Powershell Scripts do not terminate - windows

I'm launching a script from Oracle Data Integrator using an OS command.
Long story short: the ps1 script is invoked using powershell.exe -noninteractive script
The problem is that the caller, ODI, does not recognize the termination of the powershell script, where if i call the script in the same way from the console it correctly terminate (and I can eventually read the errorlevel i set as parameter to the exit, that is the last command I wrote in the script).
Has someone had this behaviour of powershell script? It successfully executes but the command remains pending in the task manager (the same command that ran by me in the cmd prompt exit successfully).

I found the solution, just add < NUL to the caller command:
powershell.exe script.ps1 < NUL

Related

Task Scheduler to run a batch file to call a powershell script

I have created a Powershell script that I call from a batch file, and everything works fine when I call the batch file. The problem I am running into is I need to set the batch file to run in Task Scheduler. It starts fine, but it keeps hanging up because the task scheduler never says "The operation completed successfully" (0x0). Instead, it stays at "The task is currently running" (0x41301). Please advise, and I understand this is not the most ideal way to call a Powershell Script but for our environment and limited knowledge of scripting it works the best for us.
You should just use Task Scheduler to run PowerShell.
Create a new task, go to Actions tab, then choose New..., and inside this new window, you can run any program, like you run something from cmd.
Inside Program/script square, you simply put Powershell.exe, and inside Add arguments (optional) powershell arguments. This will work the same, as you would type in normal command line:
powershell <arguments>
So if you want to run script, that is saved in your disk, simply put this in arguments list:
C:\LocalisationOfScript\script.ps1 "argument 1" argument2
If you want more options, just add common parameters before this:
-windowstyle hidden -executionpolicy bypass C:\LocalisationOfScript\script.ps1 "argument 1" argument2
Of even this:
-windowstyle hidden -executionpolicy bypass if (Test-path C:\script\script.ps1) { C:\script\script.ps1 "argument 1" argument2 } else { return -1 }
And finally:
Start-Process Powershell.exe -argumentslist "-a -b -c copy" -windowstyle hidden -wait -erroraction stop
You can even add try, catch to last example.
Thank you for all the comments, i researched you advice and came across the exit command i forgot to add to the end of my script, so when i call my script it left the session to exchange open after i applied the exit command to the end of the script the program has been running without error (knock on wood) sense the fix and after i closed and reopened Task Scheduler the last run message changed to (0x0)

Batch one liner append second command after powershell call

I have a batch file structured like below:
cd "C:\my\scripts\directory
powershell -f myPowershellSCript.ps1
exit %errorlevel%
This batch file is being sent through an in house remote shell application (which is mostly a black box to me) in a non-interactive way to another machine to be run. I can execute the application and watch it's output on the terminal locally. The script is completing the powershell script and then just dropping back to the remote shell on the test machine without ever running the last line in the batch file. I see the cmd.exe shell drop back to a prompt at C:\my\scripts\directory on the remote machine and just wait. Because it's non-interactive the script never completes.
I'd like to tag that last exit line onto the end of the line that calls powershell, but everything I've tried (below) has not worked. I fear that powershell is taking everything as input instead of batch interpreting them as two separate commands.
powershell -f SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1 && exit 1
powershell -nonInteractive -f SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1 && exit 1
powershell -nonInteractive -command "& 'SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1'" && exit 1
powershell -nonInteractive -command "& 'SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1'" ; exit 1
powershell -nonInteractive -f SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1 ; exit 1
still produces the same result. No return from the remote execution.
How do I append a second command to a batch file line when the first command is a call to powershell?
Is your PowerShell process exiting status 0? The && conditional operator only executes the command it precedes when the command it follows exits 0. If you want to exit 1 regardless of whether PowerShell exits zero or non-zero, use a single &.
In your powershell command, you might also need to call the .ps1 script name as .\SecurePaymentsTestLauncher.ps1 and add the -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned arguments.
Try
cd "C:\my\scripts\directory"
start powershell -f myPowershellSCript.ps1
exit %errorlevel%
Using 'start' in front of powershell instantiates a separate powershell host outside of the batch script host, which will allow your ps1 file to do its thing while your batch script goes straight to 'exit %errorlevel%'

How to debug hidden powershell scripts?

