Use the PowerShell DISM Cmdlets to Manage Windows 8

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, discusses using the DISM module in Windows 8 to work with desktop settings.

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. The Scripting Wife and I are looking forward to the Central Ohio PowerShell User Group (COPUG) in Columbus, Ohio next week. We have not been back to Columbus since we were there for the first Windows PowerShell Saturday event. We both enjoy Columbus, and we are looking forward to spending some time with Wes Stahler and the other members of the group.

Playing around with the DISM module

One of the things in Windows 8 that I enjoy messing around with is the DISM module. Now, one might think that to use the DISM module requires advanced knowledge of Windows Imaging, XML, and various deployment technologies. To be sure, some or all of that level of specialization would come in handy, but I like the low hanging fruit of being able to get stuff. The secret of this approach lies in knowing that there is an Online switch.

Note   The DISM cmdlets require administrative rights.

Use the Online switch to access your system

One of the confusing things about cmdlets from the DISM module is that they all seem to want the path to a Windows image—and what that image is supposed to be is anyone’s guess. The secret to immediate productivity lies in knowing that I can use the Online switch to work with my current Windows 8 installation. By this, I mean that I can use Online and work directly with my laptop.

Note   This does not mean that I am limited to working only with my local computer. Even though there is no ComputerName parameter, I can place my DISM module cmdlets inside Invoke-Command, and then use Windows PowerShell remoting to run the commands on remote systems. This secret enables extremely powerful remote management scenarios.

Use Get-WindowsEdition

To identify which edition of Windows 8 I am running on my laptop, I use the Get-WindowsEdition cmdlet as shown here.

PS C:\> Get-WindowsEdition -Online

Edition : Professional

More information than just the edition returns from the cmdlet. To display the additional information I pipe the results to the Format-List cmdlet. This command is shown here (fl is an alias for the Format-List cmdlet).

PS C:\> Get-WindowsEdition -Online | fl *

Edition          : Professional

Path             :

Online           : True

WinPath          :

SysDrivePath     :

RestartNeeded    : False

LogPath          : C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log

ScratchDirectory :

LogLevel         : WarningsInfo

I can use dotted notation to access specific properties from EditionObject. For example, I can determine if I have a restart pending by retrieving the RestartNeeded property. This is shown here.

PS C:\> (Get-WindowsEdition -Online).restartneeded

False

After I know that, I can determine if the laptop requires a restart, and I can easily create a command to reboot the machine if a restart pends. The following code restarts the laptop if RestartNeeded returns True.

if((Get-WindowsEdition -Online).restartneeded) {Restart-Computer}

Use the Get-Command cmdlet to find DISM cmdlets

I like to use the Get-Command cmdlet to find all the cmdlets that are supplied by a module. To find the cmdlets exposed by the DISM module, I use the command shown here.

PS C:\> Get-Command -Module dism -CommandType cmdlet

CommandType     Name                                               ModuleName

-----------     ----                                               ----------

Cmdlet          Add-AppxProvisionedPackage                         Dism

Cmdlet          Add-WindowsDriver                                  Dism

Cmdlet          Add-WindowsPackage                                 Dism

Cmdlet          Clear-WindowsCorruptMountPoint                     Dism

Cmdlet          Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature                     Dism

Cmdlet          Dismount-WindowsImage                              Dism

Cmdlet          Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature                      Dism

Cmdlet          Get-AppxProvisionedPackage                         Dism

Cmdlet          Get-WindowsDriver                                  Dism

Cmdlet          Get-WindowsEdition                                 Dism

Cmdlet          Get-WindowsImage                                   Dism

Cmdlet          Get-WindowsOptionalFeature                         Dism

Cmdlet          Get-WindowsPackage                                 Dism

Cmdlet          Mount-WindowsImage                                 Dism

Cmdlet          Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage                      Dism

Cmdlet          Remove-WindowsDriver                               Dism

Cmdlet          Remove-WindowsPackage                              Dism

Cmdlet          Repair-WindowsImage                                Dism

Cmdlet          Save-WindowsImage                                  Dism

Cmdlet          Set-WindowsEdition                                 Dism

Cmdlet          Set-WindowsProductKey                              Dism

Cmdlet          Use-WindowsUnattend                                Dism

After I know the cmdlets provided by the DISM module, I can determine if I want to get information or if I want to set information. For now, I am exploring; therefore, I am more interested in getting information than in setting information.

Examining drivers in Windows 8

Drivers are always an issue. Good drivers make hardware sing, bad drivers are something of a challenge. When I find drivers that make my hardware work properly, I need to examine the other computers to ensure they are using the same version of the driver. One thing I often pay attention to are devices that are using the default Microsoft driver. At times this is a good thing (due to compatibility issues); but sometimes it indicates that I have simply not updated the system.

The following command lists the Microsoft drivers that are used on my laptop. If I do not use the All parameter, I receive information about default drivers. If I do not use the All parameter, only non-Microsoft drivers are listed.

Get-WindowsDriver -Online –all | where providername -match 'microsoft'

The command and associated output are shown in the image that follows.

One thing to pay attention to when working with these cmdlets is that unlike most cmdlets where “what you see is what you need to use,” the DISM team decided to break up the property names into different display names. A quick check of the Get-Member cmdlet reveals the property names required when working with these cmdlets.

PS C:\> Get-WindowsDriver -Online | gm -MemberType *property

   TypeName: Microsoft.Dism.Commands.BasicDriverObject

Name             MemberType     Definition

----             ----------     ----------

BootCritical     Property       bool BootCritical {get;set;}

Build            Property       uint32 Build {get;set;}

CatalogFile      Property       string CatalogFile {get;set;}

ClassDescription Property       string ClassDescription {get;set;}

ClassGuid        Property       string ClassGuid {get;set;}

ClassName        Property       string ClassName {get;set;}

Date             Property       datetime Date {get;set;}

Driver           Property       string Driver {get;set;}

DriverSignature  Property       Microsoft.Dism.Commands.DriverSignature DriverSig...

Inbox            Property       bool Inbox {get;set;}

LogLevel         Property       Microsoft.Dism.Commands.LogLevel LogLevel {get;set;}

LogPath          Property       string LogPath {get;set;}

MajorVersion     Property       uint32 MajorVersion {get;set;}

MinorVersion     Property       uint32 MinorVersion {get;set;}

Online           Property       bool Online {get;set;}

OriginalFileName Property       string OriginalFileName {get;set;}

Path             Property       string Path {get;set;}

ProviderName     Property       string ProviderName {get;set;}

RestartNeeded    Property       bool RestartNeeded {get;set;}

Revision         Property       uint32 Revision {get;set;}

ScratchDirectory Property       string ScratchDirectory {get;set;}

SysDrivePath     Property       string SysDrivePath {get;set;}

WinPath          Property       string WinPath {get;set;}

Version          ScriptProperty System.Object Version {get="{0}.{1}.{2}.{3}" -f $...

That is all there is to using cmdlets from the DISM module. Join me tomorrow when I will talk about more cool Windows PowerShell 3.0 stuff.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy