Managing services
This sample only applies to Windows PowerShell 5.1.
There are eight core Service cmdlets, designed for a wide range of service tasks . This article
only looks at listing and changing running state for services. You can get a list of service cmdlets
using Get-Command *-Service. You can find information about each cmdlet by using
Get-Help <Cmdlet-Name>, such as Get-Help New-Service.
Getting services
You can get the services on a local or remote computer by using the Get-Service cmdlet. As with
Get-Process, using the Get-Service command without parameters returns all services. You can
filter by name, even using an asterisk as a wildcard:
PS> Get-Service -Name se*
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running seclogon Secondary Logon
Running SENS System Event Notification
Stopped ServiceLayer ServiceLayer
Because it isn't always apparent what the real name for the service is, you may find you need to find services by display name. You can search by specific name, use wildcards, or provide a list of display names:
PS> Get-Service -DisplayName se*
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running lanmanserver Server
Running SamSs Security Accounts Manager
Running seclogon Secondary Logon
Stopped ServiceLayer ServiceLayer
Running wscsvc Security Center
PS> Get-Service -DisplayName ServiceLayer, Server
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running lanmanserver Server
Stopped ServiceLayer ServiceLayer
Getting remote services
With Windows PowerShell, you can use the ComputerName parameter of the Get-Service cmdlet to
get the services on remote computers. The ComputerName parameter accepts multiple values and
wildcard characters, so you can get the services on multiple computers with a single command. For
example, the following command gets the services on the Server01 remote computer.
Get-Service -ComputerName Server01
Starting in PowerShell 6.0, the *-Service cmdlets don't have the ComputerName parameter. You
can still get services on remote computers with PowerShell remoting. For example, the following
command gets the services on the Server02 remote computer.
Invoke-Command -ComputerName Server02 -ScriptBlock { Get-Service }
You can also manage services with the other *-Service cmdlets. For more information on PowerShell
remoting, see about_Remote.
Getting required and dependent services
The Get-Service cmdlet has two parameters that are very useful in service administration. The DependentServices parameter gets services that depend on the service.
The RequiredServices parameter gets services upon which the LanmanWorkstation service depends.
PS> Get-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -RequiredServices
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running MRxSmb20 SMB 2.0 MiniRedirector
Running bowser Bowser
Running MRxSmb10 SMB 1.x MiniRedirector
Running NSI Network Store Interface Service
The DependentServices parameter gets that require the LanmanWorkstation service.
PS> Get-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -DependentServices
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running SessionEnv Terminal Services Configuration
Running Netlogon Netlogon
Stopped Browser Computer Browser
Running BITS Background Intelligent Transfer Ser...
The following command gets all services that have dependencies. The Format-Table cmdlet to display
the Status, Name, RequiredServices, and DependentServices properties of the
services.
Get-Service -Name * | Where-Object {$_.RequiredServices -or $_.DependentServices} |
Format-Table -Property Status, Name, RequiredServices, DependentServices -auto
Stopping, starting, suspending, and restarting services
The Service cmdlets all have the same general form. Services can be specified by common name or display name, and take lists and wildcards as values. To stop the print spooler, use:
Stop-Service -Name spooler
To start the print spooler after it's stopped, use:
Start-Service -Name spooler
To suspend the print spooler, use:
Suspend-Service -Name spooler
The Restart-Service cmdlet works in the same manner as the other Service cmdlets:
PS> Restart-Service -Name spooler
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Print Spooler (Spooler)' to finish starting...
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Print Spooler (Spooler)' to finish starting...
PS>
Notice that you get a repeated warning message about the Print Spooler starting up. When you perform a service operation that takes some time, PowerShell notifies you that it's still attempting to perform the task.
If you want to restart multiple services, you can get a list of services, filter them, and then perform the restart:
PS> Get-Service | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.CanStop} | Restart-Service
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Computer Browser (Browser)' to finish stopping...
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Computer Browser (Browser)' to finish stopping...
Restart-Service : can't stop service 'Logical Disk Manager (dmserver)' because
it has dependent services. It can only be stopped if the Force flag is set.
At line:1 char:57
+ Get-Service | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.CanStop} | Restart-Service <<<<
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Print Spooler (Spooler)' to finish starting...
WARNING: Waiting for service 'Print Spooler (Spooler)' to finish starting...
These Service cmdlets don't have a ComputerName parameter, but you can run them on a remote
computer by using the Invoke-Command cmdlet. For example, the following command restarts the
Spooler service on the Server01 remote computer.
Invoke-Command -ComputerName Server01 {Restart-Service Spooler}
Setting service properties
The Set-Service cmdlet changes the properties of a service on a local or remote computer. Because
the service status is a property, you can use this cmdlet to start, stop, and suspend a service.
The Set-Service cmdlet also has a StartupType parameter that lets you change the service startup
type.
To use Set-Service on Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, open PowerShell with the Run
as administrator option.
For more information, see Set-Service
