Running a powershell script in the background | PowerShell | Page 1

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:20 PM

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without waiting for output etc...

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 3:33 PM

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Start-ThreadJob

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:40 PM

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mild dagger `Start-ThreadJob`

would that help with this?

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#powershell-help message

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 3:41 PM

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you can run whole script in it

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in a different thread

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:46 PM

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mild dagger in a different thread

how do I enable scripts?

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in 1 command

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with no user interaction

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:47 PM

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Start-Job or Start-ThreadJob are the only ways to run in the background.

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:48 PM

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there is no user interaction in the screenshot though

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there's progress...

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:48 PM

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Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned to enable scripts

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:48 PM

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but if you push it all into the background, and let PS end, it'll all be torn down

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:48 PM

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Or, make sure you start PowerShell with -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

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(or use "Unrestricted" in place of RemoteSigned)

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:49 PM

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also Start-ThreadJob : The term 'Start-ThreadJob' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:49 PM

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delicate kelp there's progress...

it stays like that forever

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:50 PM

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sure

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but putting it in the background is no fix for this

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you need to figure out why it stays, assuming you never get back control of the console

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:50 PM

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well id assume the startup script makes the setup wait

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:50 PM

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If you're on Windows PowerShell, Start-ThreadJob is in the Microsoft.PowerShell.ThreadJob module now, but you have to install it

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:50 PM

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so maybe making it be in the background

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then sleeping for the duration of the setup

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and then making it run would work

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:51 PM

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by magic?

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:51 PM

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There's nothing in that script that would sleep

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:51 PM

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putting what you have into the background is no solution for it hanging.

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:52 PM

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I mean, obviously Add-WindowsCapability can take some time ...

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But it wouldn't lock up forever

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:52 PM

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delicate kelp putting what you have into the background is no solution for it hanging.

if I sleep in the initial script

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windows doesn't setup as well

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...

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:52 PM

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I don't understand what you mean by that

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:52 PM

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graceful current But it wouldn't lock up forever

I gave it 3h to run

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and nothing happened ...

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its just like this

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:53 PM

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Right, so my point is ... it's getting locked up on something, and you need to add some lines like: Write-Host "I got as far as line 4" to it

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:53 PM

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for hours

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:53 PM

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so why do you think making it run in the background is a fix for this?

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is that triggered by autounattend or something?

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 3:54 PM

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it will only make it worse 😛

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harder to debug

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:54 PM

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I can't tell which thing is causing it to lock up

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:54 PM

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here is why I think it will work

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 3:55 PM

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I dont think its an issue with the script

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the code looks good

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:55 PM

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if I run it as is, it just doesn't work. if I run it after setup manually, it does.
Running this in the background:

#ps1
Start-Sleep -Seconds 900
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType 'Automatic'
if (!(Get-NetFirewallRule -Name ""OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Enabled)) {
    Write-Output ""Firewall Rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' does not exist, creating it...""
    New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
} else {
    Write-Output ""Firewall rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' has been created and exists.""
}
Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true

will wait for the setup to complete and then run the program, by that the two won't collide

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 3:55 PM

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I think its an issue with the server

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:55 PM

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split dock if I run it as is, it just doesn't work. if I run it after setup manually, it do...

No, it will not

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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wdym?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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I mean it will not wait for setup to complete then run the program

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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setup takes 800 seconds

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...

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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if you push it into the background it still runs immediately, you just don't see it

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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well the commands that get it stuck

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will run.,..

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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if you need to wait for setup to complete then you need to wait for setup to complete before starting your other stuff

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:56 PM

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lieka fter

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 3:57 PM

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What "Setup" are we talking about? Windows first-run stuff?

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Or some other script you're running?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:58 PM

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graceful current What "Setup" are we talking about? Windows first-run stuff?

like windows setting up

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 3:59 PM

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unattended installation of Windows?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 3:59 PM

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don't u need to setup unattended before in the iso file?

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its an rdp from a cloud provider

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 4:00 PM

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I'm not sure that's a description of a thing...

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how do you get that cmd.exe prompt while windows is still "Getting ready"?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:01 PM

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delicate kelp how do you get that cmd.exe prompt while windows is still "Getting ready"?

the cloudprovider has an option for an initial script

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how would I run this without user input?

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 4:02 PM

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I think I still dont understand whats the actual problem

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 4:02 PM

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Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Confirm:$false

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either that or -Force, cannot remember which

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:03 PM

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Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -scope Process -Force

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:03 PM

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I think -Force

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:03 PM

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works

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#ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -scope Process -Force
$cmd = "#ps1
Start-Sleep -Seconds 900
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType 'Automatic'
if (!(Get-NetFirewallRule -Name ""OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Enabled)) {
    Write-Output ""Firewall Rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' does not exist, creating it...""
    New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
} else {
    Write-Output ""Firewall rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' has been created and exists.""
}
Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true"

$cmd | Out-File -FilePath script.ps1
Start-Job -FilePath .\script.ps1

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:03 PM

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If you do -Scope Process you probably don't need force

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But it won't stick

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:03 PM

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will the start job run this as admin?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 4:04 PM

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it's probably already elevated since DISM isn't kicking you out right away; but since you don't disclose what cloud provider or how the original process is started it's not possible to definitively say

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moving it into start job will certainly "work" in the sense that it will start a job

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:05 PM

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If you're elevated, it is

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 4:05 PM

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it won't magically fix anything else though

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:06 PM

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ig we will find out in 1000 seconds

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lol

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:06 PM

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Actually

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Maybe that's not true 😕

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:06 PM

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wdym?

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:07 PM

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Oh, nothing. Just not sure about the elevation

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But it turned out my check was a typo

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 4:10 PM

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jobs run with the same permission as the parent process

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 4:10 PM

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Unless you remote

mild dagger Oct 9, 2022, 4:12 PM

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yeah thats always elevated

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was talking about Start-Job and Start-ThreadJob

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:12 PM

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graceful current Oh, nothing. Just not sure about the elevation

I am

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made it send webhooks so I know if something failed and where

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not the best way to do it but yeah lol

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 4:56 PM

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it seems like it never runs the
Start-Job -FilePath .\script.ps1

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any idea on why that would happen?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 4:56 PM

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do you feel like you're going in circles yet?

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Start-Job will start a job... but if the process that started it ends, so does the job

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:00 PM

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delicate kelp do you feel like you're going in circles yet?

yAP

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:00 PM

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delicate kelp `Start-Job` will start a job... but if the process that started it ends, so does...

how would I get around it hten?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 5:00 PM

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change when you run the script in the first place

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:01 PM

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wdym?

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#ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -scope Process -Force
$cmd = "#ps1
Start-Sleep -Seconds 900
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType 'Automatic'
if (!(Get-NetFirewallRule -Name ""OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Enabled)) {
    Write-Output ""Firewall Rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' does not exist, creating it...""
    New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
} else {
    Write-Output ""Firewall rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' has been created and exists.""
}
Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true"

$cmd | Out-File -FilePath script.ps1
Start-Job -FilePath .\script.ps1

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what should I change in here?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 5:01 PM

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something so it runs after setup is finished rather than during

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:03 PM

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@delicate kelp https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19535493/keep-a-job-running-even-after-shell-window-has-been-closed

Stack Overflow

Keep a job running even after shell window has been closed

I'm writing a simple PS script to start or stop all my VM's hosted in Azure. Doing this sequentially takes forever, so I made this into a Job (i.e. each Start/Stop of the VM is a separate job).

N...

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u think that would work?

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 5:03 PM

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no, not really

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not because the idea won't work, but because the problem and running context isn't very well defined

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:04 PM

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ehhhhhhhhh

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do u know of any commands that will keep the process alive after the main program is finished?

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@delicate kelp does Start-Thread keep running after main program has finished?

ancient crater Oct 9, 2022, 5:09 PM

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so much assumptions while little to no understanding...

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:10 PM

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ik im a noobie

ancient crater Oct 9, 2022, 5:11 PM

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stop assuming, process what is being said. Don't ask leading questions.

delicate kelp Oct 9, 2022, 5:12 PM

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split dock <@285114661085642762> does Start-Thread keep running after main program has fini...

No, it does not

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you need to do this another way

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:24 PM

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the way to keep it running is to run powershell ....

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😉

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:38 PM

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graceful current the way to keep it running is to run `powershell ....`

wha

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wdym

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do I just compile a py script with a subprocess to do this ;-;

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💀

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and wget and run

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:42 PM

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uh

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you don't need to run python

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you can run powershell

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The point is, if you want it to stay running, you need to leave it running

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If your problem is that your whole script is just Start-Job ...
Then pass that to Wait-Job

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You can't just put it on a background thread and then exit

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because exiting kills the background

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:49 PM

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well waiting stops it and the setup

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:50 PM

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Are you running two jobs?

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Is the setup in PowerShell?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:51 PM

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graceful current Are you running _two_ jobs?

nope

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:52 PM

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OK, let me ask a different way: how does waiting stop the setup?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:53 PM

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#ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -scope Process -Force
$cmd = "#ps1
Start-Sleep -Seconds 900
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType 'Automatic'
if (!(Get-NetFirewallRule -Name ""OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Enabled)) {
    Write-Output ""Firewall Rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' does not exist, creating it...""
    New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
} else {
    Write-Output ""Firewall rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' has been created and exists.""
}

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true
"

$cmd | Out-File -FilePath script.ps1
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
Start-Job -FilePath .\script.ps1
Wait-Job -Id 1

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its just an initial script that starts like 5m into the rdp setup

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:54 PM

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Can you not put this into Packer or DSC or whatever you use to initialize the box?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:54 PM

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nope

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its stupid

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I would've just made a complete screenshot of what I need and load it on each server

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:54 PM

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Seems like your only option would be to create a scheduled task to run it in then

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:54 PM

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how do I do that?

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im a full on windows noob

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:55 PM

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That way, you can schedule it to run "later"

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I mean, that ... or figure out what's actually causing the hang up

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:55 PM

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seems like its the

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Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0

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that its getting stuck on

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:56 PM

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It makes sense that if other feature installs are running, that would cause problems

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Well, since it sounds like you're in Windows PowerShell, you can just use Register-ScheduledJob

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https://devblogs.microsoft.com/scripting/introduction-to-powershell-scheduled-jobs/

Scripting Blog

Introduction to PowerShell Scheduled Jobs

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, introduces the Windows PowerShell scheduled job feature. Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. In all the hubbub about all the great features introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0, one (actually more than one) feature was somewhat overlooked.

ancient crater Oct 9, 2022, 5:57 PM

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This is a Windows 10 vm right?

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 5:58 PM

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yes

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:59 PM

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$Later = New-JobTrigger -Once -At ([DateTime]::Now.AddMinutes(5))

ancient crater Oct 9, 2022, 5:59 PM

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How is this script being fed to the machine?

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 5:59 PM

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Register-ScheduledJob -Name AddOpenSSH -Trigger $later -ScriptBlock { ... }

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and shove your $cmd into the scriptblock

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 6:00 PM

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#ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -scope Process -Force
$cmd = {
Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like 'OpenSSH*'
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType 'Automatic'
if (!(Get-NetFirewallRule -Name "OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Enabled)) {
    Write-Output "Firewall Rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' does not exist, creating it..."
    New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22
} else {
    Write-Output "Firewall rule 'OpenSSH-Server-In-TCP' has been created and exists."
}

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true
}
$Later = New-JobTrigger -Once -At ([DateTime]::Now.AddMinutes(10))
Register-ScheduledJob -Name AddOpenSSH -Trigger $later -ScriptBlock $cmd

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?

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 6:01 PM

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no ... the code in your $cmd should be inside the { } instead

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I do feel like it would be better to tack this on to the end of whatever other setup is running ... rather than hoping for luck with the timing.

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This is definitely something we would do with DSC.

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If you do $cmd = { .. }
Then do -ScriptBlock $cmd

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 6:02 PM

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like this?

graceful current Oct 9, 2022, 6:02 PM

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yeah

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I would just move the code to the bottom, and loose the $cmd variable, but that should do the trick

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At the very least, now you can "get" the results of the job later

split dock Oct 9, 2022, 9:47 PM

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Hmm for some reason the script fails

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Like as itself

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But the task works fine

graceful current Oct 10, 2022, 2:36 AM

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I don't follow

split dock Oct 10, 2022, 7:52 AM

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could the script maybe not start because im not connected to the rdp?

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and its considered to be on idle or something?

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seems like the job was never there

#Running a powershell script in the background