Useful WMI Command

WMI, which stands for Windows Management Instrumentation, is a powerful tool allowing administrators to manage Windows systems locally and remotely. It provides a deeper level of information and control than standard PowerShell commands. For instance, while the Get-Service command in PowerShell can retrieve service details, WMI can provide even more properties related to those services.

Here is a collection of my favorite WMI Commands

WMI Command: Retrieve All Properties of Services

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Service | Select-Object *

This WMI command fetches all the properties of services running on the system using the Win32_Service class.

WMI Command: Determine the Last Boot Up Time

$os = gwmi win32_operatingsystem $os.ConvertToDateTime($os.LastBootUpTime)

The above command retrieves the last boot-up time of the operating system and converts it to a readable date-time format. For example, it might return “24 October 2017 09:37:51”.

To get a shorter version of the date:

$os.ConvertToDateTime($os.LastBootUpTime).toshortdatestring()

This will return a concise date format, like “24/10/2017”.

List Services that Start Automatically and are Running

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Service -Filter "state = 'running' and startmode = 'auto'" | Select-Object name, startmode, description | Format-table -AutoSize

This command lists all services set to start automatically and are currently running. It displays their names, start modes, and descriptions in a table format.

Retrieve BIOS Information

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Bios

This command fetches information about the system’s BIOS using the Win32_Bios class.

Obtain Computer Information

Get-WmiObject Win32_Computersystem | Format-List Name, manufacturer, model, SystemType

This command details the computer system, such as its name, manufacturer, model, and system type.

Get Video Card Information

Get-WmiObject Win32_VideoController

This command retrieves basic information about the video card using the Win32_VideoController class.

For a more detailed report on the video card:

$ComputerName = "localhost"
foreach ($Computer in $ComputerName)
{
    $ComputerVideoCard = Get-WmiObject Win32_VideoController -ComputerName $Computer
    $Output = New-Object -TypeName PSObject
    Foreach ($Card in $ComputerVideoCard)
    {
        $Output | Add-Member NoteProperty "$($Card.DeviceID)_Name" $Card.Name
        $Output | Add-Member NoteProperty "$($Card.DeviceID)_Vendor" $Card.AdapterCompatibility
        $Output | Add-Member NoteProperty "$($Card.DeviceID)_PNPDeviceID" $Card.PNPDeviceID
        $Output | Add-Member NoteProperty "$($Card.DeviceID)_DriverVersion" $Card.DriverVersion
        $Output | Add-Member NoteProperty "$($Card.DeviceID)_VideoMode" $Card.VideoModeDescription
    }
    $Output
}

This script fetches detailed information about the video card, such as its name, vendor, PNP device ID, driver version, and video mode description.