Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide

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Introduction xxvii PART I: SCRIPTING CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Windows Script Technologies 3 CHAPTER 2 VBScript Primer 15 VBScript Overview 17 Working with Objects 18 Connecting to Objects 19 Creating an Object Reference 20 Calling Methods 21 Retrieving Properties 22 Variables 23 Constants 25 Strings 26 Strings as Variables 27 Concatenating Strings 29 Collections 30 For Each 31 Collections with Zero Items 33 Looping 34 For Next 34 Making Decisions 37 Taking Multiple Actions by Using If Then Else 38 Arrays 39 Input 41 Error Handling 43 Using the Err Object 43 Clearing Errors 46 VBScript Reference 47 Working with Variables 49 Initializing Variables 51 Using Constants 53 Defining Constants 54 Using Intrinsic Constants 54 VBScript Data Types 56 Working with Dates and Times 59 Retrieving Current Date and Time Values 60 Verifying That a Value Is a Date 61 Retrieving Specific Portions of a Date and Time Value 62 Date Arithmetic 68 Formatting Date and Time Values 70 Working with Strings 73 Manipulating Strings and String Lengths 74 Searching for Text in a String 79 Modifying String Case 81 Working with Numbers 82 Arithmetic Precedence 82 Formatting Numbers 84 Formatting Percentages 86 Running Statements Multiple Times 87 Do Loop 88 Checking the Loop Condition 89 Exiting a Loop 90 Making Decisions 92 Testing Multiple Conditions 92 If Then ElseIf 93 Select Case 96 Arrays 97 Creating Arrays 98 Creating Dynamic Arrays 100 Converting a Delimited String to an Array 101 Alternatives to Using Arrays 103 Error Handling 104 Handling Run-Time Errors 106 Toggling Error Handling 108 Handling Errors in COM Objects 110 Procedures 111 Calling a Procedure 112 Functions 114 Recursion 120 COM Objects 121 The COM Process 122 Binding 124 Choosing a Method for Binding to an Automation Object 124 Verifying Object References 126 Unloading Objects from Memory 127 CHAPTER 3 WSH Primer 129 WSH Overview 130 WSH Architecture 134 Components of the WSH Environment 135 How the Components of the WSH Environment Work Together 139 WSH Object Model 140 Running WSH Scripts 140 Running Scripts from the Command Line 142 Scheduling the Running of Scripts 146 Other Methods of Running Scripts 146 WSH Objects 147 WScript Object 148 Using COM Objects 150 Handling Input and Output 154 Working with Command-Line Arguments 162 Controlling How a Script Runs 176 Obtaining WSH Environment Information 179 Handling Events 181 WshShell Object 181 Running Programs 183 Working with Shortcuts 191 Working with Special Folders 195 Environment Variables 197 Logging an Event 201 Reading From and Writing to the Local Registry 203 Sending Keystrokes to a Program 206 Retrieving and Changing a Script s Current Working Directory 211 Displaying Timed Message Boxes 212 WshNetwork Object 219 Managing Network Drives 221 Managing Network Printers 224 Obtaining User and Computer Information 226 WshController Object 227 Running Scripts on Remote Computers 230 Monitoring Status of Remotely Running Scripts 231 Examining Errors Produced by Remotely Running Scripts 232 Limitations of Remote WSH 234 Securing Scripts 234 Digitally Signing Scripts 235 Enforcing the Use of Signed Scripts 236 Programmatically Signing a Script 237 Programmatically Verifying a Signed Script 237 Restricting the Ability to Run Scripts 238 Disabling Windows Script Host 239 CHAPTER 4 Script Runtime Primer 241 Script Runtime Overview 242 FileSystemObject 243 Managing Disk Drives 243 Returning a Collection of Disk Drives 244 Binding to a Specific Disk Drive 245 Enumerating Disk Drive Properties 245 Ensuring That a Drive is Ready 248 