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9) Exchange Monitor
10) WinDiff

Windows PowerShell Stop-Computer

PowerShell Stop-Computer Cmdlet

The PowerShell stop-Computer cmdlet is very similar to the operating system's built-in shutdown command.  A likely scenario is that you wish to down a remote server.  With a tiny substitution to the cmdlet's verb you could change the command so that it simply restart's that network computer.

Topics for PowerShell Stop-Computer

• Stop-Computer - Basics of Shutdown
• Simple Example of Stop-Computer
• Problems with Stop-Computer
• Restart-Computer

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Stop-Computer - Basics of Shutdown

Stop-Computer is handy for situations where you wish to shutdown a network server from the comfort of your chair, rather than long walk to the server room.  However, let us start by investigating PowerShell cmdlets containing the noun 'computer'.  If you don't see stop-Computer among the results this will remind you to get the latest version of PowerShell v 2.0.

Researching Stop-Computer

Before we stop our first computer using a PowerShell command, it's well worth calling for help so that we can check the syntax and examine the parameters for stop-Computer.

Note 1:  I like to append the -full switch so that I can see the examples.  Two interesting parameters revealed with help are -force and -credential.  It's also worth noting that stop-Computer uses WMI, hence there are possible firewall restrictions on this command.

Note 2:  In the case of stop-Computer, I can see many opportunities to add the -confirm switch.  Admittedly I reached this conclusion only after I had shot myself in the foot, and downed my local machine instead of the network server I was aiming at!

Simple Example of Stop-Computer

Example of Stop-Computer on Multiple Servers

Note 1: This example reboots multiple computers, the names of which are stored in a variable called $Victims.  You could extend this idea by employing get-Content to read the names of the servers stored in a text file.  Incidentally, I have shortened the parameter -computerName to -comp, in PowerShell you can shorten parameters so long as the truncated word is unambiguous.

Problems with Stop-Computer

• Error Message: The RPC server is unavailable. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800706BA)
• Cause:  Firewall blocking the WMI / RPC command.
• Solution:  Turn off the firewalls, alternatively, open just the RPC ports 135 and 445.

Summary of Windows PowerShell Stop-Computer

Stop-Computer is very similar to the old shutdown command which has been built-in to generations of Windows operating systems.  The advantage of stop-Computer is that it's simpler than remembering whether you need a switch such as -s or -r, furthermore the backslashes can be troublesome with the shutdown command.

See more PowerShell examples for Shutdown commands

• PowerShell Home  • Syntax  • Stop-Computer  • Restart Computer  • Get-Credential

Please write in if you see errors of any kind.  Please report any factual mistakes, grammatical errors or broken links, I will be happy to not only to correct the fault, but also to give you credit.

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