The best cmdlets for PowerShell

The Horse's Mouth

PowerShell in Windows 7 and 8

To display the existing recovery points for a system in PowerShell (Figure 4), launch PowerShell via the Welcome page, then click the tile above the context menu and run PowerShell as administrator. To see the system restore points, you need to enter the command Get-ComputerRestorePoint.

Figure 4: Managing recovery points in PowerShell.

Typing Restore-Computer <SequenceNumber> resets the computer at the time of the restore point specified in SequenceNumber . To discover this number, run Get-ComputerRestorePoint, after which, the wizard goes about its task without a prompt.

To create a recovery point in PowerShell, use:

Checkpoint-Computer -description <description>

However, you can only create one recovery point every 24 hours in this way. Later, you can manage the recovery point in the graphical interface, like all the others. Detailed help for the cmdlet is available on Microsoft TechNet [3] [4]. The PowerShell also lets you schedule the creation of system recovery points.

Managing Office 365 in PowerShell

Administrators can manage all editions of Office 365 in PowerShell, even without running local servers (Figure 5). Microsoft provides the required cmdlets for free [5], with additional help online [6].

Figure 5: Office 365 can also be managed in PowerShell.

To manage Office 365, follow the Microsoft Online Services Module for Windows PowerShell link in the Microsoft Online Services program group or load the appropriate cmdlets with import-module MSOnline. The Connect-MSOLService cmdlet connects the console to Office 365, and get-command *mso* gives an overview of the available commands. Settings such as the password expiration date can be made with the Set-MSOLUser cmdlet.

Infos

Test-ADDSDomainControllerInstallation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh974725.aspx
Test-ADDSReadOnlyDomainControllerAccountCreation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh974721
Checkpoint-Computer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849822.aspx
Restore-Computer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849845.aspx
Using Windows PowerShell to manage Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh125001.aspx
Windows PowerShell cmdlets for Office 365: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj151815.aspx

The Author

Thomas Joos is a freelance IT consultant and has been working in IT for more than 20 years. In addition to his projects, he also writes hands-on books and papers on Windows and other Microsoft topics. Online, you can meet him at http://thomasjoos.spaces.live.com.

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