Win32_Group - powershell.one

The Win32_Group WMI class represents data about a group account. A group account allows access privileges to be changed for a list of users. Example: Marketing2.

Methods

Win32_Group has 1 methods:

Method	Description
Rename	Changes the group name.

Learn more about Invoke-CimMethod and how to invoke commands. Click any of the methods listed above to learn more about their purpose, parameters, and return value.

Properties

Win32_Group returns 9 properties:

'Caption','Description','Domain','InstallDate','LocalAccount','Name','SID','SIDType',
'Status'

Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group -Property *

Most WMI classes return one or more instances.

When Get-CimInstance returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_Group exist. This is normal behavior.

Either the class is not implemented on your system (may be deprecated or due to missing drivers, i.e. CIM_VideoControllerResolution), or there are simply no physical representations of this class currently available (i.e. Win32_TapeDrive).

Caption

STRING MAX 64 CHAR

A short textual description of the object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Caption

Description

STRING

A textual description of the object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Description

Domain

STRING

Name of the Windows domain to which the group account belongs.

Example: “NA-SALES”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Domain

InstallDate

DATETIME

Indicates when the object was installed. Lack of a value does not indicate that the object is not installed.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property InstallDate

LocalAccount

BOOLEAN

If TRUE, the account is defined on the local machine. To retrieve only accounts defined on the local machine, design a query that includes the condition “LocalAccount=TRUE”.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property LocalAccount

Name

STRING

Name of the Windows group account on the domain specified by the Domain property of this class.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Name

SID

STRING

Security identifier (SID) for this account. A SID is a string value of variable length used to identify a trustee. Each account has a unique SID issued by an authority (such as a Windows domain), stored in a security database. When a user logs on, the system retrieves the user’s SID from the database and places it in the user’s access token. The system uses the SID in the user’s access token to identify the user in all subsequent interactions with Windows security. When a SID has been used as the unique identifier for a user or group, it cannot be used again to identify another user or group.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property SID

SIDType

UINT8

Enumerated values that specify the type of security identifier (SID).

SIDType returns a numeric value. To translate it into a meaningful text, use any of the following approaches:

Use a PowerShell Hashtable

$SIDType_map = @{
= 'SidTypeUser'
= 'SidTypeGroup'
= 'SidTypeDomain'
= 'SidTypeAlias'
= 'SidTypeWellKnownGroup'
= 'SidTypeDeletedAccount'
= 'SidTypeInvalid'
= 'SidTypeUnknown'
= 'SidTypeComputer'
}

Use a switch statement

switch([int]$value)
{
  1          {'SidTypeUser'}
  2          {'SidTypeGroup'}
  3          {'SidTypeDomain'}
  4          {'SidTypeAlias'}
  5          {'SidTypeWellKnownGroup'}
  6          {'SidTypeDeletedAccount'}
  7          {'SidTypeInvalid'}
  8          {'SidTypeUnknown'}
  9          {'SidTypeComputer'}
  default    {"$value"}
}

Use Enum structure

Enum EnumSIDType
{
  SidTypeUser             = 1
  SidTypeGroup            = 2
  SidTypeDomain           = 3
  SidTypeAlias            = 4
  SidTypeWellKnownGroup   = 5
  SidTypeDeletedAccount   = 6
  SidTypeInvalid          = 7
  SidTypeUnknown          = 8
  SidTypeComputer         = 9
}

Examples

Use $SIDType_map in a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to translate raw numeric values for 
  property "SIDType" to friendly text

  Note: to use other properties than "SIDType", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "SIDType" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SIDType_map = @{
      1 = 'SidTypeUser'
      2 = 'SidTypeGroup'
      3 = 'SidTypeDomain'
      4 = 'SidTypeAlias'
      5 = 'SidTypeWellKnownGroup'
      6 = 'SidTypeDeletedAccount'
      7 = 'SidTypeInvalid'
      8 = 'SidTypeUnknown'
      9 = 'SidTypeComputer'
}

#endregion define hashtable

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SIDType", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$SIDType = @{
  Name = 'SIDType'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.SIDType
    $SIDType_map[[int]$value]
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve the instances, and output the properties "Caption" and "SIDType". The latter
# is defined by the hashtable in $SIDType: 
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Caption, $SIDType

# ...or dump content of property SIDType:
$friendlyValues = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group | 
    Select-Object -Property $SIDType |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty SIDType

# output values
$friendlyValues

# output values as comma separated list
$friendlyValues -join ', '

# output values as bullet list
$friendlyValues | ForEach-Object { "- $_" }

Use $SIDType_map to directly translate raw values from an instance

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to manually translate raw numeric values 
  for property "Win32_Group" to friendly text. This approach is ideal when
  there is just one instance to work with.

  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_Group", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "Win32_Group" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SIDType_map = @{
      1 = 'SidTypeUser'
      2 = 'SidTypeGroup'
      3 = 'SidTypeDomain'
      4 = 'SidTypeAlias'
      5 = 'SidTypeWellKnownGroup'
      6 = 'SidTypeDeletedAccount'
      7 = 'SidTypeInvalid'
      8 = 'SidTypeUnknown'
      9 = 'SidTypeComputer'
}

#endregion define hashtable

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to illustrate
  the number-to-text translation. To process all instances, replace
  "Select-Object -First 1" with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use
  the iterator variable $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property
$rawValue = $instance.SIDType  

# translate raw value to friendly text:
$friendlyName = $SIDType_map[[int]$rawValue]

# output value
$friendlyName

Use a switch statement inside a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a switch clause to translate raw numeric 
  values for property "SIDType" to friendly text. The switch
  clause is embedded into a calculated property so there is
  no need to refer to external variables for translation.

