<\/a>Step 3: Enter CLI Commands<\/h3>\nWe will be using PsExec initially to enable Remote Registry and Plug and Play services on the PC to ensure DevManView will be able to access Device Manager. It’s okay if they are already running, it will not restart the service.<\/p>\n
The commands are as follows:
The next step is to initiate DevManView with the proper arguments, this is all done in one line:
(Information on the arguments can be found on the download page specified above.)<\/p>\n
This will begin pulling the data from the remote PC - NOTE: It can take a few minutes for each PC. Also, you need to be logged in as an administrator that has access to the PC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In my case, I created a single batch file that runs these three commands for every PC on my network so it inventories each PC, one at a time. When it’s done, you’ll have reports on Device Manager for each PC that it successfully ran on. I don’t see a great value in these reports, but I was tasked with getting it done, so I hope someone out there finds this useful!<\/p>","step":[{"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Download PsExec","text":"\nYou can get PsExec from Microsoft:\nhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx\n\nDownload and extract PsExec.exe from the ZIP file. In my example, I put it in a folder called C:\\DeviceReports."},{"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Download DevManView","text":"\nDevManView is a freeware utility from NirSoft:\nhttp://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html\n\nThis is an advanced Device Manager utility. I suggest opening it up and checking it out; you could use this interface if you'd like, but for automation, we'll be using it's command line features.\n\nI put this in the same folder as PsExec, but you can place it anywhere."},{"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Enter CLI Commands","text":"\nWe will be using PsExec initially to enable Remote Registry and Plug and Play services on the PC to ensure DevManView will be able to access Device Manager. It's okay if they are already running, it will not restart the service.\n\nThe commands are as follows:\n\"C:\\DeviceReports\\PsExec\" \\\\ start \"RemoteRegistry\" \n\"C:\\DeviceReports\\PsExec\" \\\\ sc start \"PlugPlay\" \n\nThe next step is to initiate DevManView with the proper arguments, this is all done in one line:\n\"C:\\DeviceReports\\DevManView.exe\" /scomma COMPUTERNAME-DeviceManagerReport.csv /LoadFrom 2 /ComputerName \n\n(Information on the arguments can be found on the download page specified above.)\n\nThis will begin pulling the data from the remote PC - NOTE: It can take a few minutes for each PC. Also, you need to be logged in as an administrator that has access to the PC.\n\n"}]}
vaan
March 19, 2014, 3:37pm
1
This is a simple guide on how to pull a report of Device Manager for a networked PC remotely using command prompt, PsExec, and DevManView.
There’s probably not too great of a need for this, however, this could be useful to some. In my case, I was tasked with inventorying device reports for all PCs on our networks, so I developed this method and created a batch file to automatically do this each month.
You can get PsExec from Microsoft:PsExec - Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn
Download and extract PsExec.exe from the ZIP file. In my example, I put it in a folder called C:\DeviceReports.
DevManView is a freeware utility from NirSoft:Alternative to device manager of Windows
This is an advanced Device Manager utility. I suggest opening it up and checking it out; you could use this interface if you’d like, but for automation, we’ll be using it’s command line features.
I put this in the same folder as PsExec, but you can place it anywhere.
We will be using PsExec initially to enable Remote Registry and Plug and Play services on the PC to ensure DevManView will be able to access Device Manager. It’s okay if they are already running, it will not restart the service.
The commands are as follows:
The next step is to initiate DevManView with the proper arguments, this is all done in one line:
(Information on the arguments can be found on the download page specified above.)
This will begin pulling the data from the remote PC - NOTE: It can take a few minutes for each PC. Also, you need to be logged in as an administrator that has access to the PC.
In my case, I created a single batch file that runs these three commands for every PC on my network so it inventories each PC, one at a time. When it’s done, you’ll have reports on Device Manager for each PC that it successfully ran on. I don’t see a great value in these reports, but I was tasked with getting it done, so I hope someone out there finds this useful!
3 Spice ups
