This page is the foundation for a trilogy of Process pages. The sequence
is: list, stop and finally start (restart) the process.
Even if your mission is to start or stop a process, the logical place to begin is with listing the processes running on a computer. The benefit
of beginning with this page, which just lists the processes, is that you can learn the WMI methods without the risk of killing the wrong program.
The benefit of beginning with just listing the processes is that you can learn the WMI methods without the risk of killing the wrong program.
Before creating a script, which will stop the process, you need to research the precise name of the corresponding program.
One way to investigate the names would be to Launch Task Manager, select the Application tab, right-click the program and then choose, Go to Process. An example of this link is Applications
shows Microsoft FrontPage and the corresponding process is frontpg.exe
Incidentally, the screen shot on the right reminds us that VBScript automates steps that you could walk through manually.
In this instance, we could click on the Processes tab to view all the running programs.
Whilst
our goal is to control programs on another machine by using a VBscript, let us begin with a script which simply lists the processes. Then, if necessary, we could append code to the script and thus terminate one of those
processes. The key part of both scripts is where they connect to the CIM class called Win32_Process. Each script begins with GetObject winmgmts and ExecQuery
commands. The second example adds a terminate process command.
Prerequisites for
Your Win32_Process Script
No specific requirements. I cannot think of an operating system that does not have the Win32_ComputerSystem Class.
Instructions for Listing Processes WMI Script
Copy and paste the example script below into notepad or a VBScript editor.
Decide which machine on your network to interrogate and then change line 10: My default value of, strComputer = "." means use the current machine.
Save the file with a .vbs extension, for example: Process.vbs
Double click Process.vbs and check the list of processes.
Script to List the Processes Running on the Computer
' Process.vbs ' VBScript Win32_Process to discover which processes are running ' Author Guy Thomas http://computerperformance.co.uk/ ' Version 1.4 - December 2010 '
-------------------------------------------------------' Option Explicit Dim objWMIService, objProcess, colProcess Dim strComputer, strList
Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery _ ("Select * from Win32_Process")
For Each
objProcess in colProcess strList = strList & vbCr & _ objProcess.Name Next
WSCript.Echo strList WScript.Quit
' End of List Process Example VBScript
Guy
Recommends: WMI Monitor and It's Free!
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is one of the hidden
treasures of Microsoft's operating systems. Fortunately, SolarWinds
have created a
Free WMI Monitor so that you can discover these gems of performance
information, and thus improve your scripts.
Take the guess work out of which WMI counters to use when scripting the
operating system, Active Directory or Exchange Server. Give this WMI monitor a
try - it's free.
1) If you are experienced with WMI, then the two features to
concentrate on are, Win32_Service and objProcess.name.
2) If you are new to WMI then you will soon appreciate that all WMI scripts begin by employing winmgmts to access the root of the CIM library,
here is the command: Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:"
& strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
3) Often, as in this instance, WMI requires security clearance in order to query the other machine's hardware, this is why we add : & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _
4) Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery _ is a standard WMI phrase to prepare for the WQL command: Select * from Win32_Service ". The part we are particularly interested in is
_Process.
Win32 has dozens of properties, here we need to query the Process component and not the Service or PhysicalDisk.
From a VBScript perspective
5) What makes scripting so powerful is the
speed with which VBScript
loops through an array of objects or properties, in this instance the loop is controlled by: For Each....In... Next.
6) I am particularly proud of the other loop, in scripting terms
it's primitive almost a non-entity, but to me it makes the output easier to read, strList = strList & vbCr & objProcess.name.
7) The only property of objProcess that we are interested
in is, .Name. However, for other examples we could substitute different properties, for example .ProcessId or .PeakVirtualSize.
8) It is also possible to output the process information not to
the screen but to a file. VBScript has all the tools you need to create a file and write a service on each line.
Guy
Recommends: The Free Config Generator
SolarWinds' Config Generator is a free tool, which puts you in charge of
controlling changes to network routers and other SNMP devices.
Boost your network performance by activating network device features
you've already paid for.
Guy says that for newbies the biggest benefit of this free tool is that
it will provide the impetus for you to learn more about configuring the SNMP
service with its 'Traps' and 'Communities'. Try Config Generator now - it's
free!
Launch PowerShell, in v 2.0 the ISE version is best.
Copy the lines of code below (into memory)
Right-click on the PowerShell symbol
Edit --> Paste
Press enter to execute the code.
# PowerShell Get-Process list
Get-Process *
Learning Points
Note 1: PowerShell's commands
are not case sensitive, thus you could type Get-Process, or Get-Process. Also you can omit the 'get' in
Get-Process, this is because
'get' is the default verb and PowerShell intelligently adds 'Get-' to
process.
With
Get-Process, the wildcard asterisk * is
optional, however, it does remind us that we can modify the output to produce a restricted range:
Get-Process [ab]* returns all processes beginning with the letter a or b.
Get-Process [ae]* surprised me, it only listed process beginning with 'a', or beginning with 'e'. To get a range we must
add a hyphen between the letters: Get-Process [a-e]*
If you have taken my advice and you have the Task Manager open, it's worth checking that what you see in PowerShell matches what you see in Task Manager.
Guy
Recommends:
SolarWinds Free Wake-On-LAN Utility
Encouraging computers to sleep when they're not in use is a great idea -
until you are away from your desk and need a file on that remote sleeping machine!
WOL also has business uses for example, rousing machines so that
they can have update patches applied. My real reason for recommending
you download this free tool is because it's so much fun sending those 'Magic
Packets'. Give WOL a try - it's free.
This page
provides the foundation skills necessary to control Windows processes. Before you start or stop a process, you need a script which just lists the processes running. This page features a simple
script, which lists the processes (programs) and then echoes the result to the screen.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is
most useful for PowerShell scripting.
SolarWinds
have produced this
Free WMI Monitor to take the guess work out of which
WMI counters to use for applications like Microsoft Active Directory,
SQL or Exchange Server.
