To write a variable to a CSV file in PowerShell, put the values in a [pscustomobject] and pipe it to Export-Csv. Each property becomes a column: Piping a plain string or a hashtable gives you a surprising file instead. Below I show what goes wrong, and how to write strings, arrays, hashtables and loop results … Read more
To add a computer to a domain with PowerShell, run Add-Computer as an administrator, give it the domain name and an account that’s allowed to join machines, and restart: In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to add a computer to a domain using PowerShell: a safe dry run first, the checks to do before … Read more
PowerShell finds an IP address from a MAC address by searching the neighbor cache, which is the ARP table for IPv4. Pass the MAC to Get-NetNeighbor: In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to find an IP from a MAC address in PowerShell with Get-NetNeighbor and arp -a, which MAC formats work, what to do … Read more
Want to check free memory in PowerShell? Query the Win32_OperatingSystem class and read FreePhysicalMemory, which Windows reports in kilobytes: In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to check free memory in PowerShell with Get-CimInstance and Get-Counter, compare installed and usable RAM, see what processes use, and wrap it all in a function. My test machine … Read more
A Dell service tag is the BIOS serial number, so the quickest way to get the Dell service tag using PowerShell is one CIM query. It works in Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7: In this guide, I’ll show you how to get the Dell service tag using PowerShell on your own PC, why Dell’s … Read more
To find the largest folders using PowerShell, add up the file sizes in each folder with Measure-Object and sort the results. Windows doesn’t store folder sizes, so you have to calculate them: Below I run it on a sample folder, show the top folders in friendly units, search every subfolder level and list the largest … Read more
To remove a computer from a domain with PowerShell, run Remove-Computer as administrator, name the workgroup to join and restart: The credential needs rights to remove the computer account. Below I check the join state, preview the command, remove remote PCs and clean up AD. My test PC isn’t on a domain, so I used … Read more
To find the OU of a computer using PowerShell, get its DistinguishedName with Get-ADComputer and drop the first CN= part. What’s left is the OU path: Get-ADComputer needs the ActiveDirectory module from RSAT. Below I check the prerequisites, show the parsing step on sample Contoso names, and cover bulk lookups and a method that doesn’t … Read more
ConvertTo-Json turns PowerShell objects, hashtables and arrays into JSON text. Pipe the data to it, and use [ordered] so the keys keep your order: Output in PowerShell 7: Output in Windows PowerShell 5.1: Both are valid JSON with the same data, only the spacing differs. I ran every example in PowerShell 7.6 and Windows PowerShell … Read more
To get computer information using PowerShell, run Get-ComputerInfo. It returns more than 180 properties about Windows, the hardware and the BIOS. Pick the ones you need with -Property: Output: Notice WindowsProductName says Windows 10 on this Windows 11 PC. It’s a long-standing quirk, and below I show a more reliable way, plus a faster CIM … Read more