PowerShell: Using DNS and Printer CSV List for IP-Based Printer Installs on Random Network Environments

I support incident management teams and have been trying to find a simple-ish way to have users install printers no matter our network environment.  I setup the same server every incident so that is where I place all scripts and drivers.  We perform massive printing in a short amount of time and this can cause printers to be replaced as they wear out.  Instead of visiting every networked laptop to update printers, I now have 10 static printer numbers and use a CSV file to give driver information, IP address, and printer name.  The user locates the nearest printer, double-clicks the installation batch file, and the process removes the old driver and IP address of that printer and installs the current settings.  This process has been tested for PowerShell version 4.0.

Steps in creating this printer installation process:

1. Remote into each printer and setup a DNS name.  Ping the IP and DNS name after making the change.  Ensure you allow the printer to take the DNS suffix of the local DHCP server.  Use DHCP.
2. Download and test the driver that'll be used.  Find the correct INF file that has the printer driver name.  You'll have to add the printer driver name and driver shared folder location to the printerlist.csv file.
3. Label your printers so users know which printer they need to install.
4. Create your batch files which start the install process:

@CLS
@powershell -command "start-process powershell" -verb runas -argumentlist '-ExecutionPolicy bypass -file \\server\printers\InstallPrinter.ps1 Team12P1'

• @cls clears screen to get rid of extraneous messages while starting script
• @powershell -command "start-process powershell" -verb runas elevates PowerShell to runas Administrator and bypass the UAC settings which can sometimes stop driver installations
• -argumentlist '-ExecutionPolicy bypass -file \\server\printers\InstallPrinter.ps1 Team12P1' bypasses any PS script execution policy setting that may be set on that computer.  Then it runs the InstallPrinter.ps1 script and passes the Team12P1 variable to that script so it can look up the printer in the CSV file. Create separate batch files for each printer and change the variable to the DNS name of that printer.

5. Create and input printer information into the printerlist.csv file.  Here is a sample:

DNSName,DriverShare,DriverINF,DriverName,LastKnownIP,MakeModel,Supplies,Notes
Team12P1,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPOJP8630,hpvyt13.inf,HP Officejet Pro 8630,192.168.1.100,HPOJP8630,951XL,
Team12P2,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJP400MFP,80X,
Team12P3,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJP400MFP,80X,
Team12P4,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJP400MFP,80X,
Team12P5,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJP4015,64A,
Team12P6,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJP4015,64A,
Team12P7,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,192.168.1.100,HPLJ600,90A,
Team12P8,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPOJP8630,hpvyt13.inf,HP Officejet Pro 8630,192.168.1.100,HPOJP8630,951XL,
,,,,,,,
Team12P10,\\Team12server\Printers\Drivers\HPCLJ5520,hpc5520u.inf,HP Color LaserJet CP5520 Series PCL 6,192.168.1.100,HPCLJ5525,650A,USB and WiFi Only
Team12L1,\\Team12server\printers\Drivers\HPUniversalPCL5,hpcu180t.inf,HP Universal Printing PCL 5,,HPLJ1102W,85A,
Team12L2,,,,,EpsonWF3640,Epson252XL(BCYM),Ordering Manager

• DNSName: Printer name DNS will use to search for an IP
• DriverShare: Printer driver UNC folder location
• DriverINF: Printer driver INF file located at the DriverShare location
• DriverName: Exact printer name found within the Driver INF file
• LastKnownIP: Static IP used to create a port when the printer and laptop are on different networks. You will have to create a new IP Port when the laptop is on the same network as the printer.
• MakeModel: Not used in scripts but for your reference
• Supplies: Not used in scripts but place to note what print cartridges each printer needs
• Notes: Not used in scripts but provides general information

6. Create the InstallPrinter.ps1 file referenced in the initial printer installation batch file.  Here is the script I use:

#No 32-bit support
$DNSName = $args
$printerlist = import-csv \\server\printers\installscripts\printerlist.csv|? DNSName -eq $DNSName
$DriverShare = $printerlist.drivershare
$DriverINF = $printerlist.driverinf
$DriverName = $printerlist.drivername
$LastKnownIP = $printerlist.lastknownIP
$IP = $LastKnownIP

