I have a PowerShell script that monitors an image folder. I need to find a way to automatically run this script after the computer starts.
I already tried the following methods, but I couldn't get it working.
Use msconfig
and add the PowerShell script to startup, but I cannot find the PowerShell script on that list.
Create a shortcut and drop it to startup folder. No luck.
%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
or
%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
Here's my PowerShell script:
$folder = "C:\\Doc\\Files" $dest = "C:\\Doc\\Files\\images" $filter = "*.jpg" $fsw = new-object System.IO.FileSystemWatcher $folder, $filter -Property @{ IncludeSubDirectories=$false NotifyFilter = [System.IO.NotifyFilters]'FileName, LastWrite' } $onCreated = Register-ObjectEvent $fsw Created -SourceIdentifier FileCreated -Action { Start-Sleep -s 10 Move-Item -Path C:\Doc\Files\*.jpg C:\Doc\Files\images }
I also tried to add a basic task using taskschd.msc
. It is still not working.
Here's what I found, and maybe that will help to debug it.
If I open up a PowerShell window and run the script there, it works. But if I run it in a command prompt,
powershell.exe -File "C:\Doc\Files\FileMonitor.ps1"
It will not work. I am not sure it's a permission problem or something else.
BTW, I have PowerShell 3.0 installed, and if I type $host.version, it will show 3 there. But my powershell.exe seems like it is still v1.0.
%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
On Windows, the simplest way of running a program at startup is to place an executable file in the Startup folder. All the programs that are in this folder will be executed automatically when the computer opens. You can open this folder more easily by pressing WINDOWS KEY + R and then copying this text shell:startup .
Windows makes it possible to schedule PowerShell scripts to run at a predetermined time. The mechanism of choice for automating PowerShell scripts is the Windows Task Scheduler. The Windows Task Scheduler has been a part of the Windows operating system for many years.
I finally got my PowerShell script to run automatically on every startup. You will need to create two files: the first is the Powershell script (e.g. script.ps1
) and the second is a .cmd file that will contain commands that will run on the command prompt (e.g. startup.cmd
).
The second file is what needs to be executed when the computer starts up, and simply copy-pasting the .ps1 to the startup folder won't work, because that doesn't actually execute the script - it only opens the file with Notepad. You need to execute the .cmd which itself will execute the .ps1 using PowerShell. Ok, enough babbling and on to the steps:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\script.ps1
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\startup.cmd
Doing this will execute the cmd file every time on startup. Here is a link of how to create a .cmd file if you need help.
PowerShell -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1 PowerShell %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\script.ps1 >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
This will do two things:
This code is specifically for PowerShell v1.0. If you're running PowerShell v2.0 it might be a little different. In any case, check this source for the .cmd code.
Now that you have your .ps1 and .cmd files in their respective paths and with the script for each, you are all set.
You could set it up as a Scheduled Task, and set the Task Trigger for "At Startup"
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