Executing an EXE file using a PowerShell script

Question

I'm trying to execute an EXE file using a PowerShell script. If I use the command line it works without a problem (first I supply the name of the executable and series of parameters to invoke it):

"C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe" C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode

But doing the exact same thing inside of a script returns an error:

The term '"C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe" C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

(I invoked the command using the "&" operator.)

How can I fix this problem?

Answer 1

& "C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe" C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode

or

[System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start("C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe", "C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode")

UPDATE: sorry I missed "(I invoked the command using the "&" operator)" sentence. I had this problem when I was evaluating the path dynamically. Try Invoke-Expression construction:

Invoke-Expression "& `"C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe`" C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode"

Answer 2

It looks like you're specifying both the EXE and its first argument in a single string e.g; '"C:\Program Files\Automated QA\TestExecute 8\Bin\TestExecute.exe" C:\temp\TestProject1\TestProject1.pjs /run /exit /SilentMode'. This won't work. In general you invoke a native command that has a space in its path like so:

& "c:\some path with spaces\foo.exe" <arguments go here>

That is & expects to be followed by a string that identifies a command: cmdlet, function, native exe relative or absolute path.

Once you get just this working:

& "c:\some path with spaces\foo.exe"

Start working on quoting of the arguments as necessary. Although it looks like your arguments should be just fine (no spaces, no other special characters interpreted by PowerShell).

Answer 3

In the Powershell, cd to the .exe file location. For example:

cd C:\Users\Administrators\Downloads

PS C:\Users\Administrators\Downloads> & '.\aaa.exe'

The installer pops up and follow the instruction on the screen.

Answer 4

1. clone $args
2. push your args in new array
3. & $path $args

Demo:

$exePath = $env:NGINX_HOME + '/nginx.exe'
$myArgs = $args.Clone()

$myArgs += '-p'
$myArgs += $env:NGINX_HOME

& $exepath $myArgs