PowerShell is a robust scripting tool that lets you automate and customize your admin tasks. It combines command-line speed, flexibility, and the power of a GUI-based tool. This ebook lists 10 cmdlets that will help you troubleshoot common issues and streamline basic tasks.

From the list:

As PowerShell’s (PS) acceptance continues to grow, the benefits provided by the management framework will surely increase alongside it. Whether managing desktops, servers, network services, or app-specific features, IT will come to appreciate how extensive, deep, and robust the cmdlets are. They hook into the underlying system, offering complete control that is unmatched, while residing in a native package that excels at what it was designed to do with minimal impact on resources.

This list of cmdlets demonstrates how IT pros can leverage PS to troubleshoot problems as they are reported and resolve issues that IT commonly comes across in completing their daily tasks.

Reset user passwords
CMD: net user DOMAINUSERNAME PASSWORD /domain
PS: Set-ADAccountPassword -Identity USERNAME

List policies applied to clients
CMD: gpresult /h \pathtofile.html
PS: Get-GPResultantSetOfPolicy -ReportType HTML -Path \pathtofile.html

Output data onscreen to the printer
CMD: >LPT1
PS: | Out-Printer

Note: Prior to executing a cmdlet, append the suffix above to pipe the output to the default printer. To select a specific printer, use the -Name parameter and place the name of the local printer or UNC path to the shared printer to output the data to that device instead.