How do I run a PowerShell script when the computer starts?

Question

I have a PowerShell script that monitors an image folder. I need to find a way to automatically run this script after the computer starts.

I already tried the following methods, but I couldn't get it working.

1. Use msconfig and add the PowerShell script to startup, but I cannot find the PowerShell script on that list.

2. Create a shortcut and drop it to startup folder. No luck.

   %SystemRoot%SysWOW64WindowsPowerShellv1.0powershell.exe -File "C:DocFilesFileMonitor.ps1"
   

   or

   %SystemRoot%system32WindowsPowerShellv1.0powershell.exe -File "C:DocFilesFileMonitor.ps1"
   

   Here's my PowerShell script:

   $folder = "C:\Doc\Files"
   $dest = "C:\Doc\Files\images"
   $filter = "*.jpg"
   
   $fsw = new-object System.IO.FileSystemWatcher $folder, $filter -Property @{
       IncludeSubDirectories=$false
       NotifyFilter = [System.IO.NotifyFilters]'FileName, LastWrite'
   }
   
   $onCreated = Register-ObjectEvent $fsw Created -SourceIdentifier FileCreated -Action {
   
       Start-Sleep -s 10
       Move-Item -Path C:DocFiles*.jpg C:DocFilesimages
   }
   

3. I also tried to add a basic task using taskschd.msc. It is still not working.

   Here's what I found, and maybe that will help to debug it.

   If I open up a PowerShell window and run the script there, it works. But if I run it in a command prompt,

   powershell.exe -File "C:DocFilesFileMonitor.ps1"
   

   It will not work. I am not sure it's a permission problem or something else.

   BTW, I have PowerShell 3.0 installed, and if I type $host.version, it will show 3 there. But my powershell.exe seems like it is still v1.0.

   %SystemRoot%system32WindowsPowerShellv1.0powershell.exe
   

Answer 1

I finally got my PowerShell script to run automatically on every startup. You will need to create two files: the first is the Powershell script (e.g. script.ps1) and the second is a .cmd file that will contain commands that will run on the command prompt (e.g. startup.cmd).

The second file is what needs to be executed when the computer starts up, and simply copy-pasting the .ps1 to the startup folder won't work, because that doesn't actually execute the script - it only opens the file with Notepad. You need to execute the .cmd which itself will execute the .ps1 using PowerShell. Ok, enough babbling and on to the steps:

1. Create your .ps1 script and place it in a folder. I put it on my desktop for simplicity. The path would look something like this:

C:Users<user_name>Desktopscript.ps1

2. Create a .cmd file and place it in

C:Users<user_name>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuProgramsStartupstartup.cmd

Doing this will execute the cmd file every time on startup. Here is a link of how to create a .cmd file if you need help.

3. Open the .cmd file with a text editor and enter the following lines:

PowerShell -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted" >> "%TEMP%StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
PowerShell C:Users<user_name>Desktopscript.ps1 >> "%TEMP%StartupLog.txt" 2>&1

This will do two things:

1. Set the Execution Policy of your PowerShell to Unrestricted. This is needed to run scripts or else PowerShell will not do it.
2. Use PowerShell to execute the .ps1 script found in the path specified.

This code is specifically for PowerShell v1.0. If you're running PowerShell v2.0 it might be a little different. In any case, check this source for the .cmd code.

4. Save the .cmd file

Now that you have your .ps1 and .cmd files in their respective paths and with the script for each, you are all set.