DeleteEx - powershell.one

Class method that deletes the logical file (or directory) specified in the object path.

Example

Do not run below example code just to see what happens next. Many methods seriously affect your system. Always make sure you actually understand what the method and the code do.

# define the arguments you want to submit to the method
# remove values that you do not want to submit
# make sure you replace values with meaningful content before running the code
# see section "Parameters" below for a description of each argument.
$arguments = @{
    StartFileName   = 'someText'  # replace 'someText' with meaningful text
}


# select the instance(s) for which you want to invoke the method
# you can use "Get-CimInstance -Query (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)" to safely play with filter clauses
# if you want to apply the method to ALL instances, remove "Where...." clause altogether.
$query = 'Select * From Win32_ShortcutFile Where (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)'
Invoke-CimMethod -Query $query -Namespace Root/CIMV2 -MethodName DeleteEx -Arguments $arguments

To run this method on one or more remote systems, use New-CimSession:

$ComputerName = 'server12','server14'  # adjust to your server names
$Credential   = Get-Credential         # submit a user account with proper permissions

# define the arguments you want to submit to the method
# remove values that you do not want to submit
# make sure you replace values with meaningful content before running the code
# see section "Parameters" below for a description of each argument.
$arguments = @{
    StartFileName   = 'someText'  # replace 'someText' with meaningful text
}


$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $ComputerName -Credential $Credential

# select the instance(s) for which you want to invoke the method
# you can use "Get-CimInstance -Query (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)" to safely play with filter clauses
$query = 'Select * From Win32_ShortcutFile Where (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)'
Invoke-CimMethod -Query $query -Namespace Root/CIMV2 -MethodName DeleteEx -Arguments $arguments -CimSession $session

Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

Learn more about Invoke-CimMethod and invoking WMI methods.

Syntax

uint32 DeleteEx(
  [out]          string StopFileName,
  [in, optional] string StartFileName
);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
StartFileName	String

Return Value

Returns a value of type UInt32. Typically, a value of 0 indicates success.

Requirements

To use Win32_ShortcutFile, 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_ShortcutFile was introduced on clients with WindowsÂ Vista and on servers with Windows ServerÂ 2008.

Namespace

Win32_ShortcutFile 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_ShortcutFile 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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