#Checking for old version of printer, then deleting it so new version can be added
if ((gwmi win32_service|? name -match spool|select -expand state) -eq 'Stopped'){start-service spooler}
if ((gwmi win32_printer|select -expand name) -contains $DNSName){
#This will remove any spooled jobs then delete the printer with the old IP address
if ((gwmi win32_service|? name -match spool|select -expand state) -eq 'running'){stop-service spooler}
remove-item c:\windows\system32\spool\printers\*.* -force
do {sleep 1}until((gwmi win32_service|? name -match spool|select -expand state) -eq 'Stopped')
start-service spooler
sleep 5
$settings = gwmi win32_printer|? name -eq $DNSName|select *
write-host "`nDeleting old printer installation`n"
cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnmngr.vbs -d -p $DNSName
$Oldport = $settings.portname
write-host "`nDeleting old Port: $Oldport`n" -f blue
$portmsg = cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnport.vbs -d -r $Oldport
$d = cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prndrvr.vbs -x
}

write-host ("Printer: " + $DNSName)-f green
if ($IP.count -gt 0){write-host ("IP address: " + $IP)-f green}else{write-host ("No Active IP, using last known IP: " + $IP)-f red}
write-host ("`n$DNSName will be available once this window disappears (approx. 3 minutes).`n") -f yellow
$delprinters = cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prndrvr.vbs -x
cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prndrvr.vbs -a -m $DriverName -h $DriverShare -i ($DriverShare + "\" + $DriverINF)
cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnport.vbs -a -r $IP -h $IP -o raw -n 9100
#rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /if /b $DNSName /r $IP /m $DriverName
cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnmngr.vbs -a -p $DNSName -m $DriverName -r $IP
if ((gwmi win32_printer|select -expand name) -contains $DNSName){write-host "`n$DNSName installed correctly!" -f green;sleep 5}

Now you have a generic printer installation process that you can easily alter when you need to update IPs, Printer Names, or Printer Driver information.  As long as you've renamed your printers DNS names correctly, they should be found on any network subnet you share.  Also, the printerlist.csv file is easy to load into Excel and use for other things besides your installation scripts.

Last note: In my scenario, I have this system connected to a Box account so all changes are backed up to the cloud and I can update these files from the cloud outside the local subnet/network.

PowerShell & Google Maps Time Zone API: Check and Change Computer Time using Internet Time

I've been using WinPE to install images on new PC's and found that since Dell computers come from Texas, the Time Zone and PC clock time needs to be updated to my Time Zone. I'm probably over complicating this process but thought I'd share this anyway:

#Google's time variable is based on the start date/time of 1/1/1970, universal time zone
$startdatetime = [datetime]"1/1/1970 00:00:00Z"

#getting local time and converting to universal time zone
$currentdatetime = (get-date).touniversaltime()

#Google time variable takes the 1/1/1970 date and wants the total seconds from that date to current time
[int]$totalseconds = ($currentdatetime - $startdatetime).totalseconds

#get a server key by signing up for the Google Maps Time Zone API 
#read more here
#note: location just has to be somewhere in your area/time zone
$timezone = invoke-restmethod ("https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/timezone/json?location=46,-122" + "&Timestamp=" + $totalseconds + "&key=")
$timezonename = $timezone.timezonename

#since I live in Washington, I have the two possible time zones. Obviously you'll want to add/change time zones based on your location(s).
if ($timezonename -eq "Pacific Daylight Time"){$TZDiff = -7}
if ($timezonename -eq "Pacific Standard Time"){$TZDiff = -8}

#Now I'm pulling local timezone information
$tz = ([timezoneinfo]::local).id
write-host "Local Timezone setting: $tz"

#creating a variable in case the timezone is incorrect
#The ref'd timezone.ps1 script is from Peter Henchley's blog
$changetime = "e:\scripts\timezone.ps1 $timezonename"
if ($tz -ne $timezonename){powershell -executionpolicy bypass $changetime;write-host "Changed Timezone" -f yellow}

#Once the time zone has been adjusted, now we check for time
#We pull current time from www.timeapi.org, convert it to universal time, and add our time zone difference so it equals our current time zone
$webtime = (([datetime](iwr http://www.timeapi.org/utc/now -usebasicparsing).content).touniversaltime()).addhours($TZDiff)
$localhour = (get-date).hour
if ($localhour -ne $webtime.hour){set-date $webtime;write-host "Changed Local Time" -f yellow}

An example of a Google Map Time Zone API reply

dstOffset    : 3600
rawOffset    : -28800
status       : OK
timeZoneId   : America/Los_Angeles
timeZoneName : Pacific Daylight Time

Let me know if you know of a better method of checking for time zones and time without using local computers or domain servers.

