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Basic PowerShell Commands

PostedSeptember 24, 2025
UpdatedSeptember 24, 2025
Byadmin

1. What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft. It includes a command-line shell and a scripting language designed for system administrators and power users.

2. How do I list all available commands in PowerShell?

Use:

Get-Command

This displays all cmdlets, functions, and scripts available in your session.

3. How do I get help on a command?

Use:

Get-Help <CommandName>

Example:

Get-Help Get-Process -Examples

This shows examples of how to use the command.

4. How do I find running processes?

Use:

Get-Process

This lists all active processes.

5. How do I stop a process?

Use:

Stop-Process -Name notepad

or by process ID:

Stop-Process -Id 1234

6. How do I work with services?

  • To list services: Get-Service
  • To start a service: Start-Service -Name Spooler
  • To stop a service: Stop-Service -Name Spooler

7. How do I manage files and directories?

  • List files: Get-ChildItem
  • Create a folder: New-Item -Path C:\Temp -ItemType Directory
  • Copy a file: Copy-Item C:\file.txt D:\Backup\
  • Delete a file: Remove-Item C:\file.txt

8. How do I read and write text files?

  • Read: Get-Content C:\file.txt
  • Write: Set-Content C:\file.txt "Hello World"
  • Append: Add-Content C:\file.txt "New line"

9. How do I check system information?

  • Computer info: Get-ComputerInfo
  • Disk space: Get-PSDrive
  • IP configuration: Get-NetIPAddress

10. How do I filter and sort output?

  • Filter: Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU -gt 100}
  • Sort: Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending

11. How do I export results to a file?

  • Export to text: Get-Process | Out-File C:\processes.txt
  • Export to CSV: Get-Service | Export-Csv C:\services.csv -NoTypeInformation

12. How do I run a script in PowerShell?

Save your script as a .ps1 file, then run:

.\script.ps1

Note: You may need to adjust the execution policy with:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

13. How do I find my PowerShell version?

Use:

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

14. What is the difference between Select-Object and Format-Table?

  • Select-Object selects data (returns objects you can use further).
  • Format-Table changes how data looks (for display only).

15. Where can I learn more PowerShell commands?

Would you like me to make this more beginner-friendly (with simple explanations for non-technical users) or more advanced (with admin-focused tasks like Active Directory, networking, and automation)?