Managing Folders 249 Binding to a Folder 249 Verifying That a Folder Exists 250 Creating a Folder 250 Deleting a Folder 251 Copying a Folder and Its Contents 252 Moving a Folder and Its Contents 254 Renaming a Folder 255 Using Folder Properties 256 Enumerating Folder Properties 257 Managing Folder Attributes 258 Changing Folder Attributes 261 Enumerating the Files in a Folder 262 Enumerating Subfolders 263 Managing Files 266 Binding to a File 266 Verifying That a File Exists 267 Deleting a File 268 Copying a File 270 Moving a File 272 Renaming a File 272 Retrieving File Properties 273 Enumerating File Attributes 275 Configuring File Attributes 276 Parsing File Paths 277 Retrieving the File Version 279 Reading and Writing Text Files 280 Reading Text Files 285 Writing to Text Files 292 Dictionary Object 296 Creating a Dictionary 296 Configuring Dictionary Properties 297 Adding Key-Item Pairs to a Dictionary 298 Manipulating Keys and Items in a Dictionary 299 Determining the Number of Key-Item Pairs in a Dictionary 299 Enumerating Keys and Items in a Dictionary 300 Verifying the Existence of a Specific Key 301 Modifying an Item in a Dictionary 302 Removing Key-Item Pairs from a Dictionary 303 CHAPTER 5 ADSI Scripting Primer 307 ADSI Overview 308 ADSI Scripting Fundamentals 309 Primary ADSI Scripting Tasks 310 Creating Directory Service Objects 310 Modifying Directory Service Objects 313 Reading Attributes of Directory Service Objects 315 Deleting Directory Service Objects 317 Comparing the Primary Scripting Tasks 319 Building ADSI Scripts 320 Step 1: Establishing a Connection 320 Step 2: Performing a Task 326 Step 3: Committing to Active Directory 331 Performing Multiple Scripting Tasks 332 Advanced ADSI Scripting Operations 336 Administering Multivalued Attributes 336 Modifying Multivalued Attributes 336 Reading Multivalued Attributes 344 Data Caching 346 Making Explicit Calls by Using the GetInfo Method 347 Making Explicit Calls by Using the GetInfoEx Method 348 Copying, Moving, and Renaming Objects 350 Copying Objects 350 Moving and Renaming Objects 354 Searching 358 Searching Active Directory 359 Optimizing Search Performance 378 Performing an Administrative Task Using a Result Set 382 Enumerating Active Directory Objects in Containers 386 Scripting Container Enumeration 386 Root Directory Service Entry 390 Scripting with rootDSE 391 Active Directory Architecture 393 Physical Architecture 393 Logical Structure 394 Classes and Attributes 395 Active Directory Replication and Indexing 406 Operational Attributes 412 ADSI Architecture 414 ADSI Layers 416 ADSI Interfaces 421 CHAPTER 6 WMI Scripting Primer 429 WMI Overview 431 WMI Architecture 436 Managed Resources 438 WMI Infrastructure 439 WMI Consumers 445 WMI Security 445 WMI Namespace-Level Security 446 DCOM Security 447 Standard Windows Operating System Security 448 Common Information Model 448 Blueprint for Management 451 Namespaces 452 Class Categories 460 CIM Class Types 465 Components of a Class 468 Exploring the CIM Repository 481 WMI Scripting Library 482 WMI Scripting Library Object Model 482 SWbemLocator 486 SWbemServices 488 Writing WMI Scripts 494 Connecting to WMI Using the WMI Moniker 495 The "WinMgmts:" Prefix 496 WMI Security Settings 497 Using WMI Object Paths 503 Retrieving Managed Resources Using WMI Query Language 505 Returning All Properties of All Instances of a Class 507 Returning Selected Properties of All Instances of a Class 508 Returning All Properties of Selected Instances of a Class 509 Creating Targeted Queries Using AND or OR 514 Returning Selected Properties of Selected Instances of a Class 514 Creating Faster Queries by Using a Forward-only Enumerator 515 Working with Dates and Times 