How to get ODBC drivers using Powershell

Question: I had a question from a developer who was troubleshooting an application to SQL Server connection via a DSN using ODBC. They wanted the SQL Server ODBC Driver names and platform (32 bit|64 bit) used to connect . They will use this information to check application compatibility . Although i can just RDP onto the server and grab the information through the ODBC gui - how can I use Powershell to get these ODBC details? Answer: You can extract the ODBC Driver name and platform via the Powershell cmdlet - Get-OdbcDriver. There are various options including to run the... Read more →

How to list computer shares with Powershell and WMI

Question: How can I list shares from a server using Powershell and WMI ? I've been tasked with auditing servers and identifying shares which are not authrorized Answer: The two main methods I use are 1) Get-Smbshare and 2) get-WmiObject -class Win32_Share. Get-Smbshare examples --list all SMB shares on a server Get-Smbshare --list all SMB shares on a specific server Get-Smbshare -CimSession "my_server_name get-WmiObject -class Win32_Share examples --list all share on the current server get-WmiObject -class Win32_Share --list all shares on a remote server get-WmiObject -class Win32_Share -computer my_computer Read more on Powershell and server management How create a drive... Read more →

How to fix Exception caused by space in text for Powershell form

Question: I'm building a Powershell form GUI utilising the System.Windows.Forms API. I'm getting an error when passing text value back to be processed from a text box defined by : $CommentsTxtBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Exception calling "ExecuteReader" with "0" argument(s): "Incorrect syntax near 'mytext'." When I then take the space out of the Comments value – i.e change “New Value” to “NewValue” I get the New value generated message. So the space within the text value is generating the error How can I fix? Answer: The quick answer is to place ' ' around the incoming value where you are... Read more →

How to stop Dialogresult closing your Powershell GUI application

Question: My head has officially exploded. I've been working on a Powershell script which includes creating a power GUI using the System.Windows.Forms.Form api. Part of the GUI includes clicking on a button which generates a Child Form . The Child Form has a DialogResult associated on the OK button - $ChildfOKButton.DialogResult = [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK The problem is every time I click the OK button on the Child Form , it not only closes the Child Form - but also closes the Parent Form. This is not the behaviour I'm expecting or require. How can I fix? Answer: In short the fix... Read more →

How to make a Powershell textbox read only

Question: I'm in the process of creating a Powershell form . As part of the Powershell form there are various objects - such as textbox , labels, buttons. As part of the programming logic - I'd like to manage the read or read only - of the textbox. What is the flag to enable\disable the edit of a textbox? Answer: For a Powershell forms where you're using these assembly libraries and instantiating the form , there are flags you can use on the different objects to control their behaviour Add-Type -assembly System.Windows.Forms New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form For example - if we had... Read more →