Search results matching tags 'Windows Vista' and 'Windows'

Burn CD's and DVDs with Powershell

Austin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:47:00 GMT

Included with Microsoft Vista is a new API for scripting against optical drives; the Image Mastering API version 2 or IMAPI2. This makes it possible to retrieve information from optical storage media like CDs and DVDs and write to them.

The story around the IMAPI and what you can do with it can be found on msdn but what brought it to my attention was the Scriptcenter newsletter this week where a VB sample of how to burn CDs/DVDs using the Image Mastering API was described. Yep, if we can do it with VB there's got to be a PoSHer way to do the same thing so I gave it a go and over a couple of hours managed to get my version to work.

Who needs ISO burning tools anymore ay? Roll your own!

My modification of the script accepts one argument which is the path to the ISO file and it barfs if a wrong path is given.

The assumption is that the CD/DVD writer is first optical drive on the system (If it's not, change the msftdiscMaster2 index used in the msftdiscrecorder2 initializedrecorder method ).

Minor error checking has been thrown in to ensure a valid path to an ISO file is provided and that the disc is blank.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

param(
[string]$path = $( throw "Please Specify path to an ISO file")
)
# Set binary file type
Set-Variable -name adFileTypeBinary -value 1 -option Constant

# Test if path exists else fail
if (Test-Path -path $path -isValid)
{
$isoFile = $path

# Create disc master to burn to optical drives
$obm = New-Object -comobject "imapi2.msftdiscMaster2"

    # Create a DiscRecorder object for the specified burning device
    $obr = New-Object -comobject "imapi2.msftdiscrecorder2"
    $obr.initializediscrecorder( $obm.item(0) )
    $dataWriter = New-Object -comobject "IMAPI2.MsftDiscFormat2Data"
    $dataWriter.Recorder = $obr
    $dataWriter.ClientName = "ISOTest1"

    # Write stream to disc using the specified recorder
    Write-Host "Writing to disc..."
    $objStream = New-Object -comobject "ADODB.Stream"
    $objStream.open()
    $objStream.type = $adFileTypeBinary
    $objStream.LoadFromFile( "$isoFile" )

    # Check disk is blank else fail
    $addr = $dataWriter.NextWritableAddress
        if ( $addr = "0" )
            {
                $dataWriter.Write( $objStream )
                Write-Host "Done"
            }
        else
            {
                Write-Host "Cannot write to disk" }
            }

else
    {
    Write-Host "A valid ISO file was not found"
    }

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Scriptcenter site shows other examples in VB and they can all be converted to Powershell with very little effort.

Binaries for for versions of IMAPIv2 for other platforms can be obtained here:

Image Mastering API v2.0 for Windows XP

Image Mastering API v2.0 for Windows Sever 2003

Image Mastering API v2.0 for Windows XP x64 Edition

Image Mastering API v2.0 for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition

TechEd IT Forum In Barcelona

Austin — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:42:26 GMT

Anyone visiting my blog who's going to be at TechEd in Barcelona from the 12th - 16th of November, do let me know. I'll be there and looking forward to another exciting week learning stuff and trading "war stories" with my kinda geeks!

Guys not to miss at TechEd, in my opinion, Markus Murray of Trusec and of course Mr Steve Riley. These guys run their sessions in ways that keep you interested and always happy you attended. Always standing space only too so be sure to be early for the sessions ;-)

PING me and hope to see you there.

Windows System State Analyzer Tool

Austin — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:07:00 GMT

A real cool tool I stumbled on this holiday weekend is the Windows System State Analyzer tool used to validate system configurations and verify server application/driver compliance for the Windows Server 2008 logo and certification program.

The tool takes a snapshot of a system which includes fixed drives, services, drivers and the registry. Users can create two snapshots at different points in time and compare them to view differences.

The tool requires version 2 of the .Net Framework and Windows Installer 3.0

I used it to Identify how an application modified a Windows 2000 Terminal Server and the files and services added. The detailed difference report is generated and exported as a HTML file:

This tool can also be used to determine the variance of Servers from a known baseline where it is necessary to ensure they are all identical and it will show where the deltas are.

Neat!!

Vista Compatibility and reliability Updates

Austin — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:21:00 GMT

For those running Vista, Microsoft has released some performance related updates which might fix some startup and hibernation issues you might be experiencing:

An update is available that improves the compatibility and reliability of Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938194

An update is available that improves the performance and reliability of Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938979