517 Converting WMI Dates to a Standard Date-Time Format 519 Converting a Standard Date to a WMI Date-Time Format 521 Creating Scripts Based on WMI Templates 525 Retrieving and Displaying Properties of a Managed Resource 525 Retrieving and Displaying All Properties of a Managed Resource 526 Writing Resource Properties 527 Calling Methods 529 Creating Resources 530 Deleting Resources 531 Monitoring Resources by Using WMI Event Notifications 532 Three Steps in a WMI Monitoring Script 535 How WMI Event Notification Works 538 Enhanced WMI Monitoring Scripts 541 PART II: SCRIPTING SOLUTIONS FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION 547 CHAPTER 7 Active Directory Users 549 User Account Overview 551 Active Directory User Accounts 552 Active Directory User Account Objects 552 User Account Types 552 Identification Attributes 553 Creating User Accounts 555 Configuring User Account Passwords 558 Setting User Account Passwords 559 Changing User Account Passwords 560 Reading User Account Password Attributes 561 Displaying Password Attributes Accessible from userAccountControl 563 Determining When a Password Was Last Set 564 Configuring User Account Password Attributes 565 Changing Flags in the userAccountControl Attribute 565 Configuring a Password Change at Next Logon Requirement 566 Managing User Accounts 567 Enabling or Disabling a User Account 568 Determining Whether an Account Is Enabled or Disabled 569 Reading and Writing User Account Attributes 570 Reading Attributes 573 Writing Values to the Attributes 576 Modifying a Multivalued Attribute 577 Clearing Attributes 580 Copying, Moving, and Renaming User Accounts 581 Copying User Accounts 581 Moving and Renaming User Accounts 584 Deleting User Accounts 588 Searching Active Directory for User Accounts 589 Searching for an Attribute in a Container 593 Limiting a Search for an Attribute in a Container to User Account Types 596 Searching for a User Account Attribute in a Container and Its Subcontainers 598 Verifying That an Attribute Is Unique in the Forest 600 Searching for Empty Attribute Values 601 Using Wildcards in Search Filters 606 Searching for Multivalued Attributes 608 Sorting the Result Set 610 Modifying Multiple User Accounts by Using the Result Set from a Search 611 Managing User Accounts by Enumeration 613 Limiting Enumeration with Filters and Hints 614 CHAPTER 8 Computer Assets 617 Computer Assets Overview 618 Retrieving System Information 619 Retrieving BIOS Information 623 Retrieving Information About the BIOS 623 Retrieving Identifying Information by Using the SMBIOS 628 Inventorying Computer Hardware 629 Taking Inventory of Computer Hardware 632 Identifying the Chassis Type of a Computer 634 Managing Operating Systems 637 Identifying the Name and Version Number of the Operating System 637 Retrieving the Properties of the Operating System 639 Identifying the Latest Installed Service Pack 643 Enumerating Installed Hot Fixes 645 Managing WMI Settings 646 Enumerating WMI Settings 649 Configuring WMI Settings 651 Managing Software 653 Enumerating Software 654 Enumerating Installed Software 655 Enumerating Installed Software Features 658 Installing, Upgrading, and Removing Software 659 Installing Software on the Local Computer 660 Installing Software on a Remote Computer 662 Upgrading Software 664 Removing Software 666 Managing Computer States 667 Managing Computer Startups 667 Enumerating Computer Startup Options 668 Configuring Computer Startup Options 670 Enumerating Computer Startup Commands 673 Managing Computer Recovery Options 675 Enumerating Computer Recovery Options 677 Configuring Computer Recovery Options 679 Querying the Event Log for Stop Events 680 Shutting Down Computers and