Get-ComputerInfo

Exploring Get-ComputerInfo: A PowerShell Cmdlet for System Insight

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell blog! Today we are diving into a powerful and often underrated cmdlet in PowerShell — Get-ComputerInfo. This cmdlet is your gateway to quickly retrieving an extensive list of system and operating system properties from your local machine. Whether you’re an IT administrator, a developer, or just a PowerShell enthusiast, Get-ComputerInfo has something valuable to offer.

What is Get-ComputerInfo?

According to Microsoft, “Get-ComputerInfo gets a consolidated object of system and operating system properties.” That means it rapidly compiles system specs such as OS version, BIOS information, network configuration, hardware details, and much more — all at your fingertips through a single cmdlet.

Let’s look at how we can put this to practical use by exploring four examples, starting with beginner-level tasks and gradually moving into more advanced scenarios.

🧪 Example 1: Get Basic System Info (Beginner)

If you simply want to explore what Get-ComputerInfo provides, just run it without any parameters:

Get-ComputerInfo

This outputs a huge object with lots of system details. To narrow it down, a great trick is to filter by property names using Select-Object:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, OsName, WindowsVersion, OsArchitecture

This gives you the basic system name, OS name, version, and architecture.

⚙️ Example 2: Check Windows Activation Status (Intermediate)

You can pull the Windows activation status like this:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsEditionId, OsRegisteredUser, OsActivationStatus

This is useful for IT admins trying to audit machines for license compliance.

📋 Example 3: Export System Info to a CSV File (Intermediate)

Let’s say you’re doing an audit and want to collect system data into a CSV:

$computerInfo = Get-ComputerInfo | 
    Select-Object CsName, OsName, WindowsVersion, BiosManufacturer, BiosVersion, CsSystemFamily

$computerInfo | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Temp\SystemInfo.csv" -NoTypeInformation

This snippet will export the info to a CSV file ready for analysis or reporting.

🕵️‍♂️ Example 4: Compare BIOS Version Across Multiple Machines (Advanced)

In a domain environment, you might want to check that BIOS versions are up-to-date. Assuming you have a list of computer names in a text file:

$computers = Get-Content -Path "C:\Temp\ComputerList.txt"

foreach ($computer in $computers) {
    try {
        $info = Invoke-Command -ComputerName $computer -ScriptBlock {
            Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, BiosVersion, BiosReleaseDate
        }
        $info
    }
    catch {
        Write-Warning "Could not retrieve info from $computer"
    }
}

This sample queries each machine remotely and pulls BIOS version and release date. Very handy for hardware audits or compliance checks.

Wrapping Up

Get-ComputerInfo is a robust command for gathering local machine data in PowerShell. It’s fast, convenient, and incredibly informative. Whether you’re doing diagnostics, generating reports, or simply learning PowerShell, this cmdlet is a must-have in your toolbox.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!