To delete user profiles using PowerShell in Windows 11, find the profile with Get-CimInstance Win32_UserProfile and pipe it to Remove-CimInstance in an elevated window. That removes the folder and the registry entry together: Deleting a profile can’t be undone, so below I list profiles safely, find stale ones and preview the removal with -WhatIf. I … Read more
To generate SSH keys with PowerShell, run ssh-keygen, which ships with Windows 10 and 11 as part of the built-in OpenSSH client. Ed25519 is the recommended key type: It asks where to save the key and for a passphrase, then creates a private key and a .pub public key. Below I check OpenSSH is installed, … Read more
To enable WinRM using PowerShell, run Enable-PSRemoting in an elevated window. It starts the WinRM service, sets it to start automatically, creates a listener and opens the firewall: Before you run it, check the current state and the two things that usually make it fail: a Public network and missing firewall rules. I ran these … Read more
To keep your screen active with a PowerShell script, ask Windows directly with the SetThreadExecutionState API. It keeps the display and PC awake while the script runs, and everything goes back to normal when it stops: That’s better than the common trick of pressing a fake key every minute. Below I check your current timeouts, … Read more
To open a file in PowerShell with its default app, run Invoke-Item with the file’s path. It works like double-clicking the file in File Explorer: Below I show how to preview what will open, open a file in a specific app, and read files right in the console. I tested each command in PowerShell 7.6 … Read more
To set folder permissions using PowerShell, read the folder’s ACL with Get-Acl, add a FileSystemAccessRule, and write it back with Set-Acl. This grants the Users group Modify on a folder and everything inside it: Below I view permissions, grant and remove access, control inheritance and do the same with icacls. I tested everything on a … Read more
PowerShell regex (regular expressions) lets you match, extract, replace and split text by pattern. The operators -match, -replace and -split all take a regex, and $Matches holds what -match found: Output: Below I cover case sensitivity, named groups, replacing, splitting, finding every match, Select-String and switch -Regex. Every example ran in PowerShell 7.6 and 5.1, … Read more
To get the .NET version using PowerShell, check two things: the .NET Framework version in the registry, and the modern .NET runtimes with dotnet –list-runtimes. Windows can have both installed side by side. Below I show both checks, plus how to see which .NET your PowerShell session runs on. I ran them on Windows 11 … Read more
To get the BIOS serial number using PowerShell, read the SerialNumber property of the Win32_BIOS class. One line does it, with no admin rights needed: Output: That’s the same number printed on the sticker of most laptops and desktops. Below I compare the other places Windows stores serials, replace the old wmic command, and collect … Read more
To get your IP address using PowerShell, run Get-NetIPConfiguration and read the IPv4 address of the adapter that has a default gateway. That’s the address your PC uses on the network: Below I list every address, get the main one with its gateway, return just the address for scripts, and check remote PCs and your … Read more
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