Starting with Powershell Scripts: Examples Explained

Name: Starting with Powershell Scripts: Examples Explained
Rating: 4.5 (7 reviews)

Mastering PowerShell: From Basics to Brilliance with Real-World Script Examples

Created byVitalii Shumylo

Last updated 6/2025

English

What you'll learn

Fundamentals of PowerShell Scripting: Grasping the basics of PowerShell's command-line interface, cmdlets, syntax, and scripting environment.
Script Writing and Execution: Skills to write, test, and execute PowerShell scripts effectively, starting from simple scripts to more complex ones.
Effective Use of Cmdlets: Understanding and utilizing built-in cmdlets, such as Get-Command and Get-Help, to perform various tasks and retrieve information.
Advanced Scripting Concepts: Delving into more complex scripting aspects like script blocks, pipeline usage, and automation strategies.
Using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI): Learning how to use WMI in PowerShell scripts for comprehensive system management and information gathering.
Building and Managing Windows Server 2022: Step-by-step guidance on setting up, configuring, and managing a Windows Server 2022 environment, including installat
Real-World Scripting Scenarios: Analyzing and understanding real-world script examples to solve common and advanced problems in system administration and automa
Hands-On Lab Assignments: Applying learned concepts in practical scenarios through lab assignments, reinforcing theoretical knowledge with practical application

Course content

4 sections • 98 lectures • 8h 35m total length

Course Introduction5:12
The First Script Example6:12
Comments and Cmdlets9:53
Using Get-Command7:04
PowerShell's Get-Command helps you discover commands, including cmdlets, functions, workflows, and scripts. Use it to search by name, module, or type with wildcards for learning, scripting, and debugging.
Using Get-Help4:34
Explore how Get-Help in PowerShell provides built-in documentation for cmdlets, functions, and scripts, showing syntax, parameters, examples, and online resources for quick learning.
Lab 1 - Assignment 1 and Solution4:16
Explore the Get-Command cmdlet to discover PowerShell commands, filter by name, verb, and noun, and use Get-Help to identify the command that updates help files.
Lab 1 - Assignment 2 and Solution5:01
Students explore PowerShell commands to convert content to HTML, create new items with the 'new' verb, restart computers, manage IPv4 addresses, and read Windows event logs, using Get-Command and Get-Help.
Lab 1 - Assignment 3 (Optional) and Solution7:04

Lesson 2 Introduction4:20
Script 2 Overview14:16
Explore PowerShell scripting essentials: multi-line commands, variables, arrays, pipelines, loops. Define servers and output path, then format data to html with convert to html and query disk space via get-wmiobject.
Script 2 Details8:33
Using WMI in Scripts6:41
Discover how to use Get-WmiObject in PowerShell to query Win32 classes like logical disks, operating system, processor, and network adapters, and to start or stop services such as Windows Update.
Invoke-Command and Script Block6:52
Using Pipeline in Scripts7:10
Learn how the PowerShell pipeline streams output between commands, enabling efficient, readable data processing with examples like Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 10 } | Select-Object Name, CPU.

Introduction and Installing Windows Server 202212:07
Install Windows Server 2022 in a Hyper-V setup, complete post-install steps like activation and remoting, and prepare a base image with sysprep for domain controllers and PowerShell tasks.
Activating Windows Server 20228:02
Post-Install Tasks. Part 110:43
Post-Install Tasks. Part 210:43
Setting a Base Image with SYSPREP5:04
Setting up your first DC7:09
Installing WAC and Joing a workstation to the domain4:35
Server Core3:10
Adding a Child Domain to the Lab3:16
Add a child domain to the lab using PowerShell, configuring domain services and DNS delegation for Lab1. Explore managing domain controllers with Windows Admin Center and hands-on PowerShell one-liners.
Recap: Base Lab SOP15:26
AD DS Admin Tools6:20

