PowerShell Add-Computer giving Access Denied - windows

I have a lab environment using Server 2016 and Windows 10 VMs. On the windows 10 machine, I’m using the Add-Computer command to join a domain (windurst.net) using the domain administrator account but get access denied. The command I have in PowerShell is
Add-Computer -DomainName "windurst.net" -OUPath "OU=Test,OU=Workstations,OU=Windurst,DC=Windurst,DC=Net"
I can join the domain manually with no issues with the domain administrator account, but it does not work if I’m using the PowerShell command. The OU folder structure is as follows: Windurst > Workstations > Test.
I know this command works on Windows 7, but I haven’t tested it in my lab environment as yet. Going to build a Win 7 machine and post the results. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
The solution was to run PowerShell as administrator.

Please try running powershell as admin.
Hope it helps :)

Related

Install RSAT using powershell script to windows 10 with elevated privileges

I am facing a difficulty on installing RSAT to remote windows 10 workstations via gpo. My main goal is to use Get-ADuser command as a necessity to gain information from my Windows domain.
I created a PowerShell script using the following command:
Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online
Yet when I run it, a message appears asking for elevated privileges.
So I tried to add credentials in order to automate the installation and changed the script to :
$Username = 'domain\domain_adm'
$Password = '*******'
$pass = ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText $Password -Force
$Cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $Username,$pass
Start-Process -FilePath powershell.exe -ArgumentList{Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online} -credential $Cred
And from a normal PowerShell window, it works. But, it doesn't when I am trying to use it from gpo.
Could you please assist me?
The goal is to install via GPO Get-ADuser (maybe RSAT) to domain workstations with OS Windows 10
For a small number of machines Powershell is not a bad option. If you have access to GPOs then you should use then. RSAT is "Windows feature". You can use WSUS. https://4sysops.com/archives/install-rsat-1809-and-other-optional-features-in-wsus-environments/ You could also use the software that you use to install software on the machine on the network . Many of software distribution packages run as root when it installs software. In this case just give that team the line below.
Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online
Why are you putting credentials in clear text in a script file? That
is just bad practice and should not be done.
Installing software is an Admin level thing, local, GPO, or
otherwise, because it's a system-wide change.
Lastly, this is not a PowerShell code/programming issue and not something PowerShell can fix relative to how you are trying to do this. It's specifically how do I use GPO to enable a Windows feature or install software, using PowerShell?
So, could be considered off-topic for Stackoverflow and more a question for SuperUser or StackExchange.
All that being said, you can still use PowerShell to do this, but doing so by using PowerShell to set a scheduled task to the targets and set that to the admin creds at run once at login.
You can write a separate script to create the scheduled task.
You can use the below script for the RSAT install effort via the task.
Use PowerShell to Create Scheduled Tasks
New-ScheduledTask
Very similar to this approach with updating PowerShell help:
PowerShell: Update-Help via Scheduled Task in Group Policy Preferences
As far as what js2010 has stated. That was true for earlier versions of Windows 10. The current state of things is as noted below.
Install RSAT for Windows 10 1809 and 1903 and 1909 automated
RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) in Windows 10 v1809 and
v1903 are no longer a downloadable add-on to Windows. Instead, its
included as a set of "Features on Demand" directly in Windows.
Download: Install-RSATv1809v1903v1909.ps1
Long term Scheduled Task management can be accomplished via GPO as well, as noted here:
Managing Scheduled Tasks from Group Policy
You can download RSAT as an msu file: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45520
EDIT: Ok, as for 1809 and above, my first thoughts are a gpo startup script, or using invoke-command.

Powershell Commands to a Computer that is only Reachable through RDP

Is it possible to send Powershell commands to a computer that can only be reached by RDP? If yes, how?
the help about_remoting topic covers various remote command options
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/reference/5.1/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_remote
also to configure winRM for powershell you can open a local Powershell session and run the Following command Enable-PSremoting
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/reference/5.1/microsoft.powershell.core/enable-psremoting
server 2012 and newer already have it enabled.

Install appx through Powershell Plugin via Jenkins

I am stuck in a problem trying to install appx with Powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted add-appxpackage <path to appx> using the Powershell plugin in Jenkins and the below errors are logged:
add-appxpackage : Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CF9, Install failed.
Please contact your software vendor. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80073CF9)
Deployment Add operation rejected on package
<path to appx> install request because the Local
System account is not allowed to perform this operation.
NOTE: For additional information, look for [ActivityId].
As I understand, this problem is mainly because Jenkins service on Windows gets installed as NT Authority\System. (If I use psexec.exe to open a command prompt that runs as Authority\System, I run into the same issue.) I then tried adding net localgroup "Administrators" NT Authority\System /add hoping the group might get added as Administrator and would let me install the appx, so I can run the tests, but with no success. Now I am stuck and I am not sure if there is really a way to install an appx via Jenkins or not OR if there is a way to invoke the Powershell script as an administrator via Jenkins. I have been through couple of SO links already, but none of them seems to fix the issue I am facing. Any pointers would be appreciated.
DO NOT try to add System to the Administrators group, it's a limited account for a reason and does not require administrative privileges.
Instead change the Jenkins service to run as a user that has the right permissions for what you're trying to do. That might mean you need to create an account specifically for the Jenkins service.
There are a few ways to change the service account, this answer gives the following as a solution:
sc.exe config "Service Name" obj= "DOMAIN\User" password= "password"