Logging Off Users 682 Shutting Down a Computer 684 Restarting a Computer 685 Monitoring Changes in Computer Power Status 686 CHAPTER 9 Computer Roles 689 Computer Roles Overview 690 Managing Computer Accounts 690 Retrieving Basic Logon and Computer Information 693 Creating Computer Accounts 694 Deleting Computer Accounts 698 Deleting Specified Computer Accounts 699 Modifying Computer Accounts 701 Enumerating Computer Account Attributes 701 Configuring the Computer Account Location Attribute 703 Renaming Computer Accounts 704 Moving Computer Accounts 705 Resetting Computer Account Passwords 706 Searching for Computer Accounts in Active Directory 707 Enumerating All the Computer Accounts in Active Directory 709 Locating Computer Accounts Based on Their Attributes 710 Managing Computer Roles 712 Identifying Computer Roles 713 Identifying the Role of a Computer Based on the Service It Provides 715 Identifying Active Directory Specific Roles 716 Enumerating Domain Controllers 716 Identifying the Current Domain Controller for a Computer 718 Identifying Operations Master Roles 719 Identifying Global Catalog Servers 722 Enabling or Disabling Global Catalog Servers 723 CHAPTER 10 Disks and File Systems 725 Disks and File Systems Overview 726 Managing and Monitoring Disk Drives 726 Managing Disk Partitions 730 Managing Logical Disk Drives 733 Identifying Drives and Drive Types 735 Changing Logical Disk Volume Names 737 Managing Disk Space 738 Enumerating Disk Space on a Computer 738 Enumerating Disk Space by User 739 Monitoring Free Disk Space in Real-Time 740 Managing Disk Quotas 742 Managing Disk Quotas on the NTFS File System 742 Enumerating Disk Quota Settings 744 Enabling and Disabling Disk Quotas 745 Configuring Default Disk Quota Settings 746 Managing Disk Quotas for Individual Users 748 Enumerating Disk Quotas 748 Adding a New Disk Quota Entry 750 Modifying a Disk Quota Entry 752 Deleting a Disk Quota Entry 752 Managing File Systems 754 Identifying the File System Type 754 Enumerating NTFS Properties 755 Modifying NTFS Properties 760 Managing Page Files 762 Monitoring Page File Use 764 Configuring Page File Properties 765 CHAPTER 11 Files and Folders 767 Files and Folders Overview 768 Managing Files and Folders Using WMI 768 Comparing WMI and the FileSystemObject 769 Managing Files and Folders Using the Windows Shell Object 773 Folders and Folder Objects 775 Enumerating Folders and Folder Properties 778 Enumerating All the Folders on a Computer 780 Enumerating the Subfolders of a Folder 781 Enumerating a Specific Set of Folders 783 Enumerating Folders by Date 784 Enumerating Special Folders 787 Enumerating the Items in a Special Folder 790 Binding to a Folder by Using the Browse For Folder Dialog Box 791 Managing Folders 794 Renaming Folders 794 Moving Folders by Using the Rename Method 795 Copying Folders by Using WMI 796 Copying Folders by Using the Shell Folder Object 797 Moving Folders by Using the Shell Folder Object 800 Deleting Folders 801 Compressing and Uncompressing Folders 802 Files and File Objects 804 Enumerating Files and File Properties 804 Retrieving Extended File Properties 806 Enumerating All the Files on a Computer 809 Using an Asynchronous Query to Enumerate All the Files on a Computer 810 Enumerating All the Files in a Folder 811 Enumerating a Specific Set of Files 812 Managing Files 813 Renaming Files 813 Changing File Name Extensions 814 Copying Files 816 Deleting Files 817 Performing Actions on Files 818 Identifying Shell Object Verbs 820 Monitoring the File System 821 Monitoring File Creation 821 Monitoring File Deletion 822 Monitoring File Modification 824 Managing Shared Folders 825 Enumerating Shared Folders 826 Creating Shared Folders 