PowerShell & SCCM 2012: Portable Script for Removing Computers from Collections

While in the field away from your SCCM Console, you can still remove collections from a computer via this script. Run as a user with SCCM rights or input your own $admcred and add -credential $admcred to each SCCM WMI call.

Here's an example of removing collection 4:

$ComputerName = read-host "Enter Computer Name"
$SCCMserver = "SCCMServer01"
$namespace = "root\sms\site_xx1"
$i = 0

#SCCM
#Getting list of current software collections and then filtering out unneeded selection items
if (test-connection $SCCMServer){
$xlist = import-csv \\server\share\offlist.csv #list of collection exclusions
$xlist|add-member -notepropertyname line -notepropertyvalue ""
$CollectionList = get-wmiobject -query "Select * from SMS_Collection" -namespace $namespace -computername $SCCMserver
$CollectionList = $CollectionList|? {$xlist.name -notcontains $_.name}
foreach ($C in $CollectionList){$i++;$C|add-member -notepropertyname line -notepropertyvalue $i}
}

$CurrentApps = Get-WmiObject -Namespace $namespace -Class SMS_fullcollectionmembership -ComputerName $SCCMServer -filter "Name = '$computername'"
$InstalledSoftwareList = $CollectionList|? {$CurrentApps.collectionID -contains $_.collectionID}

do{
write-host "SCCM Software already installed on $computername" -f white
$InstalledSoftwareList|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders
if ($removesoftware){
write-host "Software to be removed" -f yellow
$removesoftware|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders

}
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "line number" -f white -nonewline;write-host " to remove SCCM software from $computername"
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "DONE" -f white -nonewline;write-host " if satisfied with removal list"
$removepackages = read-host "(Line number or Done)"
if ($removepackages -ne "done"){
[array]$removesoftware += $collectionlist|? line -eq $removepackages
}
} while ($removepackages -ne "done")

Creates the menu:

Enter Computer Name: PCReception01
SCCM Software already installed on PCReception01

  1 Adobe Acrobat Standard DC
  2 7 Zip
  3 Google Earth Pro
  4 Microsoft Office 2013
  5 Windows Mobile Device Center

Enter line number to remove SCCM software from PCReception01 
Enter DONE if satisfied with removal list
(Line number or DONE): 4

SCCM Software already installed on PCReception01

  1 Adobe Acrobat Standard DC
  2 7 Zip
  3 Google Earth Pro
  5 Windows Mobile Device Center

Software to be removed

4 Microsoft Office 2013

Enter line number to remove SCCM software from PCReception01 
Enter DONE if satisfied with removal list
(Line number or DONE): 

And now we remove each selected collection via the $removesoftware variable:

foreach ($r in $removesoftware){
$ID = $r.collectionID
$Collection = get-wmiobject -class SMS_Collection -namespace $namespace -computername $SCCMserver|? CollectionID -eq $ID
$ruleclass = get-wmiobject -namespace $namespace -class "SMS_CollectionRuleDirect" -computername $SCCMserver -list
$RemoveComputer = get-wmiobject -ComputerName $SCCMServer -Namespace $Namespace -Class "SMS_R_System" -Filter "Name = '$($computername)'"
$DelRule = $RuleClass.CreateInstance()     
$DelRule.RuleName = $($RemoveComputer.name)
$DelRule.ResourceClassName = "SMS_R_System" 
$DelRule.ResourceID = $($RemoveComputer.resourceid)
$Collection.DeleteMemberShipRule($DelRule)
$Collection.requestrefresh()
}

Here's what you should see:

___GENUS               : 2
___CLASS               : ___PARAMETERS
___SUPERCLASS          :
___DYNASTY             : ___PARAMETERS
___RELPATH             :
___PROPERTY_COUNT      : 1
___DERIVATION          : {}
___SERVER              :
___NAMESPACE           :
___PATH                :
ReturnValue            : 0
PSComputerName         :

___GENUS               : 2
___CLASS               : ___PARAMETERS
___SUPERCLASS          :
___DYNASTY             : ___PARAMETERS
___RELPATH             :
___PROPERTY_COUNT      : 1
___DERIVATION          : {}
___SERVER              :
___NAMESPACE           :
___PATH                :
ReturnValue            : 0
PSComputerName         :

You want to see ReturnValue's of 0. Anything else and the removal wasn't successful.