I'm writing a script that normally will get called by another application (VMware vCenter Server). From that application I trigger a batch file (redirect.bat) and pass a variable which is the powershell script name (TestMe.ps1).
The script is placed on a Windows Server and when I go into the command prompt of the Windows Server and call the redirect script, I see that my PowerShell script runs as expected. However when I trigger it from the app the Powershell script is not run or doesn't produce output. I have confirmation that the redirect.bat is run, because the redirect.bat writes a line in a log file.
The vCenter Server app is running under Local System account. Could it be a permissions error? Is LocalSystem allowed to run Powershell scripts?
I now have no clue if the Powershell script even starts, because it (of course) is not visible in my console when running. The batch file always returns errorlevel = 0.
Any tips on how to insert debugging info in the script that should always give output? Tips on how to troubleshoot this?
redirect.bat:
set POWERSHELL=C:\WINDOWS\system32\windowspowershell\v1.0\powershell.exe -nologo -noprofile -noninteractive
SET ERRORLEVEL =
echo %1 > G:\DataStoreAlarms\Log\Redirect-batch.txt
start %POWERSHELL% -command "&"%1""
echo Error level: %ERRORLEVEL% >> G:\DataStoreAlarms\Log\Redirect-batch.txt
I call redirect.bat from the command line and from the app like this:
redirect.bat G:\DataStoreAlarms\Scripts\TestGabrie.ps1
TestGabrie.ps1:
$String = "This is a test"
$String | Out-File -FilePath "G:\DataStoreAlarms\Log\Powershell.txt" -Append
Regards
Gabrie
Problem seemed to be the START command:
start %POWERSHELL% -command "&"%1""
After changing it to this, it worked:
%POWERSHELL% -command "&"%1""
Thanks for all your help.

Task Scheduler Action parameter should generate log, but doesn't

As the title suggests, I have an added parameter in my Task Scheduler Actions that logs stdout and stderr to a log.txt file. The logging works when the action is run through the command prompt, but not when the action is run by the actual Task Scheduler (at its specified time). Task scheduler reports the action runs successfully, but I can't be sure it does because there's no logging:)
Command looks like this
powershell.exe -file "D:\Scripts\TimeSync2.ps1" > "D:\Scripts\timeSync_log.txt" 2>&1
I'm unfortunately not a native Windows user, so any help would be appreciated. I'm running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise.
Thanks!
Cmd.exe handles command redirection. You have to run it under cmd.exe. Powershell probably also can do redirection but in your script (.NET can).
A black window just means a console program is running. Only if cmd is running does cmd features become available. By starting cmd or by putting it in a batch you canget redirection from cmd.
cmd /c powershell.exe -file "D:\Scripts\TimeSync2.ps1" > "D:\Scripts\timeSync_log.txt" 2>&1
See for Help
cmd /?
Place the command you listed in a batch file and then schedule the batch file.
If you are doing so and it fails, then try it with your account credentials as authentication in task scheduler, to see if it is a permissions issue.
#echo off
powershell.exe -file "D:\Scripts\TimeSync2.ps1" > "D:\Scripts\timeSync_log.txt" 2>&1

Running a windows batch command using chef blocks the chef provision

I'm using chef for windows and need to run a batch file that starts up the selenium-server java service (java -jar seleniumserver.jar) as a daemon. When I try to use a windows_batch resource, it causes chef to hang during it's provisioning.
The problem is that the selenium server stays running in whatever command line you start it in, but chef won't continue provisioning the machine until the command is finished. The thing is, the command never finishes, it's not supposed to.
Here's what I've tried so far:
Executing java -jar seleniumserver.jar & (with the windows_batch resource)
Using a template to create a batch file for the command, then using windows_batch to execute file.bat
Using windows_batch to execute the batchfile with an & (file.bat &)
I'm open to any ideas, even if it's kind of hacky. Thanks in advance!
If I understand the question correctly, you can start a separate process so the main batch file ends. For example:
start java -jar seleniumserver.jar
You can control several execution parameters through the different start options.
Ending command lines with & does not do the same as *nix.
async process on windows that doesn't block chef run
batch "run" do
code 'powershell -c "start-process notepad.exe"'
end
The following is an example of using start-process to start a command with arguments.
Try running the command by itself in the command prompt to familiarize yourself with its output.
net statistics server
Now run it using powershell and start-process in the command prompt and verify the correct output shows in c:\output.txt. Please pay careful attention to the use of single or double quotes. My experience says start-process won't work with double quotes for some reason.
powershell -c start-process net -ArgumentList 'statistics workstation' -RedirectStandardOutput c:\output.txt
Now put the following in a Chef execute resource and run it. Again, be aware of the single quotes, double quotes and escaped single quotes.
execute "run" do
command 'powershell -c "start-process net -ArgumentList \'statistics workstation\' -RedirectStandardOutput c:\chef-output.txt"'
end
You should find the correct output in c:\chef-output.txt.

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