In a previous blog Capture PowerShell Output in Windows Scheduled Tasks I stated the only reliable way I found to capture PS output is by using a CMD or Bat to execute the PS script. After stumbling upon the correct way to call PowerShell using a –Command variable, I changed my mind. I found the correct way by reading the PowerShell help in PS v3 (imagine that) which says under –Command:
To write a string that runs a Windows PowerShell command, use the format:
“& {<command>}”
where the quotation marks indicate a string and the invoke operator (&)
causes the command to be executed.
So now, I can call PowerShell from Windows Task Scheduler with the correct syntax while still supplying various parms and send the whole command to an output file. The command would look like this:
Powershell.exe -NonInteractive -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command “& {D:\Scripts\SQL-Servers\Backup-SqlServer.ps1 –Server SQLSERVER -Verbose; Return $LASTEXITCODE}” 2>&1> D:\logs\SQL-Servers\Backup_SQLServer.txt”
This will execute my script, return whatever code I emit from the script, and write any output to a file.
