PowerShell Automation: Getting Started Guide

If you're still manually performing repetitive IT tasks, you're working too hard. PowerShell can automate almost anything in the Windows and Microsoft ecosystem. Here's how to get started.

Why PowerShell?

One script can save hours of manual work every week.

Getting Started: The Basics

Opening PowerShell

Your First Commands

Try these to get comfortable:

# Get computer information

# List running services Get-Service | Where-Object Status -eq "Running"

# Check disk space Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem ```

Understanding the Verb-Noun Pattern

PowerShell commands (cmdlets) follow a consistent pattern:

Practical Automation Examples

Example 1: User Onboarding Script

Creating new users manually is tedious and error-prone:

# Create new AD user with standard settings

New-ADUser -Name "John Smith" -GivenName "John" -Surname "Smith" -SamAccountName "jsmith" -UserPrincipalName "jsmith@company.com" -Path "OU=Users,DC=company,DC=com" -AccountPassword $Password -ChangePasswordAtLogon $true -Enabled $true

# Add to standard groups Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "All Employees" -Members "jsmith" ```

Example 2: Stale Computer Cleanup

Find computers that haven't logged in recently:

# Find computers inactive for 90+ days

Get-ADComputer -Filter {LastLogonDate -lt $90DaysAgo} -Properties LastLogonDate | Select-Object Name, LastLogonDate | Export-Csv "StaleComputers.csv" -NoTypeInformation ```

Example 3: Disk Space Monitoring

Check disk space across multiple servers:

foreach ($Server in $Servers) { Get-WmiObject Win32_LogicalDisk -ComputerName $Server | Where-Object DriveType -eq 3 | Select-Object @{N="Server";E={$Server}}, DeviceID, @{N="SizeGB";E={[math]::Round($_.Size/1GB,2)}}, @{N="FreeGB";E={[math]::Round($_.FreeSpace/1GB,2)}}, @{N="PercentFree";E={[math]::Round($_.FreeSpace/$_.Size*100,2)}} } ```

Example 4: Microsoft 365 License Report

See who has which licenses:

# Connect to Microsoft Graph

# Get all licensed users Get-MgUser -All -Property DisplayName,UserPrincipalName,AssignedLicenses | Where-Object AssignedLicenses | Select-Object DisplayName, UserPrincipalName | Export-Csv "LicensedUsers.csv" -NoTypeInformation ```

Scheduling Your Scripts

Create a script file (.ps1) and schedule it with Task Scheduler:

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. Create Basic Task
3. Set trigger (daily, weekly, etc.)
4. Action: Start a program
5. Program: `powershell.exe`
6. Arguments: `-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Scripts\YourScript.ps1"`

Best Practices

1. Test Before Automating

Always test with -WhatIf when available:

Remove-ADUser -Identity "jsmith" -WhatIf

2. Add Error Handling

try {
    # Your code here
    Get-ADUser -Identity "jsmith"
}
catch {
    Write-Error "Failed: $_"
    # Log or notify
}

3. Log Everything

Start-Transcript -Path "C:\Logs\Script-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd').log"
# Your script here
Stop-Transcript

4. Use Comments

# This script checks for inactive users
# Author: IT Team
# Last Updated: 2024-09-15

Resources for Learning More

Need Help Automating Your Environment?

Our team builds custom PowerShell solutions for businesses of all sizes. From simple scripts to complex automation workflows, we can help you save time and reduce errors. Contact us for a consultation.