Commands that Seem Familiar2:18
Explore how Windows PowerShell uses familiar file and folder commands, distinguishes aliases from native commands, and uses redirection and external commands with examples like get-childitem and mkdir.
Learning Commands Syntax3:00
Learn to access Windows PowerShell command help with Get-Help, help, and man, view examples for Get-ChildItem, and display help in a separate window using showwindow and the -recurse parameter.
Viewing Help2:00
Explore how to view PowerShell command help using help, Get-Help, and online help. Read command parameters and examples for dir and get-childitem, and use the floating window with show window.
Finding Commands7:30
Finding Commands. Part 22:29
Interpreting Help5:23
Learn to interpret PowerShell help files to quickly discover command capabilities, parameter sets, and how full parameter names and full help clarify mandatory and positional usage.
Updating Help6:10
Updating and saving help files11:30
Configure a network share to save and update PowerShell help, demonstrate saving help files via a local share, and apply a group policy to update PowerShell help from that share.
About Files1:36
About Files. Part 21:44
Full Command Syntax3:50
Specifying Multiple Parameter Value3:15
Learn how to specify multiple parameter values in PowerShell scripts using double square bracket notation, comma separated lists, and file or variable inputs for commands like Get-EventLog.
Shortened Command Syntax2:16
Show-Command Command2:24
Commands that Modify the System3:22
Show-Command (demo)1:08
Show-Command helps you build a Get-Service command by displaying available parameters and letting you select parameter sets, fill values, and copy the command to the clipboard.
Commands that Modify the System (demo)2:48
Demonstrates using what-if and confirm parameters and the confirm preference variable to safely manage services and processes in PowerShell, with stop/start commands and help guidance.
Lab B: Finding and Running Basic Commands Tasks5:29
Discover and run basic Windows PowerShell commands using help and get-command. Explore about files to answer practical PowerShell questions and learn new shell concepts.
Lab B Solution: Finding and Running Basic Commands6:26
Module Review and Takeaways1:32
What is pipeline?2:00
Rrunning commands in the Pipeline1:29
Learn to combine commands in a pipeline, using out-file and the greater-than redirect to capture output in files like service list.txt, while understanding that pipelines may produce no screen output.
Pipeline Output2:19
Discovering Object Members2:36
Understanding the Pipeline. Part 1. Lesson 51:42
Learn the PowerShell pipeline with Get-Service and Get-Process, piping output to Out-File or Out-GridView, and inspect objects with Get-Member alongside Get-NetAdapter and Get-EventLog.
When the pipeline contains mixed output1:40
Sorting, Measuring, Selecting Objects10:12
Learn to sort, measure, and select PowerShell objects with ascending and descending options using Sort-Object, Measure-Object, and Select-Object across Get-Process, Get-Service, and Get-EventLog.
Creating calculated properties7:57
Learn to create calculated properties with select-object using hash tables and keys label, name, and expression, and format memory values and execution time with dash f operator and sort-object.
LAB 1. Understanding the Pipeline3:06
Learn to use the PowerShell pipeline to display the current date, inspect installed hotfixes, list and filter firewall rules, enumerate network neighbors, and query the DNS client cache.
LAB 1. Answers. Understanding the Pipeline4:26
Understanding the Pipeline. Part 3. Lesson 18:45
Understanding the Pipeline. Part 3. Lesson 25:02
Master how PowerShell pipelines import data from external storage, convert CSV and XML to objects, and manipulate service and process data with sort and select commands.
LAB 2. Understanding the Pipeline5:16
Explore PowerShell scripting pipelines by converting management data into multiple formats, including HTML reports of running processes, CSV and XML exports, and pipe-delimited files.
LAB 2. Answers. Understanding the Pipeline5:52
Understanding the Pipeline. Part 4. Lesson 15:41
Understanding the Pipeline. Part 4. Lesson 211:00
Enumeration (ForEach-Object)8:47
LAB 1. Enumerating Objects in the Pipeline2:50
Command Input is Only by Parameter6:36
Explore how Windows PowerShell pipes objects through commands via pipeline parameter binding, using by value first and by property name when needed, with examples like Get-Service, Sort-Object, and Select-Object.
Manual Parameters Override the Pipeline5:02
Learn how manually typed parameters override pipeline input in PowerShell, and explore pipeline binding, parasitical commands, and parenthetical commands to control input with Get-Content, Get-Service, and Get-Process.
Changing to ByPropertyName5:03
Expanding Property Values6:35
Expand property values to provide string inputs for commands by extracting computer names from domain objects and selecting the name property.
LAB 2. Enumerating Objects in the Pipeline5:45
LAB 2. Answers. Enumerating Objects in the Pipeline4:44
PSProviders Section Overview0:35
Explore the role of WPS providers, the adapters that connect Windows PowerShell to data stores, and learn to explain their purpose, display provider help files, and compare provider capabilities.
What are Providers3:02
Accessing Providers' Help and Capabilities. Demo3:32
What are Drives0:52
Explore PowerShell drives and understand how PS providers connect storage to the shell, then manage a file system, navigate a PS drive, and create or modify items and item properties.
Lab 1. Using PSDrives and PSProviders4:39
Master using PSDrives and PSProviders to create folders and items, map drives, configure registry keys, modify run lists, and adjust AWS management settings through the WPS drive.
Lab Answers 1. Using PSDrives and PSProviders3:12
Explore lab one solutions for using PowerShell drives and providers, creating items, drives, and registry keys, and configuring registry settings with help commands and example paths.
Using PSDrives and PSProviders Review1:16
Using Basic Formatting Section Overview0:39
Default Formatting. Wide Lists. Lists. Tables. Demo6:59
Explore how PowerShell's default formatting selects views and properties, and learn to display output as wide lists, lists, or tables with format-wide, format-list, and format-table through demonstration examples.
Custom List Entries and Columns. Sorted and Grouped Tables. Select or Format?4:16
The Output of a Format Command3:52
Redirecting Formatted Output. Using Grid Views. Demos4:29
Learn to redirect formatted PowerShell output with out-host, out-file, and out-printer, and explore using out-gridview to display and interact with processes, including sorting and filtering.
LAB 1. Formatting Output6:40
LAB 1 Answers. Formatting Output7:48
Learn to format PowerShell command output for management reports by displaying system info with Win32_ComputerSystem, tabulating processes and routes, and extracting recent event log data.
Course Review and Takeaways3:31
Querying Management Information by Using WMI and CIM Course Overview1:08
Understanding WMI and CIM Section Overview0:49
Architecture and Technologies8:14
The Repository. Finding Documentation. Demonstration.4:24
Querying Data by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview0:50
Learn to query data using WMI and CIM, list available namespaces, retrieve classes from a namespace, query instances of a class, and connect to remote computers to manage CIM sessions.
Listing Namespaces, Classes. Demo8:35
Use Windows PowerShell to list namespaces and classes with WMI and CIM, focusing on the root\cimv2 namespace, with local and remote queries.
Querying Instances. Demo6:39
Learn how Windows PowerShell retrieves Win32 logical disk instances using Get WMI object or CIM methods, and refine results with drive type filters and the WMI query language.
Remote Computers. Demo7:35
Making Changes by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview0:42
Discovering and Finding Methods. Demo5:48
Invoking Methods. Demo7:06
Explore three ways to invoke methods in PowerShell, including WMI method, invoke method, and invoke SIM method, with examples using Win32 classes, remote computers, and dictionary-argument lists.
Lab: Working with WMI and CIM8:49
Lab Answers: Working with WMI and CIM9:42
Course Review and Takeaways5:07