828 Mapping Shared Folders to Local Folders 830 Deleting Shared Folders 832 Modifying Shared Folder Properties 833 Publishing Shared Folders in Active Directory 834 Managing Published Folders 836 Enumerating Published Folders 836 Searching for Published Folders in Active Directory 838 Deleting a Published Folder in Active Directory 839 CHAPTER 12 Logs 841 Logs Overview 842 Managing Logs 842 Managing Event Logs 844 Retrieving Event Log Properties 845 Configuring Event Log Properties 850 Backing Up and Clearing Event Logs 852 Creating Unique File Names When Backing Up Event Logs 856 Querying Event Logs 857 Querying a Specific Event Log 861 Querying an Event Log for a Subset of Events 862 Retrieving Event Log Records from a Specified Day 863 Asynchronously Retrieving Event Log Statistics 865 Copying Events to a Database 867 Writing Events to Event Logs 870 Writing to Event Logs 871 Creating Detailed Event Log Entry Descriptions 872 Creating Custom Event Logs 874 Managing Plain-Text Logs 876 Parsing Comma-Separated-Values Logs 877 Parsing Fixed-Width Logs 879 CHAPTER 13 Printing 881 Printing Overview 882 Monitoring Printers, Print Queues, and Print Jobs 885 Monitoring Printers 885 Monitoring Printer Status 887 Monitoring Printer Status in Real Time 888 Filtering Printer Status Displays 892 Monitoring Printer Status by Using a Temporary Event Subscription 893 Verifying the Status of the Print Service 896 Monitoring Printer Workloads 897 Reporting Print Queue Statistics 897 Monitoring Print Jobs 899 Monitoring Print Job Status 903 Monitoring the Time Print Jobs Spend in a Print Queue 905 Managing Printer Operations, Print Queues, and Print Jobs 906 Managing Printer Operations 906 Enumerating Printers and Print Capabilities 910 Pausing Printers 912 Resuming Printers 913 Managing Print Queues 913 Purging Print Queues 914 Managing Print Jobs 914 Pausing Print Jobs 915 Resuming Print Jobs 916 Configuring Printers and Print Jobs 917 Configuring Printer Properties 917 Configuring Printer Availability 918 Tracking Printer Locations 919 Enabling Printer Location Tracking 920 Configuring Printer Locations 921 Configuring Print Jobs 923 Configuring Print Job Properties 924 Managing Printer Connections on Client Computers 926 Enumerating Printer Connections 927 Adding and Deleting Printer Connections 928 Adding a Printer Connection by Using WSH 929 Removing a Printer Connection 930 Searching for Printers in Active Directory 930 Enumerating All the Published Printers in a Domain 931 Searching for Specific Printers in a Domain 932 CHAPTER 14 Processes 937 Processes Overview 938 Managing Processes 939 Monitoring Processes 941 Monitoring Processes for Availability 942 Monitoring Processes for Reliability 943 Monitoring Processes for Performance 945 Displaying Current Process Performance Data 950 Enumerating Additional Process Properties 954 Determining Process Owners 955 Monitoring Threads 956 Creating and Terminating Processes 959 Creating Processes 959 Modifying Process Startup Options 961 Terminating Processes 965 CHAPTER 15 Services 969 Services Overview 971 Monitoring Services 973 Monitoring Service Availability 974 Monitoring Service Reliability 976 Retrieving Service Properties 978 Enumerating Service Properties 980 Identifying the Services Running in a Process 983 Changing Service State 987 Determining Which Services Can Be Stopped or Paused 989 Stopping or Pausing Services 990 Starting or Resuming Services 991 Enumerating Dependent and Antecedent Services 993 Enumerating Dependent Services 994 Enumerating Antecedent Services 997 Stopping and Starting Dependent Services 998 Configuring Services 1001 Configuring Service Start Options 1003 Configuring Error Control Codes for