PowerShell & SCCM 2012: Portable Script for Adding Computers to Collections

Being a field technician, the SCCM Console is not always nearby. The script in this post works from a thumb drive and has no need for the SCCM PowerShell module. Run this script with SCCM level credentials or you can add your username/password ($admcred) and add -credential $admcred to your SCCM WMI calls.

$SCCMserver = "SCCMServer01"
$namespace = "root\sms\site_xx1"
$computername = read-host "Enter Computer Name"
$i = 0

#SCCM
#Getting list of current software collections and then filtering out unneeded selection items
if (test-connection $SCCMServer){
$xlist = import-csv (\\server\share\offlist.csv #list of filtered out collections
$xlist|add-member -notepropertyname line -notepropertyvalue ""
$CollectionList = get-wmiobject -query "Select * from SMS_Collection" -namespace $namespace -computername $SCCMserver
$CollectionList = $CollectionList|? {$xlist.name -notcontains $_.name}
foreach ($C in $CollectionList){$i++;$C|add-member -notepropertyname line -notepropertyvalue $i} #adding line numbers to each collection entry
}else{write-host "No SCCM Server connection, ending script" -f yellow;start-sleep 10;exit}

$CurrentApps = Get-WmiObject -Namespace $namespace -Class SMS_fullcollectionmembership -ComputerName $SCCMServer -filter "Name = '$computername'"
$InstalledSoftwareList = $CollectionList|? {$CurrentApps.collectionID -contains $_.collectionID}

do{
cls
write-host "Available SCCM Software Packages" -f white
$collectionlist|? {$InstalledSoftwareList.name -notcontains $_.name}|format-table line,name
write-host "SCCM Software already installed on $computername" -f white
$InstalledSoftwareList|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders
if ($newsoftware){
write-host "Software to be added" -f yellow
$newsoftware|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders
}
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "line number" -f white -nonewline;write-host " to add SCCM software to $computername"
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "DONE" -f white -nonewline;write-host " if satisfied with install list"
$addpackages = read-host "(Line number or Done)"
if ($addpackages -ne "done"){
$newsoftware += $collectionlist|? line -eq $addpackages
}
} while ($addpackages -ne "done")

Here's a sample of this menu after selecting line item 7 and typing DONE at the prompt:

Available SCCM Software Packages

line name
---- ----
   1 Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
   3 Adobe Acrobat Standard DC
   4 Base Camp
   5 Google Earth Pro

SCCM Software already installed on PCReception01

   2 Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
   6 7 Zip

Software to be added

7 Windows Mobile Device Center

Enter line number to add SCCM software to PCReception01
Enter DONE if satisfied with installation list
(Line number or DONE): DONE

Now we add $computername to the selected collection via the $newsoftware variable. Let's create a new rule that adds the computer it to the collection:

foreach ($c in $newsoftware){
$ID = $c.collectionID
$Collection = get-wmiobject -class SMS_Collection -namespace $namespace -computername $SCCMserver|? CollectionID -eq $ID
$ruleclass = get-wmiobject -namespace $namespace -class "SMS_CollectionRuleDirect" -computername $SCCMserver -list
$AddComputer = get-wmiobject -ComputerName $SCCMServer -Namespace $Namespace -Class "SMS_R_System" -Filter "Name = '$($computername)'"
$NewRule = $RuleClass.CreateInstance()     
$NewRule.RuleName = $($AddComputer.name)
$NewRule.ResourceClassName = "SMS_R_System" 
$NewRule.ResourceID = $($AddComputer.resourceid)
$Collection.AddMembershipRules($newrule)
$Collection.requestrefresh()
}

And here's how that looks:

