Kill process, then uninstall application--Can I do this with PowerShell, over 400 computers, from a txt file?

Question

I'm fairly new to PowerShell, but I'm very much trying to figure it out. Here's the sum up of what I want to do:

• 400 computers, with no more than 5 at a physical location, connected by fairly poor speeds across VPN
• All have a single application with a single version (but on Windows XP and Windows 7) that needs to be removed due to compliance requirements
• I've tried using something like the below, with little success:

function Terminate-Process { 

    param( 
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,valuefrompipeline=$true)] 
    [string]$compname) 
    begin {$processname = Read-Host "Process Name I Want To Kill"} 
    process { 
 $result = Get-WmiObject -Class win32_Process -Filter "name='$processname'" -ComputerName (Get-Content computers.txt) | ForEach-Object { $_.Terminate() } 
 if ($result.ReturnValue -eq 0 )  
         { Write-Output " $($processname) terminated on $($compname) "} 
     else { Write-Output "could not terminate $($processname) on $($compname) "}         

                } 
end{Write-Output "Script ...END"}

}

Start-Sleep -s 60

Get-Content Computers.txt | .\Get-InstalledSoftware.ps1 | Where {$_.AppName -match “SoftwareName” } | .\Uninstall-InstalledSoftware.ps1

============================================

The last line calls up two additional powershell scripts.

Get-InstalledSoftware.ps1 is:

[cmdletbinding()]            

[cmdletbinding()]            
param(            
 [parameter(ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)]            
 [string[]]$ComputerName = $env:computername            

)            

begin {            
 $UninstallRegKey="SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall"             
}            

process {            
 foreach($Computer in $ComputerName) {            
  Write-Verbose "Working on $Computer"            
  if(Test-Connection -ComputerName $Computer -Count 1 -ea 0) {            
   $HKLM   = [microsoft.win32.registrykey]::OpenRemoteBaseKey('LocalMachine',$computer)            
   $UninstallRef  = $HKLM.OpenSubKey($UninstallRegKey)            
   $Applications = $UninstallRef.GetSubKeyNames()            

   foreach ($App in $Applications) {            
    $AppRegistryKey  = $UninstallRegKey + "\\" + $App            
    $AppDetails   = $HKLM.OpenSubKey($AppRegistryKey)            
    $AppGUID   = $App            
    $AppDisplayName  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("DisplayName"))            
    $AppVersion   = $($AppDetails.GetValue("DisplayVersion"))            
    $AppPublisher  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("Publisher"))            
    $AppInstalledDate = $($AppDetails.GetValue("InstallDate"))            
    $AppUninstall  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("UninstallString"))            
    if(!$AppDisplayName) { continue }            
    $OutputObj = New-Object -TypeName PSobject             
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name ComputerName -Value $Computer.ToUpper()            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppName -Value $AppDisplayName            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppVersion -Value $AppVersion            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppVendor -Value $AppPublisher            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name InstalledDate -Value $AppInstalledDate            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name UninstallKey -Value $AppUninstall            
    $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppGUID -Value $AppGUID            
    $OutputObj# | Select ComputerName, DriveName            
   }            
  }            
 }            
}            

end {}

and Uninstall-InstalledSoftware.ps1:

[cmdletbinding()]            

param (            

 [parameter(ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)]
 [string]$ComputerName = $env:computername,
 [parameter(ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true,Mandatory=$true)]
 [string]$AppGUID
)            

 try {
  $returnval = ([WMICLASS]"\\$computerName\ROOT\CIMV2:win32_process").Create("msiexec `/x$AppGUID `/qn")
 } catch {
  write-error "Failed to trigger the uninstallation. Review the error message"
  $_
  exit
 }
 switch ($($returnval.returnvalue)){
  0 { "Uninstallation command triggered successfully" }
  2 { "You don't have sufficient permissions to trigger the command on $Computer" }
  3 { "You don't have sufficient permissions to trigger the command on $Computer" }
  8 { "An unknown error has occurred" }
  9 { "Path Not Found" }
  9 { "Invalid Parameter"}
 }

I get all kinds of weird errors, and I'm not even sure the above could even work. I got most of this from techibee.com, here: http://techibee.com/powershell/powershell-uninstall-software-on-remote-computer/1400

Is there a simpler way to do this? I'm pulling my hair out a bit!! Otherwise I could RDP to 400 computers, kill the process and uninstall...but I really, really, really don't want to do that.

Answer 1

While this is technically possible, there's probably a better way to go about it.

And speaking of better ways to go about it, You could do this in a GPO with a few lines of code as a startup or shutdown script, which is how I handle this. With a few more lines of code you could log the results of checking for the presence of this thing and/or uninstalling it, which would undoubtedly be useful in your compliance efforts.

If a GPO-linked startup/shutdown script's not an option for whatever reason, I think I'd use PSExec to kill the process on a list of computers read in from file and then script the uninstall in an appropriate language. Seem to me that this is a lot easier in VB, for example.

a=WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F}\UninstallString")

If a<>"" Then

WshShell.Run(a&" /S"),1,True
i=i+1

end if

(Goodbye Google Toolbar, in that example which I wrote or copied a few years back. Copied, probably. I am rather lazy.)

Without debugging the PS script you copied, I'd point out that you might be running a different PS version, different PS modules installed/loaded and/or there might be some dependencies that your XP machines don't have in place that's causing problems.