Autostart Services 1004 Managing Service Accounts and Service Account Passwords 1006 Configuring Service Accounts 1007 Configuring Service Account Passwords 1009 Installing and Removing Services 1010 Installing Services 1011 Removing Services 1013 CHAPTER 16 Registry 1015 Registry Overview 1016 Managing the Registry 1024 Backing Up the Registry 1025 Reading Entry Values and Types 1026 Reading String-valued and DWORD-valued Entries 1027 Reading a Multistring-valued Entry 1029 Reading an Expanded String-valued Entry 1030 Reading a Binary-valued Entry 1031 Changing String-valued and DWORD-valued Entries 1033 Creating Registry Subkeys and Entries 1035 Creating a Subkey 1035 Creating String-valued and DWORD-valued Entries 1036 Creating Multistring-valued Entries 1038 Creating Expanded String-valued Entries 1040 Enumerating Keys, Subkeys, and Entries 1041 Enumerating Subkeys of a Key or Subkey 1042 Enumerating Entry Names, Values, and Data Types 1043 Deleting Subkeys and Entries 1045 Deleting Registry Entries 1045 Deleting a Registry Subkey 1046 Checking Registry Subkey Access Rights 1047 Monitoring the Registry 1050 Monitoring Subtree-Level Events 1050 Monitoring Subkey-Level Events 1052 Monitoring Entry-Level Events 1053 PART III: SCRIPTING FOR THE ENTERPRISE 1055 CHAPTER 17 Creating Enterprise Scripts 1057 Enterprise Scripts Overview 1059 Retrieving Arguments 1060 Retrieving Arguments from a Text File 1061 Using a Text File as a Command-Line Argument 1064 Retrieving Arguments from a Database 1067 Retrieving Arguments from an Active Directory Container 1070 Displaying Output 1072 Displaying Tabular Script Output in a Command Window 1073 Displaying Data by Using Internet Explorer 1077 Displaying Data in a Web Page 1081 Stopping a Script When Internet Explorer Is Closed 1085 Working with HTML Applications 1087 Displaying Script Output by Using the Tabular Data Control 1092 Sorting Data by Using the Tabular Data Control 1095 Filtering Data by Using the Tabular Data Control 1099 Sorting Data by Using a Disconnected Recordset 1101 Working with Databases 1103 Connecting to a Database 1105 Adding New Records to a Database 1107 Finding Records in a Recordset 1109 Updating Records in a Database 1112 Deleting Selected Records from a Database 1114 Deleting All Records in a Database Table 1116 Masking Passwords 1117 Masking Passwords by Using Internet Explorer 1118 Sending E-Mail 1120 Sending E-Mail from a Script 1122 Sending E-Mail Without Installing the SMTP Service 1123 Tracking Script Progress 1125 Tracking Script Progress by Using Internet Explorer 1126 Tracking Dynamic Script Progress by Using Internet Explorer 1128 Tracking Script Progress in a Command Window 1133 Managing Scheduled Tasks 1135 Enumerating Scheduled Tasks 1137 Creating Scheduled Tasks 1140 Deleting Scheduled Tasks 1144 CHAPTER 18 Scripting Guidelines 1147 Overview of Scripting Guidelines 1148 Using Naming Conventions 1148 Naming Scripts 1149 Naming Variables 1151 Naming Constants 1156 Naming Functions and Procedures 1156 Constructing Scripts 1157 Choosing a Script Construction 1158 Creating a Script Template 1160 Using Functions and Procedures 1161 Formatting Code 1164 Using White Space 1164 Setting Statement Breaks 1168 Creating Scripts That Are Easier to Read 1170 Commenting Scripts 1175 Adding Comments to a Script 1178 Formatting Comments 1179 Creating Script Headers 1179 Creating Function and Procedure Headers 1180 Creating Script Documentation by Using Comments 1181 Using Comments as a Debugging Aid 1182 Debugging and Troubleshooting Scripts 1184 Adding a Trace Routine to a Script 1184 Incrementally Running a Script 1186 Turning Off Error Handling as a Debugging Tool 1187 Testing Scripts 1188 INDEX