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Author: Peter Barnett Date: Mar 08, 2019

1. Installing PSWindowsUpdate PowerShell Module

Since PSWindowsUpdate is not installed on Windows by default, we have to first install the module.

PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate -MaximumVersion 1.5.2.6

If we run Get-Command we can see all of the commands in the PSWindowsUpdate module:

PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Get-Command -Module PSWindowsUpdate

CommandType Name Version Source

----------- ---- ------- ------
• Alias Get-WindowsUpdate 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Alias Hide-WindowsUpdate 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Alias Install-WindowsUpdate 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Alias Uninstall-WindowsUpdate 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Add-WUOfflineSync 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Add-WUServiceManager 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUHistory 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUInstall 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUInstallerStatus 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUList 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WURebootStatus 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUServiceManager 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Get-WUUninstall 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Hide-WUUpdate 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Invoke-WUInstall 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Remove-WUOfflineSync 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate
• Function Remove-WUServiceManager 1.5.2.6 pswindowsupdate

2. How Invoke-WUInstall Works

One different aspect of using Invoke-WUInstall is that it does not use traditional remoting methods to perform Windows update in PowerShell. When you look at the source code, it actually creates and immediately runs a scheduled task on the remote machine under the SYSTEM account.

• Write-Verbose 'Create schedule service object'
• $Scheduler = New-Object -ComObject Schedule.Service
• $Task = $Scheduler.NewTask(0)
• $RegistrationInfo = $Task.RegistrationInfo
• $RegistrationInfo.Description = $TaskName
• $RegistrationInfo.Author = $User.Name
• $Settings = $Task.Settings
• $Settings.Enabled = $True
• $Settings.StartWhenAvailable = $True
• $Settings.Hidden = $False
• $Action = $Task.Actions.Create(0)
• $Action.Path = 'powershell'
• $Action.Arguments = '-Command $Script'
• $Task.Principal.RunLevel = 1

typical use of Invoke-WUInstall would be:

Invoke-WUInstall -ComputerName Test-1 -Script {ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll | Out-File C:PSWindowsUpdate.log }-Confirm:$false –Verbose

In this command we see Get-WUInstall, which is the command PSWindowsUpdate uses to install updates, usually from your Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server. Get-WUInstall simply uses a COM object for Windows updates to perform the tasks needed. Notice also the use of the -AcceptAll parameter, which means it will automatically accept any updates to install.

One nice feature of Invoke-WUInstall is that it actually installs the PSWindowsUpdate module on the remote machine (if it isn't there already). This is great when you are using the module on a new machine, or when you decide to use it for the first time.

• C: > $cim = New-CimSession -ComputerName Test-1
• C: > $cim

• Id : 2
• Name : CimSession2
• InstanceId : afa8c63d-fb1f-46f9-8082-c66238750a92
• ComputerName : Test-1
• Protocol : WSMAN

• C:ScriptsPowerShell> (Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath ' -CimSession $cim -TaskName PSWindowsUpdate).actions
• Id :
• Arguments : -Command ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll -AutoReboot | Out-File C:PSWindowsUpdate.log
• Execute : powershell
• WorkingDirectory :
• PSComputerName : Test-1

As you can see, the scheduled task is going to run ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll -AutoReboot | Out-File C:PSWindowsUpdate.log. Using Out-File will ensure the logs of downloading and installing updates are visible so we can check against them later..

3. Install Updates on Multiple Machines

The true power of Invoke-WUInstall is when you have to install updates on many machines at once. This is very easy to do, all you need is to add machines to the ‑ComputerName parameter, which then processes them in a loop (not in parallel unfortunately).

• C: > Invoke-WUInstall -ComputerName Test-1,Test-2,Test-3,Test-4 -Script {ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll | Out-File C:
• PSWindowsUpdate.log } -Confirm:$false -Verbose
• VERBOSE: Populating RepositorySourceLocation property for module PSWindowsUpdate.
• VERBOSE: Loading module from path 'C:Program FilesWindowsPowerShellModulesPSWindowsUpdate1.5.2.6PSWindowsUpdate.psm1'.
• VERBOSE: Create schedule service object
• VERBOSE: Performing the operation 'Invoke WUInstall' on target 'Test-1'.

4. Windows Update in Powershell: Finding Errors

One great reason to output to a log on the remote machine is to confirm that no errors installing updates on these remote machines occurred. With some simple PowerShell, we can query these log files and search for failures.

Here is what a typical log looks like after using Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll | Out-File C: PSWindowsUpdate.log:

It includes the status of the update, its KB number, size, and title—all great information to have handy when installing updates.

Using Invoke-Command, Get-Item, and Select-String, we can use a quick technique to easily work through any computers used with Invoke-WUInstall and check for updates that failed to install:

• C:> Invoke-Command -ComputerName Test-1,Test-2,Test-3 -ScriptBlock {
• >> Get-Item C:PSWindowsUpdate.log | Select-String -Pattern 'failed' -SimpleMatch |
• >> Select-Object -Property line } | Select-Object -Property Line,PSComputerName
• Line PSComputerName
• ---- --------------
• 4 Failed KB4103712 30 MB 2018-05 Security Only Quality Update for Windo... Test-1

Consider using Action1 to install Windows updates remotely if:

• - You need to perform an action on multiple computers simultaneously.
• - You have remote employees with computers not connected to your corporate network.

Action1 is a cloud-based platform for patch management, software deployment, remote desktop, software/hardware inventory, endpoint management and endpoint configuration reporting.

Start your free trial or use free forever to manage up to 50 endpoints. More details >

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