Windows features management in PowerShell - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Check the output of listing Windows features

What is the output of this PowerShell command when run on a Windows machine with IIS installed?

Get-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server | Select-Object Name, InstallState

PowerShell

Get-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server | Select-Object Name, InstallState

A

[Name] Web-Server
[InstallState] Disabled

B

[Name] Web-Server
[InstallState] Removed

C

[Name] Web-Server
[InstallState] Available

D

[Name] Web-Server
[InstallState] Installed

💡 Hint

Think about what 'InstallState' shows when a feature is installed.

The 'Get-WindowsFeature' cmdlet shows the status of Windows features. When IIS (Web-Server) is installed, its InstallState is 'Installed'.

📝 Syntax

intermediate

Identify the correct syntax to install a Windows feature

Which PowerShell command correctly installs the Windows feature 'Telnet-Client'?

A Add-WindowsFeature -Name Telnet-Client

B Install-WindowsFeature -Name Telnet-Client

C Enable-WindowsFeature Telnet-Client

D Install-WindowsFeature Telnet-Client

💡 Hint

Check the official parameter name for specifying the feature.

The correct cmdlet is 'Install-WindowsFeature' with the parameter '-Name' to specify the feature to install.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Find the error in this feature removal script

This script is intended to remove the 'Telnet-Client' feature but fails with an error. What is the cause?

Remove-WindowsFeature Telnet-Client

PowerShell

Remove-WindowsFeature Telnet-Client

A The cmdlet requires administrative privileges; running without admin causes failure.

B The feature name must be passed with '-Name' parameter, so it should be 'Remove-WindowsFeature -Name Telnet-Client'.

C The cmdlet 'Remove-WindowsFeature' does not exist; the correct cmdlet is 'Uninstall-WindowsFeature'.

D The feature cannot be removed while in use; the script needs to stop dependent services first.

💡 Hint

Check the official cmdlet names for removing Windows features.

'Remove-WindowsFeature' is not a valid cmdlet. The correct cmdlet to remove a feature is 'Uninstall-WindowsFeature'.

🚀 Application

advanced

Script to check and install a feature if missing

You want a PowerShell script that checks if the 'Web-Server' feature is installed, and if not, installs it silently. Which script achieves this?

A if ((Get-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server).InstallState -ne 'Installed') { Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools -Restart:$false }

B if ((Get-WindowsFeature Web-Server).InstallState -eq 'Available') { Install-WindowsFeature Web-Server }

C if ((Get-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server).InstallState -eq 'Removed') { Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeAllSubFeature }

D if ((Get-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server).InstallState -ne 'Installed') { Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools -Restart }

💡 Hint

Check the InstallState property and the parameters for silent install without restart.

Option A correctly checks if the feature is not installed and installs it with management tools without forcing a restart.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Understanding feature states and their meanings

Which of the following correctly describes the meaning of the 'InstallState' values returned by 'Get-WindowsFeature'?

A 'Installed' means the feature is active; 'Available' means it can be installed; 'Removed' means it is not installed but available; 'Disabled' means the feature is not installed and blocked from installation.

B 'Installed' means the feature is active; 'Available' means it can be installed; 'Removed' means it is not present and cannot be installed; 'Disabled' means the feature is blocked.

C 'Installed' means the feature is active; 'Available' means it is installed but inactive; 'Removed' means it is uninstalled; 'Disabled' means it is deprecated.

D 'Installed' means the feature is active; 'Available' means it is deprecated; 'Removed' means it is active but hidden; 'Disabled' means it is inactive.

💡 Hint

Think about which states allow installation and which block it.

'Installed' means the feature is active. 'Available' means it can be installed. 'Removed' means it is not installed but can be installed. 'Disabled' means it is blocked from installation.