Remote start services

Question

I am trying to start a service remotely after user input.

function Start_Service {
    $ComputerName = $txb_hostname.Text

    [void][Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName('Microsoft.VisualBasic')

    $title = 'Start Service'
    $msg   = 'Enter Service Name (e.g. AppVClient):'

    $ServiceName = [Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction]::InputBox($msg, $title)

    try {
        (Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -ComputerName $ComputerName -filter "Name='$ServiceName'").StartService()
        LogWrite "$ServiceName started."
    } catch {
        LogWrite "Unable to stop $ServiceName"
    }
}

It just returns

unable to start "service"

almost like the

(Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter -ComputerName $ComputerName "Name='$ServiceName'").StartService()

doesn't work.

Any ideas why it isn't working?

Edit:

Actual error message from the catch block:

Missing an argument for parameter 'Filter'. Specify a parameter of type 'System.String' and try again.

It would be nice if you'd give us some clues: error messages etc. — montonero, Dec 07 '18 at 12:43
Presumably because your WMI request fails. Output the actual error in the `catch` block. You may want to unroll nested exceptions too, since they usually provide more details about what went wrong. [See here](https://stackoverflow.com/a/38421525/1630171) for more details. — Ansgar Wiechers, Dec 07 '18 at 12:43
what is the actual error message. It would make sense to evaluate $_.Exception.Message in the catch block. — Stefan Prugg, Dec 07 '18 at 12:47
i not 100% sure how i would do this, i have never had to capture an error message before. could you assist me with where and what i would put — Adam, Dec 07 '18 at 12:53
You are giving the `-Filter` query as the `-ComputerName`. Do like this: `(Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter "Name='$ServiceName'" -ComputerName $ComputerName).StartService()` — Theo, Dec 07 '18 at 13:22
moce -filder along and now i get You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression. — Adam, Dec 07 '18 at 13:24
Please [edit] your question and update it with your modified code and the complete error message. Also, does the remote host actually have a service of that name? — Ansgar Wiechers, Dec 07 '18 at 13:26
i am trying to start ccmexec.exe on my own machine and tested on a colleagues error still happens ..... updated code — Adam, Dec 07 '18 at 13:38
`ccmexec.exe` is the name of an executable, not the name of a service. If you're using that as a filter it's quite obvious that you won't be getting a result. Use `Get-Service` (or `Get-WmiObject Win32_Service | Select-Object Name`) to get the list of service names. — Ansgar Wiechers, Dec 07 '18 at 13:46
BTW: are you aware you can use `(Get-Service -ComputerName $ComputerName -Name $ServiceName).Start()`? — JohnLBevan, Dec 07 '18 at 14:03

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 09 '18 at 13:42

0

(Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -ComputerName $ComputerName -Filter "Name='$ServiceName'").StartService()

Moving the -Filter has resolved the issue.

edited Dec 09 '18 at 13:42

Ansgar Wiechers

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answered Dec 07 '18 at 13:56

Adam

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Remote start services

1 Answers1