Powershell query - list all old files in set of folders

Question

I need to build a script that does the following:

1 - Checks if a network drive is mapped, if it is not then it maps it.
2 - Lists all folders in the root of a network drive
3 - For each folder in that list, it exports a list of all files older than 7 years to a CSV
4 - Renames the CSV files

I put together something that works when I specify a folder in part 3 but if I try to make it work with a foreach it just hangs.

How do I modify this so I get 1 CSV file for each root folder on the network drive? Lines 27-31 are not commented out on my side, not sure why they show as commented when I paste the code here.

This is the code:

#Variables
$testmapdrive = "S:\test" 
$folderpath = "S:\"+$Name
$csvpath = "S:\IT Records\Data Lifecycle Reviews\2022-04"
$csvfilename = $csvpath + "\" + $Name + ".csv"
$minage = (get-date).AddYears(-7)

#Check if S:\ mapped, if not it maps the drive

If (Test-Path -Path $testmapdrive) {
    Write-Host "Drive Exists already"
}
Else {
    #map network drive
    (New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).MapNetworkDrive("s:","\\dfspath\dfs")

    #check mapping again
    If (Test-Path -Path $testmapdrive) {
        Write-Host "Drive has been mapped"
    }
    Else {
        Write-Host "Something went very wrong"
    }
}

#Get folder names and generate lists of files in each older than 7 years
$folder = Get-ChildItem -Path "S:\" -Depth 0 | Select Name
foreach ($Name in $folder)
{
Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -File -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | ?{$_.lastwritetime -lt $minage} | Select Directory,Name,CreationTime,LastWriteTime| Export-csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation
}

Answer 1

Hi @Nancy J ,

the issue why your script is not working ist this:

This script below works here. I just modified the path and removed the | Select Name in line 6. Also make sure the folders records and 2022-04 exists in file system.

#Variables   
$rootfolder = "C:\Junk"  
$csvpath = "C:\Junk\records\2022-04"  
#Get folder names and generate lists of files in each  
$folder = Get-ChildItem -Path $rootfolder -Depth 0 -Directory  
foreach ($Name in $folder) {  
  $Name  
  $folderpath = "$rootfolder\$Name"  
  $csvfilename = "$csvpath\$Name.csv"  
  Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |  
   Select-Object Directory, Name, CreationTime, LastWriteTime |  
    Export-Csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation  
}  

----------

(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards
Andreas Baumgarten

Answer 2

Hi @Nancy J ,

you are setting the $folderpath variable containing the $Name variable at the beginning in your script (line 3). At this time the $Name variable should be still empty ($Name will be set in the foreach (line 28).
I would suggest to move the line 3 in the foreach part. like this, and try again:

 foreach ($Name in $folder)  
 {  
  $folderpath = "S:\"+$Name  
 Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -File -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | ?{$_.lastwritetime -lt $minage} | Select Directory,Name,CreationTime,LastWriteTime| Export-csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation  
 }  

----------

(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards
Andreas Baumgarten

Answer 3

Hi Andreas,

I get the same result with that change.

In the foreach, I tried replacing
Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -File -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | ?{$_.lastwritetime -lt $minage} | Select Directory,Name,CreationTime,LastWriteTime| Export-csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation

with

write-host $Name
write-host "next"

and it correctly lists each folder name followed by the word next

Based on that, I suspect the problem is somewhere in my get-childitem command. This comand works if I replace $folderpath with a set folder (i.e. S:\tech) but not with the variable.

Answer 4

Hi @Nancy J ,

I just modified a part of your script for my needs and run it successful (different folder, different $minage):

$testFolder = "C:\Junk"  
$minage = (Get-Date).AddDays(-7)  
$folder = Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Junk" -Depth 0 -Directory  
$csvfilename = $csvpath + "\" + $Name + ".csv"  
foreach ($Name in $folder) {  
  $Name   
  $folderpath = "$testFolder\$Name"  
  $csvfilename = "$testfolder\$Name.csv"  
  Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |  
   Where-Object { $_.lastwritetime -lt $minage } |   
   Select-Object Directory, Name, CreationTime, LastWriteTime |  
   Export-Csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation  
}  

Maybe you like to test it.

----------

(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards
Andreas Baumgarten

Answer 5

Thank you, I really appreciate the assistance with this.

Unfortunately, I get the same result wth your modifications.

The first get-childitem returns a list of 30 folders which are in the root of the S:\ drive for us, this is correct.

I am expecting (or wanting) the second get-childitem that is under the foreach to output 30 separate CSV files, one for each of those folders containing a listing of files in that folder.

I do see it generate the first CSV with the expected file name but it just sits at 0 bytes forever. I am logged in with a user that has full access to all of the folders on the drive (I can access each through explorer). It works if I specify the folder, it's only when I use the variable that it hangs.

As a test, I stripped it down to the bare minimum to generate the files but it still doesn't work:

#Variables 
$rootfolder = "S:"
$csvpath = "S:\records\2022-04"

#Get folder names and generate lists of files in each
$folder = Get-ChildItem -Path "S:\" -Depth 0 -Directory | Select Name
foreach ($Name in $folder)
{
$Name
$folderpath = "$rootfolder\$Name"
$csvfilename = "$csvpath\$Name.csv"
Get-ChildItem -Path $folderpath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Export-Csv $csvfilename -NoTypeInformation
}