What is the difference between PowerShell and cmd.exe command syntax?

Question

I am running the following command in PowerShell:

PS C:\Users\adminaccount> winrm s winrm/config/service @{AllowUnencrypted="true";
MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser="4294967295"}
Error: Invalid use of command line. Type "winrm -?" for help.

Which gives me an error, as you could see. But the same command in cmd.exe works fine:

C:\Users\adminaccount>winrm s winrm/config/service @{AllowUnencrypted="true";
MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser="4294967295"}
Service
...

So, what should I know about PowerShell syntax to get this working there?

@PeterMortensen I don't know, I have last touched PowerShell of the version 3, and never worked with it any more. But why do you think that `"` should be quoted? — Bunyk, Sep 11 '18 at 10:24

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 10 '13 at 17:22

@{} defines a hashtable in PowerShell, but winrm expects a string argument. Put that argument in quotes if you want to run the command directly in PowerShell:

winrm s winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="true"; MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser="4294967295"}'

Also, you need admin privileges for this to work.

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 06 '18 at 16:39

2

Or use the special --% parameter which lets PowerShell stop parsing the parameters.

winrm --% s winrm/config/service @{AllowUnencrypted="true";MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser="4294967295"}

edited Sep 06 '18 at 16:39

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 10 '13 at 17:33

Lars Truijens

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This works, but not if there a PowerShell in there that should be expanded. Example: ` + $redirectSpec` at the end and `$redirectSpec` containing "`>> _output_2018-09-07T195607.txt`". – Peter Mortensen Sep 07 '18 at 17:57

Adil Hindistan · Answer 3 · 2013-09-10T14:39:18.030

1

You can prefix your command with cmd /c and quote it like:

cmd /c "winrm s winrm/config/service @{AllowUnencrypted=`"true`";
MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser=`"4294967295`"}"

PowerShell will execute executables that exist in the system.

edited Sep 10 '13 at 14:39

answered Sep 10 '13 at 14:17

Adil Hindistan

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Still not working: "Error: Invalid use of command line. Type "winrm -?" for help." – Bunyk Sep 10 '13 at 14:23
1

Well, I was trying to explain the difference as you asked. You will need to take care of special chars, escape quotes etc. See updated command – Adil Hindistan Sep 10 '13 at 14:37
Depending on the command, you might need to start the Powershell in Admin mode... – Adil Hindistan Sep 10 '13 at 14:40

What is the difference between PowerShell and cmd.exe command syntax?

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