  Note: to use other properties than "SIDType", look up the appropriate 
  translation switch clause for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SIDType", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$SIDType = @{
  Name = 'SIDType'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.SIDType
    
    switch([int]$value)
      {
        1          {'SidTypeUser'}
        2          {'SidTypeGroup'}
        3          {'SidTypeDomain'}
        4          {'SidTypeAlias'}
        5          {'SidTypeWellKnownGroup'}
        6          {'SidTypeDeletedAccount'}
        7          {'SidTypeInvalid'}
        8          {'SidTypeUnknown'}
        9          {'SidTypeComputer'}
        default    {"$value"}
      }
      
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve all instances...
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | 
  # ...and output properties "Caption" and "SIDType". The latter is defined
  # by the hashtable in $SIDType:
  Select-Object -Property Caption, $SIDType

Use the Enum from above to auto-translate the code values

<# 
  this example translates raw values by means of type conversion
  the friendly names are defined as enumeration using the
  keyword "enum" (PowerShell 5 or better)
  
  The raw value(s) are translated to friendly text by 
  simply converting them into the enum type.
  
  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_Group", look up the appropriate 
  enum definition for the property you would like to use instead.
#>


#region define enum with value-to-text translation:
Enum EnumSIDType
{
  SidTypeUser             = 1
  SidTypeGroup            = 2
  SidTypeDomain           = 3
  SidTypeAlias            = 4
  SidTypeWellKnownGroup   = 5
  SidTypeDeletedAccount   = 6
  SidTypeInvalid          = 7
  SidTypeUnknown          = 8
  SidTypeComputer         = 9
}

#endregion define enum

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to focus on
  the number-to-text type conversion. 
  
  To process all instances, replace   "Select-Object -First 1" 
  with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use the iterator variable 
  $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property:
$rawValue = $instance.SIDType

#region using strict type conversion

<#
  Note: strict type conversion fails if the raw value is 
  not defined by the enum. So if the list of allowable values
  was extended and the enum does not match the value,
  an exception is thrown
#>

# convert the property to the enum **SIDType** 
[EnumSIDType]$rawValue 

# get a comma-separated string:
[EnumSIDType]$rawValue -join ',' 
#endregion

#region using operator "-as"

<#
  Note: the operator "-as" accepts values not defined
  by the enum and returns $null instead of throwing
  an exception
#>

$rawValue -as [EnumSIDType]
#endregion

Enums must cover all possible values. If SIDType returns a value that is not defined in the enum, an exception occurs. The exception reports the value that was missing in the enum. To fix, add the missing value to the enum.

Status

STRING MAX 10 CHAR

Current status of an object. Various operational and nonoperational statuses can be defined. Available values:

$values = 'Degraded','Error','Lost Comm','No Contact','NonRecover','OK','Pred Fail','Service','Starting','Stopping','Stressed','Unknown'

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property Status

Examples

List all instances of Win32_Group

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group

Learn more about Get-CimInstance and the deprecated Get-WmiObject.

View all properties

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group -Property *

View key properties only

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group -KeyOnly

Selecting Properties

To select only some properties, pipe the results to Select-Object -Property a,b,c with a comma-separated list of the properties you require. Wildcards are permitted.

Get-CimInstance always returns all properties but only retrieves the ones that you specify. All other properties are empty but still present. That’s why you need to pipe the results into Select-Object if you want to limit the visible properties, i.e. for reporting.

Selecting Properties

The code below lists all available properties. Remove the ones you do not need:

$properties = 'Caption',
              'Description',
              'Domain',
              'InstallDate',
              'LocalAccount',
              'Name',
              'SID',
              'SIDType',
              'Status'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object -Property $properties

Limiting Network Bandwidth

If you work remotely, it makes sense to limit network bandwidth by filtering the properties on the server side, too:

Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group -Property $property | 
Select-Object -Property $property

Selecting Instances

To select some instances, use Get-CimInstance and a WMI Query. The wildcard character in WMI Queries is % (and not “*”).

The parameter -Filter runs a simple query.

Listing all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”

Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Group -Filter 'Caption LIKE "a%"' 

Using a WQL Query

The parameter -Query uses a query similar to SQL and combines the parameters -Filter and -Property. This returns all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”, and returns the properties specified:

Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT LocalAccount, Description, Domain, SIDType FROM Win32_Group WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'"

Any property you did not specify is still present but empty. You might need to use Select-Object to remove all unwanted properties:
Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT LocalAccount, Description, Domain, SIDType FROM Win32_Group WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property LocalAccount, Description, Domain, SIDType

Accessing Remote Computers

To access remote systems, you need to have proper permissions. User the parameter -ComputerName to access one or more remote systems.

Authenticating as Current User

# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with your current identity:
$result = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group -ComputerName $list 
$result

Authenticating as Different User

Use a CIMSession object to authenticate with a new identity:

# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with a different identity:
$cred = Get-Credential -Message 'Authenticate to retrieve WMI information:'
$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $list -Credential $cred

$result = Get-CimInstance Win32_Group -CimSession $session

# remove the session after use (if you do not plan to re-use it later)
Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

$result

Learn more about accessing remote computers.

Requirements

To use Win32_Group, the following requirements apply:

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.

If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.

Operating System

Win32_Group was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.

Namespace

Win32_Group lives in the Namespace Root/CIMV2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.

Implementation

Win32_Group is implemented in CIMWin32.dll and defined in CIMWin32.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\CIMWin32.mof

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