WOL and PowerShell

user584930 · 2019-02-28T18:36:22.000Z

Following on from this post:

WOL solutions with powershell batch task scheduler

Below is the code that is working great and speeds our time up no end! However, one thing we have noticed is that some PC’s are not turning on. The BIOS and the network card have been set up for WOL and have been working. We then found out this may be due to the power plug not plugged in or the network cable is unplugged which is an easy fix. So our question is, we would like to know is it possible for the PowerShell below to output a txt file with any PC’s that it failed against as it can’t send the magic packet to wake the PC up? (Or it basically cant communicate with the client) It would be great if this could show the Computer Name and/or MAC address is this txt file?

Many thanks.

Function Wake-Computer {
param(
[string]$mac
)

#checks the syntax of MAC address
if (!(($mac -like “:::::”) -or ($mac -like “-----”))){
write-error “mac address not in correct format”
break
}

#build magic package Wake-on-LAN - Wikipedia
$string=@($mac.split(“:”“-”) | foreach {$_.insert(0,“0x”)})
$target = [byte]($string[0], $string[1], $string[2], $string[3], $string[4], $string[5])

The magic packet is a broadcast frame containing anywhere within its payload 6 bytes of all 255 (FF FF FF FF FF FF in hexadecimal)

$packet = [byte](,0xFF * 102)

followed by sixteen repetitions of the target computer’s 48-bit MAC address, for a total of 102 bytes.

6…101 |% { $packet[$] = $target[($%6)]}

.NET framework lib para sockets

$UDPclient = new-Object System.Net.Sockets.UdpClient
$UDPclient.Connect(([System.Net.IPAddress]::Broadcast),4000)
$UDPclient.Send($packet, $packet.Length) | out-null
}

ForEach($mac in (Get-Content ‘c:\macs.txt’)) {
Wake-Computer -mac $mac
}

Neally · 2019-02-28T19:28:38.000Z

Hello,

If you post code, please use the ‘Insert Code’ button. Please and thank you!

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING! Read if you're new to the PowerShell forum! Programming & Development

Hi, and welcome to the PowerShell forum! Don’t apologize for being a “noob” or “newbie” or “n00b.” There’s just no need – nobody will think you’re stupid, and the forums are all about asking questions. Just ask! Use a descriptive subject. Don't say "Need help" or "PowerShell Help", actually summarize what the problem is. It helps the rest of us keep track of which problem is which. Don’t post massive scripts. We’re all volunteers and we don’t have time to read all that, nor will we copy, past…

Evan7191 · 2019-02-28T19:30:15.000Z

user584930:

So our question is, we would like to know is it possible for the PowerShell below to output a txt file with any PC’s that it failed against as it can’t send the magic packet to wake the PC up? (Or it basically cant communicate with the client) It would be great if this could show the Computer Name and/or MAC address is this txt file?

Powershell can output results to a text file easily. In this case, the tricky part will be to collect the results. Your Wake-Computer function is using UDP, which does not confirm receipt. You would need to use another check, such as Test-Connection, to verify that a computer is online or offline.

Once you have validation for the result, you can use an If condition to write the name of the computer to a text file.

Evan7191 · 2019-02-28T21:15:45.000Z

On an unrelated note, do you have a reason for forming your If condition with -like and wrapping it with !/-not?

if (!(($mac -like "*:*:*:*:*:*") -or ($mac -like "*-*-*-*-*-*")))

That works, but it is more difficult to read than using -notlike:

if (($mac -notlike "*:*:*:*:*:*") -and ($mac -notlike "*-*-*-*-*-*"))

user584930 · 2019-02-28T21:20:05.000Z

I didn’t write this code. I supplied the link where I got it from in my first post, so best to ask the original member that wrote the code as to why.

Neally · 2019-02-28T22:33:15.000Z

user584930:

I didn’t write this code. I supplied the link where I got it from in my first post, so best to ask the original member that wrote the code as to why.

wow… really?