCCM report named “Computers for a specific user name”. I wanted to make that process quicker. I wrote the following script to query SCCM for the “list of computer’s who’s last logged on user” is the person I am looking for.


FUNCTION JBMURPHY-SCCM-GetComputerByLastLoggedOnUser {
Param([parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$SamAccountName,
	$SiteName="JBM",
	$SCCMServer="SCCMServer.domain.local")
	$SCCMNameSpace="root\sms\site_$SiteName"
	Get-WmiObject -namespace $SCCMNameSpace -computer $SCCMServer -query "select Name from sms_r_system where LastLogonUserName='$SamAccountName'" | select Name
}



Let me know if this is useful to you!

	

	





	

	
PowerShell scripts to create a WinPE 4.0 wim/ISO
	


By  on January 13, 2012  in PowerShell, SCCM  

	


I have been  a WinPE hacker since it was only available to SA subscribers. With Vista it was free to the world, and I started moving all my setup processes to it. I have always used the dos batch scripts found in this forum to create a new WinPE ISO. Since WinPE 4.0 is coming out with Windows 8 (if not before (I don’t know timelines)), I wanted to modify the dos batch files I rely on to work with WinPE 4.0. Since WinPE 4.0 has PowerShell in it, I wanted to migrate those dos batch files to PowerShell functions. Working from the dos batch files linked above and this post I created the functions below. They have numbers in their names because they are the steps to follow when creating a new ISO.



Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-1MakePEDirectory{
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86")

 remove-item -force "c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture"
 New-Item c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources -type directory -force
 New-Item c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount -type directory -force
 copy-item "C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\$OSArchitecture\winpe.wim" "c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim"
 copy-item "C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\$OSArchitecture\Media\*" "c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\" -recurse
 copy-item "C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment and Imaging Tools\$OSArchitecture\Oscdimg\etfsboot.com" "c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\"

}

Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-2Mount{
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$WimFile="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim")
	DISM.exe /Mount-Wim /WimFile:$WimFile /index:1 /MountDir:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount
}

Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-3.0AddPAckages{
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$WimFile="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim")
	$OCsPATH="C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\$OSArchitecture\WinPE_OCs"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-Scripting.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-Scripting_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-WMI.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-WMI_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-MDAC.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-MDAC_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-HTA.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-HTA_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-NetFx4.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-NetFx4_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-PowerShell3.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-PowerShell3_en-us.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\WinPE-DismCmdlets.cab"
	dism /image:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /add-package /packagepath:"$OCsPATH\en-us\WinPE-DismCmdlets_en-us.cab"
}

Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-5UnMount-NoCommit{
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$WimFile="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim")
	DISM.exe /unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /discard
}
Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-5UnMount{
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$WimFile="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim")
	DISM.exe /unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\mount /Commit
}

Function JBMURPHY-WinPE-6MakeISO {
	Param($OSArchitecture="x86",$WimFile="c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO\sources\boot.wim")
	$command="C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment and Imaging Tools\$OSArchitecture\Oscdimg\oscdimg.exe"
	&$command  -n -bc:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\etfsboot.com c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\ISO c:\PE\winpe_$OSArchitecture\winpe_$OSArchitecture.iso
}



I have not tried this on x64, but I think you would need to pass -OSArchitecture amd64 to each function . Is it me or does Microsoft flip-flop between x64 and amd64 naming conventions?

	

	





	

	
Specifying Firefox setting (like proxy) on a machine across the enterprise.
	


By  on January 12, 2012  in PowerShell, Windows  

	


We are interested in how to “push” proxy settings for Firefox across the environment. There are custom builds that claim to work with Group policy, but I wanted to manage the standard Firefox. A little digging shows that you need to create 2 files.


First, a file named mozilla.cfg and place it in “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox”. This file contains the setting you want to “Set”/Lock down. For example:


//

lockPref(“network.proxy.type”, 1);

lockPref(“network.proxy.http”, “poxyserver.domain.com”);

lockPref(“network.proxy.http_port”, 80)


Second you place a file named “local-setting.js” in “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref”. The contents of that file would be something like this:


pref(“general.config.obscure_value”, 0); // only needed if you do not want to obscure the content with ROT-13

pref(“general.config.filename”, “mozilla.cfg”);


Here is some PowerShell code to create these files.


echo 'pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);' >> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\local-etting.js"
echo 'pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg');' >> Out-File -filepath "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\local-etting.js"
echo '//' >> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\mozilla.cfg"
echo 'lockPref("network.proxy.type", 1);' >> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\mozilla.cfg"
echo 'lockPref("network.proxy.http", "poxyserver.domain.com");' >> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\mozilla.cfg"
echo 'lockPref("network.proxy.http_port", 80);' >> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\mozilla.cfg"


	

	



                    
            

                
            
    
		
         

		       

    

			

	


		
		

		

			
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