5 PowerShell Commands Every Windows Administrator Should Know

5 PowerShell Commands Every Windows Administrator Should Know 

If you're working in Windows Administration or IT Support, PowerShell can save a lot of time by turning repetitive administrative tasks into simple commands.

Here are 5 PowerShell commands I'm currently practicing:

1. Get-Service

Check Windows services and their current status.

Get-Service

 

Useful when troubleshooting services that are stopped or not responding.

Get-Service -Name Spooler

Get-Service | Where-Object Name -eq "Spooler"

(Get-Service -Name Spooler).Status

2. Get-Process

View running processes and identify applications consuming system resources.

Get-Process

Useful for investigating CPU, memory, or application-related issues.

Get-Process -Name pwsh

3. Get-ComputerInfo

Retrieve detailed information about the Windows system.

Get-ComputerInfo

Useful for system inventory and troubleshooting.

4. Get-WinEvent

Query Windows Event Logs to investigate system and application issues.

Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 20

 

This is especially useful when troubleshooting unexpected errors, service failures, or system events.

5. Get-LocalUser

View local user accounts configured on a Windows machine.

Get-LocalUser

Useful for basic local account administration and auditing.

6. Get-PrinterDriver

Open Powershell or pwsh and to list all installed driver names on your system. 

PS C:\Windows\System32> Get-PrinterDriver

Name                                PrinterEnvironment MajorVersion    Manufacturer
----                                ------------------ ------------    ------------
Microsoft XPS Document Writer v4    Windows x64        4               Microsoft
Microsoft Software Printer Driver   Windows x64        4               Microsoft
Microsoft Print To PDF              Windows x64        4               Microsoft
Send To Microsoft OneNote 2010 Dri… Windows x64        3
Microsoft Shared Fax Driver         Windows x64        3               Microsoft
Microsoft enhanced Point and Print… Windows x64        3               Microsoft
Microsoft enhanced Point and Print… Windows NT x86     3               Microsoft

PS C:\Windows\System32>

💡 Why PowerShell?

For a Windows Administrator, PowerShell isn't just about knowing commands. It's about using automation and scripting to troubleshoot systems, manage users and services, collect information, and perform repetitive administrative tasks efficiently.