Question

How do I run a PowerShell script?

• I have a script named myscript.ps1
• I have all the necessary frameworks installed
• I set that execution policy thing
• I have followed the instructions on this MSDN help page
  and am trying to run it like so:
  powershell.exe 'C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1' (with or without --noexit)

which returns exactly nothing, except that the file name is output.

No error, no message, nothing. Oh, when I add -noexit, the same thing happens, but I remain within PowerShell and have to exit manually.

The .ps1 file is supposed to run a program and return the error level dependent on that program’s output. But I’m quite sure I’m not even getting there yet.

What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Prerequisites:

• You need to be able to run PowerShell as an administrator
• You need to set your PowerShell execution policy to a permissive value or be able to bypass it

Steps:

1. Launch Windows PowerShell as an Administrator, and wait for the PS> prompt to appear

2. Navigate within PowerShell to the directory where the script lives:

   PS> cd C:\my_path\yada_yada\ (enter)
   

3. Execute the script:

   PS> .\run_import_script.ps1 (enter)
   

Or: you can run the PowerShell script from the Command Prompt (cmd.exe) like this:

powershell -noexit "& ""C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1""" (enter)

according to Invoking a PowerShell script from cmd.exe (or Start | Run) by Kirk Munro.

Or you could even run your PowerShell script asynchronously from your C# application.