Failed to add current user to Hyper-V administrators group error when installing Visual Studio Community 2013

I used to have Visual Studio Express installed on my laptop, which worked well, but when I heard Community 2013 was made available for free I decided to install it. However, after running the install process I got the error:
Failed to add current user to Hyper-V administrators group
The account I am using is an admin account. When I checked for solutions I found many people indicating I had to Microsoft Management Console and add myself to the group, however this laptop has Windows 8.1 Core, not pro, so I cannot add the snapin. So I am not really sure what to do in this situation. Do I need to reinstall, running it as admin? Or will I get the same error again?
Try net localgroup "Hyper-V Administrators" <username> /add
in an elevated command prompt
It's case sensitive apparently:
Try net localgroup "Hyper-V Administrators" /add
Please check the right name of Hyper-V Administrators group. The group name may be different in the different locales.
Open the window Windows+R -> lusrmgr.msc in this window you may check all groups in your system
and use command
net localgroup "<Hyper-V group name>" <username> /add
For me below steps worked with me
preflight checks can all be individually disabled. For the HyperV check you can use:
minishift config set skip-check-hyperv-driver true
If you prefer the check to happen, but not fail startup, you can use the warn option instead:
minishift config set warn-check-hyperv-driver true

Can't use Get-Service –ComputerName on remote computer

I have a windows 2003 box setup with virtual box and I can't powershell to work with it.
I try this on my windows 7 machine
Get-Service –ComputerName myserver
I get back
Get-Service : Cannot open Service Control Manager on computer 'myserver'. This operation might require other privileges.
At Script1.ps1:2 char:4
+ gsv <<<< -cn myserver
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-Service], InvalidOperationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.InvalidOperationException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetServiceCommand
While searching around I found I should try and use Enable-PSRemoting.
I did this and now when I try to use it I get
WinRM already is set up to receive requests on this machine. WinRM
already is set up for remote management on this machine.
Yet I still get the same error. Is this because I am using a virtual machine? I setup the virtual OS to be on my domain and I can even use my AD account credentials to log in.
I can get other information back from it.
So it is not like I can't connect to it with powershell.
With PowerShell V2 you've got two approachs for remote commands.
Commands with built-in remoting :
A small set of commands in PowerShell v2 have a -ComputerName parameter, which allows you to specify the target machine to access.
Get-Process
Get-Service
Set-Service
Clear-EventLog
Get-Counter
Get-EventLog
Show-EventLog
Limit-EventLog
New-EventLog
Remove-EventLog
Write-EventLog
Restart-Computer
Stop-Computer
Get-HotFix
These commands do their own remoting either because the underlying infrastructure already supports remoting or they address scenarios that are of particular importance to system management. They are built on the top of DCOM and, on the access point of view, you can use them when you can establish a session with the remote machine with commands like NET.exe or PSExec.exe.
You are trying to use one of them and you've got a problem with credentials (-cred parameter), because your token credentials can't be used to establish an admin session to the remote machine.
The PowerShell remoting subsystem :
Before you can use PowerShell remoting to access a remote computer, the remoting service on that computer has to be explicitly enabled. You do so using the Enable-PSRemoting cmdlet. If you are working in workgroup you also need to enable the server to enter on your client computer with this command (on your client computer as administrator):
Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts *
Then, you will use New-PSSession Cmdlet (with -computername and -credentials) to create a session object. Then Invoke-Command (with -session and -scriptblock) cmdlet allows you to remotely invoke a scriptblock on another computer. This is the base element for most of the features in remoting. You can also use Enter-PSSession to establish an interactive (SSL like) PowerShell command line with the server.
Useful link : Layman’s guide to PowerShell 2.0 remoting
Test this :
$sess = New-PSSession -ComputerName myServer-Credential (Get-Credential)
Invoke-Command -Session $sess -ScriptBlock {get-service}
...
Remove-PSSession -Session $sess
If it is still important, here is my workaround:
I got an unprivileged user called 'usser' who wants powershell(v2) remoting from client A to server B.
Steps:
enable-psremoting on Targetserver B as admin
Set-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Microsoft.PowerShell -ShowSecurityDescriptorUI on Targetserver B as admin
Add "usser" with full privileges
Now comes the exciting part:
sc sdshow scmanager on Targetserver B as admin
Copy the SDDL output
sc sdset scmanager (f.e.:)"D:(A;;CC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;SU)(A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY)(A;;KA;;;BA)S:(AU;FA;KA;;;WD)(AU;OIIOFA;GA;;;WD)" , in the Output you have to fill after this part (A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY) this = (A;;KA;;;SID)
SID stands of course for the SID of the unprivileged "usser"-user
when everything should be fine, it will similiar looks like this :
D:(A;;CC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;SU)(A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY)(A;;KA;;;S-1-5-21-4233383628-1788409597-1873130553-1161)(A;;KA;;;BA)S:(AU;FA;KA;;;WD)(AU;OIIOFA;GA;;;WD)
Hope you will enjoy that little but complicated workaround.
Viewing and manipulating services requires administrative privileges on the target machine.
I was able to duplicate your error message by attempting to run Get-Service -ComputerName MyServer while logged in as a user account that doesn't have administrative rights to the server in question.
You can resolve this by either granting the workstation user account administrative privileges on the target server or by creating a a local group on the server and granting invocation privileges to members of that group. If you want to do the latter, see the following article.
msgoodies: Using a PS Session without having Administrative Permissions
Building on #scusi marcus's brilliant answer here:
Let's say I have an unprivileged/limited user called 'user1' who wants powershell(v2+) remoting from client machine A to targetserver B.
Steps:
From elevated powershell prompt on targetserver B, run enable-psremoting. Accept several Y/N dialog confirmations or else run with -force switch.
In same elevated prompt as step 1, Set-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Microsoft.PowerShell -ShowSecurityDescriptorUI
In the resulting dialog, add "user1". Read privileges should be sufficient unless you are planning on remotely manipulating services, in which case you will want Full Control.
On targetserver B, from an elevated (non-powershell) prompt or as an administrator, run sc sdshow scmanager. Copy the SDDL output. May look something like this: D:(A;;CC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;SU)(A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY)(A;;KA;;;BA)S:(AU;FA;KA;;;WD)(AU;OIIOFA;GA;;;WD)
UPDATE: If we add the limited user to the target computer's Remote Management Users group, we can add (A;;LCRPWPDTLO;;;RM) to the D: portion of the above SDDL string, and skip steps 5 and 6 below.
Determine the SID of the underprivileged user account (in our case, "user1"). (Hint: try wmic useraccount where name='user1' get sid)
Insert the following text into the output we copied in step 5: (A;;KA;;;*SID*) where *SID* is the SID of the user determined in step 5. Insert it somewhere in a place before the S: part of the SDDL string retrieved in step 4. So now you should have a string looking something like this: D:(A;;CC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;SU)(A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY)(A;;KA;;;S-1-5-21-4233383628-1788409597-1873130553-1161)(A;;KA;;;BA)S:(AU;FA;KA;;;WD)(AU;OIIOFA;GA;;;WD)
On targetserver B, run sc sdset scmanager followed by our new modified SDDL string. So the entire command would look something like this:
sc sdset scmanager D:(A;;CC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCRPRC;;;SU)(A;;CCLCRPWPRC;;;SY)(A;;KA;;;S-1-5-21-4233383628-1788409597-1873130553-1161)(A;;KA;;;BA)S:(AU;FA;KA;;;WD)(AU;OIIOFA;GA;;;WD)
You should now be able to remotely access the Service Control Manager on the remote server while logged into client machine A as "user1".
On client machine A, you may find that when you run Get-Service –ComputerName remoteserver not all services are listed. You may need to repeat the above process (starting at step 4) for a specific service that you need remote access to, but which is not listed in your Get-Service output on client machine A. For instance, if the sqlserveragent service is not listed (but you know it is present on the targetserver), you would again log in to targetserver B and execute sc sdshow but this time not for scmanager but for the sqlserveragent service, so sc sdshow sqlserveragent. You would again receive some SDDL output that would need to be manipulated as above. At this point, it may be worth learning more about SDDL (Google it - this link was helpful for me), with the main caveat to watch for the D: and S: portions of the SDDL string and make sure you aren't messing with the S: part.
I know that this isn't the ideal answer to this question, but I was having a similar issue trying to use PowerShell to talk to a Windows 7 box. Turns out, WMI hadn't been installed with the native PSv2 that comes with Win7.
As soon as I installed v3 as part of the WMI 3.0 package, the problem solved itself. I'd suggest making sure that all the relevant WMI services are running on your server. Unless you have conflicts, I'd also recommend upgrading to WMI 3.0.

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