How to have a control over multiple Windows devices as if a administrator

Question

How to have a control over multiple Windows devices as if a administrator

Deok Jong Moon 125

Hi there,

Basically, I've been looking around several dev communities and couldn't find appropriate answers for that.

What I'd like to implement are as follows,

To factory reset multiple Windows devices
To install certain applications on multiple Windows devices
To uninstall certain applications on multiple Windows devices
To block certain applications from being installed or executed on multiple Windows devices

I guess there must be some .NET APIs doing those things but as a beginner in .NET, I couldn't find them.

Would you give us a help for this?

Any brief mentions or links related to those functions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

DJ Moon

Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-03T02:05:47.93+00:00

Hi, Deok Jong Moon Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!
One thread should focus on one issue. We recommend that you create separate threads for each of your questions.
For your reference: Guidelines for posting a quality question on Microsoft Q&A
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Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-03T06:23:13.78+00:00

How do you connect multiple devices?
Deok Jong Moon 125 Reputation points

2023-03-03T07:35:19.2933333+00:00

Oh I got it. Sorry that I posted many issues here, they were grouped because of their sharing characteristics.

Uhm, as for @Minxin Yu 's latest comment, I'm planning that basically all those multiple devices will have a certain Service installed and run at the background, and it will receive a request for actions like install some apps or delete them if I think they are not appropriate for the devices' users.

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Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-03T02:05:47.93+00:00

Hi, Deok Jong Moon Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!
One thread should focus on one issue. We recommend that you create separate threads for each of your questions.
For your reference: Guidelines for posting a quality question on Microsoft Q&A
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-03T06:23:13.78+00:00

How do you connect multiple devices?
Deok Jong Moon 125 Reputation points

2023-03-03T07:35:19.2933333+00:00

Oh I got it. Sorry that I posted many issues here, they were grouped because of their sharing characteristics.

Uhm, as for @Minxin Yu 's latest comment, I'm planning that basically all those multiple devices will have a certain Service installed and run at the background, and it will receive a request for actions like install some apps or delete them if I think they are not appropriate for the devices' users.

Answer 1

Minxin Yu 13,506 Microsoft External Staff

Hi,

From your description, PowerShell is more in line with your requirements than .NET API. And PowerShell can be used in C#.
Blog: Learn How to Run PowerShell Scripts Against Multiple Computers
There is an exe systemreset.exe in C:/Windows/System32 that can be called to factory reset device.

To block certain applications The feature is located in Local Group Policy Editor-> Administrative Templates > System> Don't run specified Windows applications policy.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-R2-and-2008/ee461027(v=technet.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
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Best regards,

Minxin Yu

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Deok Jong Moon 125 Reputation points

2023-03-03T07:41:48.66+00:00

Oops, I was literally answering your comment now and it seems like my answer has blown away somehow when I tried to click on the 'Add comment' button.

First of all, thanks for your answer :) If my answer would be still valid, I was thinking to connect those multiple devices through running a programme, such as a Service at the background on those devices. And the Service will receive a request from the admin programme, which will be running on my side.

To go back to your answer and my curiosity, could the PowerShell be written as a programme, if this question makes any sense at all(I'm a newbie on C# and developing for Windows).
Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-03T07:44:46.24+00:00

You can run an existing script by calling the System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.AddScript method.
PowerShell ps = PowerShell.Create(); ps.AddScript("D:\PSScripts\MyScript.ps1").Invoke();
Deok Jong Moon 125 Reputation points

2023-03-03T08:33:37.9+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

It seems like I can just write PowerShell script and run it, but wondering when you and the documentation mentioned that PowerShell could be written in C#, what does it exactly mean?

Is it like developing a .NET project through Visual Studio and type those codes in there as if PowerShell object is instantiated, or I should write a fully new script file from a scratch just using C# without .NET(if that is possible anyway) and use the System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.AddScript method?

This one would finally resolve most of the vagueness I had about implementing those functions, I guess!
Minxin Yu 13,506 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-03-06T01:27:22.4566667+00:00

I should write a fully new script file from a scratch just using C# without .NET(if that is possible anyway) and use the System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.AddScript method?

Yes.

Answer 2

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How to have a control over multiple Windows devices as if a administrator

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