Win32_ShadowContext - powershell.one

The Win32_ShadowContext class specifies how a shadow copy is to be created, queried, or deleted, and the degree of writer involvement.

Methods

Win32_ShadowContext has no methods.

Properties

Win32_ShadowContext returns 13 properties:

'ClientAccessible','Differential','ExposedLocally','ExposedRemotely',
'HardwareAssisted','Imported','Name','NoAutoRelease','NotSurfaced','NoWriters','Persistent','Plex',
'Transportable'

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

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext -Property *

Most WMI classes return one or more instances.

When Get-CimInstance returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_ShadowContext 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).

ClientAccessible

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is created by the Windows Previous Versions component.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, ClientAccessible

Differential

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is created by a differential shadow copy provider. The provider can be implemented in hardware or software.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, Differential

ExposedLocally

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is exposed on a remote computer with a network share. If both ExposedLocally and ExposedRemotely are false, the shadow copy is hidden.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, ExposedLocally

ExposedRemotely

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is exposed on a remote computer with a network share. If both ExposedRemotely and ExposedLocally are false, the shadow copy is hidden.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, ExposedRemotely

HardwareAssisted

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is created by a hardware shadow copy provider.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, HardwareAssisted

Imported

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is imported to a computer by using the Import method and is not created by using the Create method.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, Imported

Name

KEY PROPERTY STRING

Name of the context.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name

NoAutoRelease

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is retained after the requestor process ends. If false, the shadow copy is automatically deleted when the shadow copy requestor process ends.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, NoAutoRelease

NotSurfaced

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is not currently in the device namespace of the local computer.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, NotSurfaced

NoWriters

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is created without involvement of shadow copy writer components.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, NoWriters

Persistent

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy persists across restarts.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, Persistent

Plex

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy is created by a split-mirror shadow copy provider.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, Plex

Transportable

BOOLEAN

If true, the shadow copy can be surfaced on another computer. If false, and the volumes are surfaced locally, it may not be possible to surface them later on a different computer.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | Select-Object -Property Name, Transportable

Examples

List all instances of Win32_ShadowContext

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext

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

View all properties

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext -Property *

View key properties only

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext -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 = 'ClientAccessible',
              'Differential',
              'ExposedLocally',
              'ExposedRemotely',
              'HardwareAssisted',
              'Imported',
              'Name',
              'NoAutoRelease',
              'NotSurfaced',
              'NoWriters',
              'Persistent',
              'Plex',
              'Transportable'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ShadowContext | 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_ShadowContext -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_ShadowContext -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 Plex, ExposedLocally, Transportable, Differential FROM Win32_ShadowContext 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 Plex, ExposedLocally, Transportable, Differential FROM Win32_ShadowContext WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property Plex, ExposedLocally, Transportable, Differential

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_ShadowContext -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_ShadowContext -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_ShadowContext, 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_ShadowContext was introduced on clients with None supported and on servers with Windows Server 2003.

Namespace

Win32_ShadowContext 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_ShadowContext is implemented in Vsswmi.dll and defined in Vss.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

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

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