___GENUS               : 2
___CLASS               : ___PARAMETERS
___SUPERCLASS          :
___DYNASTY             : ___PARAMETERS
___RELPATH             :
___PROPERTY_COUNT      : 2
___DERIVATION          : {}
___SERVER              :
___NAMESPACE           :
___PATH                :
QueryIDs               : {0}
ReturnValue            : 0
PSComputerName         :

___GENUS               : 2
___CLASS               : ___PARAMETERS
___SUPERCLASS          :
___DYNASTY             : ___PARAMETERS
___RELPATH             :
___PROPERTY_COUNT      : 1
___DERIVATION          : {}
___SERVER              :
___NAMESPACE           :
___PATH                :
ReturnValue            : 0
PSComputerName         :

You want the returnvalue to equal 0. This means the rule successfully added your computer to the collection.

PowerShell & SCCM 2012: Get Old Computer SCCM Software Packages, add more software, and Export CSV out for New Computer

Using PowerShell and WMI to access the SCCM server, this post shows how to transfer a software list from the old computer and export it for the new one. In another post I describe how to automate the new computers software package collection addition process after its registered itself with the SCCM server and installed the SCCM client software.

$SCCMserver = SCCMServer01
$namespace = "root\sms\site_xx1"
$adminname = "Domain\AdmUser"
$password = get-content .\adminpassword.txt|convertto-securestring -key (1..16)
$admcred = new-object system.management.automation.pscredential($adminname,$password)
$i = 0

$OldComputerSoftware = Get-WmiObject -Namespace $namespace -Class SMS_fullcollectionmembership -ComputerName $SCCMServer -filter "Name = '$SCCMoldcomputer'" -credential $admcred
$OldComputerCollectionMemberList = $CollectionList|? {$OldComputerSoftware.collectionID -contains $_.collectionID}

Above I declare my variables, query the SCCM server for all the software on the old computer, and compare it to the $CollectionList collections filtering array. Next I create $NewPCSoftwareList using the old computer software list. Add line numbers and filter unwanted collections via $XList. The $AddedSoftware variable displays the existing software from the old computer and will be updated with software selections in the read-host menu below:

$NewPCSoftwareList = $OldComputerCollectionMemberList|select Name,CollectionID
foreach ($C in $NewPCSoftwareList){$i++;$C|add-member -notepropertyname line -notepropertyvalue $i}
$NewPCSoftwareList = $NewPCSoftwareList|? {$xlist.name -notcontains $_.name}
$addedsoftware = $collectionlist|? {$NewPCSoftwareList.name -contains $_.name}

Available SCCM Software Packages

 1 Adobe Acrobat Pro
 2 Adobe Acrobat Standard
 3 Base Camp
 5 Topography Software
 6 Google Earth Pro
 7 Windows Mobile Device Center

OldComputerName SCCM Software will be installed on NewComputerName 

 4 7-Zip
 8 Microsoft Office 2013

Enter line number to add SCCM software to NewComputerName
Enter DONE if satisfied with install list
(Line number or Done): _

do{
cls
write-host "Available SCCM Software Packages" -f white
$collectionlist|? {$InstalledSoftwareList.name -notcontains $_.name}|format-table line,name
write-host "SCCM Software already installed on $computername" -f white
$InstalledSoftwareList|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders
if ($newsoftware){
write-host "Software to be added" -f yellow
$newsoftware|format-table line,name -hidetableheaders

}
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "line number" -f white -nonewline;write-host " to add SCCM software to $computername"
write-host "Enter " -nonewline;write-host "DONE" -f white -nonewline;write-host " if satisfied with install list"
$addpackages = read-host "(Line number or Done)"
if ($addpackages -ne "done"){
$newsoftware += $collectionlist|? line -eq $addpackages
}
} while ($addpackages -ne "done")

The starting menu displays the full available software list minus those software already pre-selected to be added to the new computer. I input the number for each additional software I want added to the new computer then type DONE when finished adding software. Note that the line numbers disappear from the top list when selected on the bottom one. After DONE is typed, the $addedsoftware array gets exported to a CSV that the new computer will access in order to install that software. That part of the process will be in another post.

if ($addedsoftware){$addedsoftware|export-csv .\NewComputerName-SCCMsoftware.csv}