Invoke-WmiMethod

Syntax

Invoke-WmiMethod
      [-Class] <String>
      [-Name] <String>
      [-ArgumentList <Object[]>]
      [-AsJob]
      [-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>]
      [-Authentication <AuthenticationLevel>]
      [-Locale <String>]
      [-EnableAllPrivileges]
      [-Authority <String>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-ComputerName <String[]>]
      [-Namespace <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WmiMethod
      -InputObject <ManagementObject>
      [-Name] <String>
      [-ArgumentList <Object[]>]
      [-AsJob]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WmiMethod
      -Path <String>
      [-Name] <String>
      [-ArgumentList <Object[]>]
      [-AsJob]
      [-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>]
      [-Authentication <AuthenticationLevel>]
      [-Locale <String>]
      [-EnableAllPrivileges]
      [-Authority <String>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-ComputerName <String[]>]
      [-Namespace <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WmiMethod
      [-Name] <String>
      [-AsJob]
      [-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>]
      [-Authentication <AuthenticationLevel>]
      [-Locale <String>]
      [-EnableAllPrivileges]
      [-Authority <String>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-ComputerName <String[]>]
      [-Namespace <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WmiMethod
      [-Name] <String>
      [-AsJob]
      [-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>]
      [-Authentication <AuthenticationLevel>]
      [-Locale <String>]
      [-EnableAllPrivileges]
      [-Authority <String>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-ComputerName <String[]>]
      [-Namespace <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WmiMethod
      [-Name] <String>
      [-AsJob]
      [-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>]
      [-Authentication <AuthenticationLevel>]
      [-Locale <String>]
      [-EnableAllPrivileges]
      [-Authority <String>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
      [-ComputerName <String[]>]
      [-Namespace <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Invoke-WmiMethod cmdlet calls the methods of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) objects.

New Common Information Model (CIM) cmdlets, introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0, perform the same tasks as the WMI cmdlets. The CIM cmdlets comply with WS-Management (WSMan) standards and with the CIM standard, which enables the cmdlets to use the same techniques to manage Windows computers and those running other operating systems. Instead of using Invoke-WmiMethod, consider using Invoke-CimMethod.

Examples

Example 1: List the required order of WMI method parameters

This command lists the required order of the objects.

Get-WmiObject Win32_Volume |
    Get-Member -MemberType Method -Name Format |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition

System.Management.ManagementBaseObject Format(System.String FileSystem, System.Boolean QuickFormat,
 System.UInt32 ClusterSize, System.String Label, System.Boolean EnableCompression,
 System.UInt32 Version)

To invoke WMI in PowerShell 3.0 differs from alternate methods, and requires that object values are entered in a specific order.

Example 2: Start an instance of an application

([Wmiclass]'Win32_Process').Create.OverloadDefinitions

System.Management.ManagementBaseObject Create(System.String CommandLine, System.String CurrentDirectory,
 System.Management.ManagementObject#Win32_ProcessStartup ProcessStartupInformation)

Invoke-WmiMethod -Path Win32_Process -Name Create -ArgumentList C:\Windows\system32\notepad.exe

__GENUS          : 2
__CLASS          : __PARAMETERS
__SUPERCLASS     :
__DYNASTY        : __PARAMETERS
__RELPATH        :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 2
__DERIVATION     : {}
__SERVER         :
__NAMESPACE      :
__PATH           :
ProcessId        : 11312
ReturnValue      : 0
PSComputerName   :

This command starts an instance of Notepad by calling the Create method of the Win32_Process class.

The ReturnValue property is populated with a 0, and the ProcessId property is populated with an integer (the next process ID number) if the command is completed.

Example 3: Rename a file

$invokeWmiMethodSplat = @{
    Path = "CIM_DataFile.Name='C:\scripts\test.txt'"
    Name = 'Rename'
    ArgumentList = 'C:\scripts\test_bu.txt'
}
Invoke-WmiMethod @invokeWmiMethodSplat

__GENUS          : 2
__CLASS          : __PARAMETERS
__SUPERCLASS     :
__DYNASTY        : __PARAMETERS
__RELPATH        :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 1
__DERIVATION     : {}
__SERVER         :
__NAMESPACE      :
__PATH           :
ReturnValue      : 0

This command renames a file. It uses the Path parameter to reference an instance of the CIM_DataFile class. Then, it applies the Rename method to that particular instance.

The ReturnValue property is populated with a 0 if the command is completed.

Example 4: Passing an array of values using `-ArgumentList`

An example using an array of objects $binSD followed by a $null value.

$acl = Get-Acl test.txt
$binSD = $acl.GetSecurityDescriptorBinaryForm()
$invokeWmiMethodSplat = @{
    Class = 'Win32_SecurityDescriptorHelper'
    Name = 'BinarySDToSDDL'
    ArgumentList = $binSD, $null
}
Invoke-WmiMethod @invokeWmiMethodSplat

Parameters

-ArgumentList

-AsJob

-Authentication

-Authority

-Class

-ComputerName

-Confirm

-Credential

-EnableAllPrivileges

-Impersonation

-InputObject

-Locale

-Name

-Namespace

-Path

-ThrottleLimit

-WhatIf

Inputs

None

This cmdlet does not accept any input.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for Invoke-WmiMethod:

• iwmi

Related Links

• Get-WSManInstance
• Invoke-WSManAction
• New-WSManInstance
• Remove-WSManInstance
• Get-WmiObject
• Remove-WmiObject
• Set-WmiInstance