Step-by-step walkthroughs for getting the most out of our free scripts and tools — from first-time PowerShell setup to advanced module installs. Click any guide to expand it.
Windows blocks downloaded scripts by default. Here's the safe way to run any .ps1 from our library.
Downloaded files carry a "Mark of the Web." Right-click the .ps1 → Properties → check Unblock → OK. Or via PowerShell:
In File Explorer, navigate to the folder, then type powershell in the address bar and press Enter. For admin tasks, right-click Start → Terminal (Admin).
Rather than changing the machine-wide policy, scope it to the current session:
Always read a script before running it — every script on this site is plain text and commented. Then:
All of our VMware scripts require the official PowerCLI module. One-time setup:
Most internal vCenters use self-signed certs. Either pass -SkipCertCheck to our scripts, or set it globally:
PowerCLI 13.x supports both vSphere 7 and vSphere 8 environments.
Our M365/O365 scripts use the modern Microsoft.Graph module — MSOnline and AzureAD are deprecated. Setup:
Each script header lists its required scopes. Example for the license inventory script:
First-time scope use opens a browser sign-in. A Global Admin may need to approve the permission for the tenant. Read-only scopes (Read.All) cannot modify anything.
Our .ksh and .sh scripts run on AIX 7.x, RHEL, and most modern Linux distributions.
Scripts that need root (LVM, errpt, filesystem operations) will say so in their header comments — run those with sudo or as root.
The fast path from "user is locked out" to root cause, using our free AD scripts.
Run our AD Locked Accounts script (or query directly) to find the lockout origin:
Lockout events are always forwarded to the PDCe. Look for Event ID 4740 — the "Caller Computer Name" field reveals which machine sent the bad passwords:
On the offending machine, the usual suspects: saved credentials in Credential Manager, mapped drives, scheduled tasks, services running as the user, mobile devices with old Wi-Fi/email passwords, and disconnected RDP sessions.
Watch badPwdCount for the next hour — if it climbs again, the stale credential is still active somewhere.
If a script isn't behaving, you've hit an infrastructure problem these guides don't cover, or you'd rather have a professional handle it — that's literally what we do. Managed IT, server administration, and one-off projects across Windows, VMware, Azure, AIX, and Linux.
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