PowerShell window when started from a batch file

Question

I have a batch file that starts a PowerShell script.

Batch file:

START Powershell -executionpolicy RemoteSigned -noexit -file "MyScript.ps1"

MyScript.ps1 :

Write-Output "Hello World!"

It works fine, with one exception. The appearance of the window is like the old cmd.exe (black background) and not the PowerShell (blue background).
How can I get the true PowerShell window, if I start it from a batch file?

Thanks.

Thanks all who have posted so far. I don't really care if the background is blue or black. I want to know why this is happening in the first place. If I do this: START notepad then the Notepad starts normally and there is no trace of cmd.exe around. Notepad looks exactly the same as if I started it from a shortcut. Why is it different with PowerShell? Why is it different if I start it from a batch file vs from a shortcut? And I kinda like being able to paste with a right-click in the new PowerShell. Thanks. — mcu
– mcu, Commented Feb 18, 2012 at 2:47
Also, by default, Command Prompt only retains 300 lines whereas PowerShell retains MANY more lines so if you're using something like start powershell -noexit -executionpolicy unrestricted -file "PowerShell script.ps1" then you need it to actually open in PowerShell, not Command Prompt, so you can see the full history of the script. — mythofechelon
– mythofechelon, Commented May 25, 2016 at 14:42

Jeffery Hicks · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-17 18:48:33Z

6

If you really want a blue background, in your script add code to change the background color.

#save the original
$original=$host.ui.RawUI.BackgroundColor
$front=$host.ui.RawUI.ForegroundColor
$host.ui.RawUI.BackgroundColor="DarkBlue"
$host.ui.RawUI.ForegroundColor="White"
cls
#run your code
dir c:\scripts

#set it back
$host.ui.RawUI.BackgroundColor=$original
$host.ui.RawUI.ForegroundColor=$front

answered Feb 17, 2012 at 18:48

Jeffery Hicks

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Joey · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-16 18:59:35Z

3

That's a property of the shell link in the Start Menu which starts PowerShell, so you'd have to go through that:

start "" "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Windows PowerShell\Windows PowerShell.lnk" ...

It's not pretty, it depends a little on where that resides (and might break on foreign language versions).

answered Feb 16, 2012 at 18:59

Joey

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2 Comments

Andy Arismendi Over a year ago

I tried it out on XP and no worky. I got a black shell. start "" "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Windows PowerShell\Windows PowerShell.lnk". I had to use explorer.exe for it to honor the LNK properties.

Joey Over a year ago

Well, I'm on Windows 7 and it worked here. But that's what I was trying to tell you – it's a messy affair and likely to break down (especially in legacy OSes).

Nicolas Blanc · Accepted Answer · 2016-11-21 02:38:12Z

1

You can invoke powershell so that it starts itself with the script

Powershell.exe -Command "& {Start-Process PowerShell.exe -ArgumentList '-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -noexit -File ""Full_Path_of_MyScript.ps1""'}"

edited Nov 21, 2016 at 2:38

answered Nov 20, 2016 at 23:59

Nicolas Blanc

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