Windows system management
Identifying Active Directory built-in groups
An Active Directory (AD) environment will contain a set of groups by default when a domain is created. These groups are built-in groups, and they are located in the built-in container. The built-in groups can be used to control access to shared ...
How to Find and Kill Running Processes with PowerShell
Heavy hardware resource utilization on end-user machines will lead to reduced productivity by hindering users from getting their job done. In this article, we'll discuss how administrators can identify and kill memory-hogging processes. The following ...
Set Screen Saver Timeout
Windows computers are usually configured to lock the screen after some time of inactivity. This is especially inconvenient if the remote desktop session keeps disconnecting each time after a few minutes of being idle. The Windows registry holds the ...
Determine version of Exe or Dll
IT administrators need to compare the version information of the EXE or DLL files. This can be critical because, the version numbers indicate whether a software patch has been applied or not. However sifting through multiple version numbers of all ...
Powershell Script to Uninstall a program
Unnecessary applications accumulated over time can take up considerable memory and slow down the performance of a computer. This problem is especially relevant as Windows 10 comes with a plethora of built-in applications like Photos, Voice Recorder ...
Remove read only property of a file
A common issue that administrators face while restoring files from their backups is that the read-only property of the files comes marked by default. This can cause serious trouble as end users will not be able to edit their documents without ...
Delete all temp folders contents
The unfortunate side effect of using Windows as a client operating system is that temporary folders can accumulate over time and take up considerable space in the database or hard drives and end up slowing the computer considerably. However, deleting ...
Display the most recent error messages in the system logs
Administrators often have to stifle through Windows logs to troubleshoot problems with their systems or applications. However, manually going through heaps of system log information is laborious. The following PowerShell script, when executed, will ...
Determine service status and start or stop them
Get service status and start or stop a service based on feedback received. Script <# .SYNOPSIS This script can be used to start a service or stop a service. .DESCRIPTION This script can be used to start a service or stop a service. .EXAMPLE C:\PS> ...
Create a shared folder
Provisioning and managing shared folders through the native Windows process is a pretty straightforward process. However, things can get quickly out of hand when you need to manage multiple shares across multiple computers. With PowerShell, you can ...
Remove duplicates in a PowerShell array
Administrators often have to deal with arrays of duplicate values such as when querying for installed software registry keys. Manually identifying the duplicate values and removing them is next to impossible when done at scale. With PowerShell, you ...
Display the Parent Process of a given Process
The Get-Process command in PowerShell is a well-known cmdlet to return basic process information. However, what it does not return is the parent process of a particular process. With the following script, one can find out the parent process of a ...
Display maximum and minimum FreeSpace in a logical disk
It is paramount for IT admins to check the available disk space in a particular system before pushing out an update or installing an application. However, to do so at scale can be intimidating, as it can quickly get out of hand. With the following ...
Powershell Script to Find and Replace Text in a File
To find and replace a particular word throughout a file on multiple computers is as laborious as one can imagine. However, with the help of the following PowerShell script, one can easily find a particular word and replace it with a word of choice. ...
Display Events with a particular Text
Administrators often have to stifle through Windows logs to troubleshoot problems with their systems or applications. However, manually going through heaps of system log information to find out the root cause of an event can be quite laborious. ...
Powershell Script to Delete Files Older than X days
Files and folders can accumulate over time and take up considerable space in the database or hard drives and end up slowing the computer considerably. However, deleting them manually isn't quite scalable. This is where PowerShell scripts can be of ...
Determine whether a machine is Laptop or not
Administrators managing an enterprise with thousands of computers need to ascertain occasionally whether a particular computer is a laptop or a desktop before pushing out updates and applications. However, doing so manually is time-consuming. This is ...