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PowerGUI: A Utility For Power Users And PowerShell Script Developers

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 07:00 AM PST

Having taken batch scripting about as far as I think I can, have recently started playing around with Windows PowerShell which allows you to write scripts to do just about any OS level task. While tutorials are helpful, I have found simply creating scripts via old fashioned trial and error works best for me. A tool I have found incredibly helpful is the freely available PowerGUI which is both a PowerShell script editor and advanced system explorer tool in one.

The system explorer component is a nice tool for viewing information you can get to via the administrative tools but also offers filtering, export and reporting capabilities which the standard Windows interface does not.

Regarding the scripting, one of the biggest adjustments to using PowerShell is learning the namespaces of where everything is and the PowerGUI editor’s intellisense makes this process a lot easier. In addition, the PowerGUI website is loaded with sample scripts and tutorials which you can download as well as an active user forum.

Overall, PowerGUI is tool I would recommend to any power user and those who are interested in learning PowerShell.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

PowerGUI: A Utility For Power Users And PowerShell Script Developers

Easily View And Change Drive Letters Of Any Device

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 06:00 AM PST

Whenever you install a new drive (hard disk,optical, etc.) or plug in a removable device such as a flash drive or camera, Windows assigns the device a drive letter. If you have previously used the removable device, for the most part, you should get the same drive letter. If you have the need to change drive letters you can do this through Disk Management in your Administrative Tools, but a much easier solution is to use the Nirsoft utility DriveLetterView.

DriveLetterView is a simple utility that allows you to view the list of all drive letter assignments in your system, including local drives, remote network drives, CD/DVD drives, and USB drives – even if they are not currently plugged. It also allows you to easily change a drive letter of USB devices and remote network shares, as well as to delete a drive letter of USB device that is not plugged. You can also use DriveLetterView to export the list of all drives into text/csv/html/xml file.

A nice feature of this utility is the ability to view and change drive letters of devices which are not current available (i.e. flash drives which are not plugged in). As with all the Nirsoft utilities, this applications is completely portable so it might make a nice addition to your toolbox.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Easily View And Change Drive Letters Of Any Device