Requirements

No Prior Experience in Programming or Scripting Required: The course is designed to cater to beginners, so prior experience in programming or scripting is not necessary.
Interest in System Administration or Automation: While not a strict prerequisite, interest in these areas will greatly enhance the learning experience and applicability of the skills acquired.

Description

Dive into the world of automation and efficient system management with our flagship course, 'Mastering PowerShell: From Basics to Brilliance with Real-World Script Examples'. This course is crafted for individuals at all levels, from beginners to intermediate enthusiasts, and is designed to elevate your scripting capabilities in the practical realms of PowerShell.

Section 1: Scripting Basics and First Steps

Lesson 1: Kicking off with Script Example 1
- Explore the course's structure, aims, and your journey in PowerShell scripting.
- Delve into your first script, understanding basic comments and cmdlets.
- Learn essential commands like Get-Command and Get-Help.
- Engage in hands-on labs with assignments and detailed solutions, solidifying your learning.

Section 2: Advanced Scripting Techniques

Lesson 2: Deep Dive with Script Example 2
- Introduction to more complex scripting concepts.
- Detailed exploration of using WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) and Invoke-Command in scripts.
- Master the art of using pipelines effectively in scripts.

Section 3: Building a Windows Server 2022 Lab

A practical approach to setting up and managing a Windows Server 2022 environment.
- Step-by-step guidance on installing, activating, and performing post-install tasks.
- Learn to set up a Base Image with SYSPREP and a Domain Controller.
- Explore the integration of Windows Admin Center and joining a workstation to a domain.

Section 4: Supplementary Course Content

Additional resources, tips, and advanced tools for enhancing your PowerShell expertise.

Throughout the course, you'll benefit from our engaging teaching methodology that combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications. Each lesson is accompanied by real-world script examples, making learning both engaging and relevant.

Whether your goal is to streamline your workflows, manage servers more effectively, or simply elevate your scripting skills, 'Mastering PowerShell: From Basics to Brilliance with Real-World Script Examples' offers you a comprehensive learning experience. Enroll now and start your journey towards becoming a PowerShell scripting expert.

Who this course is for:

IT Professionals and System Administrators: Those working in IT or system administration who want to enhance their skills in automation, scripting, and efficient system management using PowerShell.
Aspiring IT Specialists: Individuals aiming to start a career in IT or system administration and looking to acquire essential scripting skills.
Anyone Looking to Automate Repetitive Windows Tasks: Users who perform repetitive tasks on Windows and seek to automate these tasks to increase productivity and efficiency.
Software Developers: Developers who want to expand their toolset with scripting skills, particularly for automating tasks in Windows environments.

Starting with Powershell Scripts: Examples Explained

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Lesson 1. Script Example 18 lectures • 49min

Lesson 2. Script Example 26 lectures • 48min

Building Windows Server 2022 Lab11 lectures • 1hr 27min

Supplementary Course Content73 lectures • 5hr 31min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: