How to start powershell

From Svendsen Tech Powershell Wiki

Contents 1 From the Start Menu Search Box 2 From the Start Menu 3 PowerShell Executables File System Locations 3.1 64-bit Windows 3.2 32-bit Windows

From the Start Menu Search Box

• Click the Start Button
• Type in "powershell" in the search field at the bottom

You should see shortcuts to both PowerShell and PowerShell ISE (ISE has to be manually installed as a feature on Server 2008 R2, through Server Manager - click here for how). If you right-click and drag the shortcuts to the desktop, you can choose to copy the shortcuts there for easy access later.

From the Start Menu

PowerShell should be available from the shortcuts from the following menu choice:

• Start
  • All Programs
    • Accessories
      • Windows PowerShell

PowerShell Executables File System Locations

Note: %SystemRoot% is usually C:\Windows (accessible as $env:SystemRoot in PowerShell). Don't be fooled by the directory name part containing "v1.0" - it can still be Powershell v2. From what I've read, Microsoft originally had planned to use different directories, but later changed their mind - probably for backwards compatibility reasons if I am to venture a guess. Click here to learn how to find which version of PowerShell you are running.

64-bit Windows

The default paths to the executables for PowerShell and PowerShell ISE on relevant 64-bit Windows operating systems:

32-bit (x86) PowerShell executable	%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
64-bit (x64) Powershell executable	%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
32-bit (x86) Powershell ISE executable	%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell_ise.exe
64-bit (x64) Powershell ISE executable	%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell_ise.exe

32-bit Windows

The default paths to the executables for PowerShell and PowerShell ISE on relevant 32-bit Windows operating systems:

32-bit (x86) PowerShell executable	%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
32-bit (x86) Powershell ISE executable	%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell_ise.exe