How do I capture the output into a variable from a

Question

I'd like to run an external process and capture it's command output to a variable in PowerShell. I'm currently using this:

$params = "/verify $pc /domain:hosp.uhhg.org"
start-process "netdom.exe" $params -WindowStyle Hidden -Wait

I've confirmed the command is executing but I need to capture the output into a variable. This means I can't use the -RedirectOutput because this only redirects to a file.

Answer 1

I tried the answers, but in my case I did not get the raw output. Instead it was converted to a PowerShell exception.

The raw result I got with:

$rawOutput = (cmd /c <command> 2`>`&1)

Answer 2

If all you are trying to do is capture the output from a command, then this will work well.

I use it for changing system time, as [timezoneinfo]::local always produces the same information, even after you have made changes to the system. This is the only way I can validate and log the change in time zone:

$NewTime = (powershell.exe -command [timezoneinfo]::local)
$NewTime | Tee-Object -FilePath $strLFpath\$strLFName -Append

Meaning that I have to open a new PowerShell session to reload the system variables.

Answer 3

Another real-life example:

$result = & "$env:cust_tls_store\Tools\WDK\x64\devcon.exe" enable $strHwid 2>&1 | Out-String

Notice that this example includes a path (which begins with an environment variable). Notice that the quotes must surround the path and the EXE file, but not the parameters!

Note: Don't forget the & character in front of the command, but outside of the quotes.

The error output is also collected.

It took me a while to get this combination working, so I thought that I would share it.